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Gasoline Station Chicanery?

December 20th, 2006 at 06:16 pm

Another thing to watch out for when traveling out-of-state are sneaky tricks at the local gas stations! Beyond the obvious, such as how many of us New Jersians sometimes sit like dunderheads in our cars, waiting for an attendant to come out (note to self: most states require you to self-serve and pump your own gas), different states may have different gas filling protocol. Some might let you pay at the pump, some require you to prepay. And then some try to pull a fast one on you to make you buy more expensive gas:

Text is
http://www.thetaoofmakingmoney.com/2006/12/19/158.html and Link is

http://www.thetaoofmakingmoney.com/2006/12/19/158.html

I am referencing this post from "Money, Matter and More Musings" because he has the cold, hard pictoral evidence of gas stations switching up the usual "left to right" order of increasing octane grades typically seen at the pumps. The worst I've seen (and nearly used!!!) was once, the diesel line was the leftmost pump, and it was not only the same color as the rest (usually diesel is green or bright red) but even the sign saying "diesel only" was the same b/w lettering as the other signs. Urgh.

As of now, I believe you still have to physically punch the big "87" or "89" or "91" signs/buttons to get the gas flowing, which should automatically alert you to any potential errors. But if the mixup of ordering L-to-R is part of some ultimate "Fooled ya!" plot, then pretty soon they will do away with the extra push-button step (and thus many impatient people will happily pump away, pleased they are saving some precious seconds of their time, but NOT realizing they are, indeed, pumping away some extra $$$$).

Posted in Rant Time, Savings | 7 Comments »

7 Responses to “Gasoline Station Chicanery?”

  1. Thrifty Ray Says:
    December 20th, 2006 at 06:43 pm 1166640190
    1166640190

    If you come to Oregon, it is ILLEGAL to pump your own gas. An attendant will be taking care of your gasoline needs! (I just LOVE Oregon!)

  2. fairy74 Says:
    December 20th, 2006 at 07:02 pm 1166641351
    1166641351

    I laughed when I read the first part of this, I grew up in WA do it yourself pumping, the first time as a teenager that I drove to OR, I needed to gas at night and pulled into a station. As the attendant approached the car, I thought it was a carjacker---embarrasing situation for us both! Smile

  3. Golbguru Says:
    December 20th, 2006 at 07:32 pm 1166643167
    1166643167

    Thanks for the link and for highlighting this issue.
    You will get your USB drives very soon after the giveaway ends Smile

  4. jersey jen Says:
    December 20th, 2006 at 11:47 pm 1166658436
    1166658436

    haha, no kidding, NJ and Oregon are the only two states that you can't pump your own gas! well, one time, my friend *actually* pumped diesel into her gasoline engine car. great, the car had to get towed and engine totally flushed. she fits into the stereotype of car-challenged girl.

  5. janH Says:
    December 21st, 2006 at 05:07 am 1166677630
    1166677630

    I actually did this once. My usual stations have the gas in order. One of the others that I stopped at didn't and I got a higher grade gas than usual before I caught it. I don't remember whether I filled it on up or not. I just try to remember to check now to see if others have done the same thing. This station also seems to have higher prices than the others most of the time. I think it is good that you pointed this out so that others will be informed!

  6. Golbguru Says:
    December 24th, 2006 at 03:52 am 1166932332
    1166932332

    Paigu, congratulations on the USB give away Smile.
    You can email me back with your address at:
    golbguru @ gmail dot com

    If no one else responds to the giveaway before Monday...I will send all 4 USBs to you Smile

  7. Sun Says:
    December 24th, 2006 at 04:52 am 1166935972
    1166935972

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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