http://q45.spilky.com/gallery/d/3334-1/fullservice.jpg

I realized today that since my local fuel expenses are covered, I might as well opt for full service, which I havent used in years. Now, however, it comes with a 70-cent per gallon fee.

Its nice to sit in the car listening to music while my windows are cleaned, tank is filled, tires are checked, and fluids are checked. I forgot how good it was -- too bad full service stations are disappearing.

There's one in my town, just down the street. They charge $0.10 a gallon more than the other stations for just pumping the gas. Then if you want your windows washed, oil checked, and tires checked it's $2.00 extra (not per gallon).

Lazy bastard. :rolleyes: If it's covered, why not.

Here in Jersey, Self Serve is against the law. We have to wait for a bored, semi-human troglodyte to amble out to the car, come to the passenger side first, then walk around to the driver's window and say

"Yeah?"

To which we response, "Fill it with regular please."

The hose is unhooked, slowly guided in to the filler neck, and the throttle on the pump is set to 1 gallon per hour...

Later in the day, about 30 minutes after the hose shuts off prematurely with only 13 gallons in the tank, Fred Flintstone wanders over again, gooses the nozzle one time to bring the price to the nearest nickle, and takes our charge card.

45 minutes later, he comes back with the receipt, but forgets the card.

Is this what you mean by "full service"?

To my experience, NO station in Jersey checks oil, tires, windshield or any of that stuff.

Yet, I just paid $2.91 for a gallon of Sunoco Regular, so I guess it could be worse.

And, why on earth do you have a picture of Sam Waterston as your avatar? You work for TD Price Waterhouse?...lol

That doesn't exist here anymore!!

I've NEVER seen one of those. Must not have any in MN..

Here in Jersey, Self Serve is against the law. We have to wait for a bored, semi-human troglodyte to amble out to the car, come to the passenger side first, then walk around to the driver's window and say

Thats the law in Oregon too. Ditto on all your comments regarding this asinine law. Its sort of a form of welfare as I see it. OK, so they're working at least, but just barely.

It must be an interesting experience, to be honest, I don't see the point. I'm not sure how dad would like the idea of someone spilling uel all over the side of the car.

There is a massive black mark around the fuel filler on the Trooper where dad's wife is too careless not to spill DERV all over it.

Well Jim Hare's is a little bit over exagerated, but it's funny. I too am in N.J. but far away from Jim's town. We here are paying $3.12 or so for premium and $2.97 for regular and the mid grades are around $3.05. They come out and pump the gas because in NJ it's mandatory that they do so. What burns my feathers is that 9 outta 10 will drip or spill or leak fuel down the side of your car. They are anything BUT careful ... so, I always get out. With you watching, they seldom do that.

Being 59, I was 17 (driving age in NJ) in 1963. I vividly recall taking Mom's 1963 Imperial Crown 4-Dr. Hdt. to the local Shell Station. I'd drive in & the attendant on duty would welcome me verbally, fill the tank with whatever I asked for (premium) and ask me if I'd like the oil or water checked. He'd eyeball the 4 tires to se if any looked soft. If so, he'd tell me to pull over to the air pump and he'd fill it with air. When done, he'd say goodbye & tip his hat to me. He'd also do the windshield and if a bird bomb was on the rear window, he'd wipe THAT one off as well. He'd frequently ask me how my Mom was, if he had not seen her in awhile. He was an older man, and he passed away around 1970. Mom & I went to his funeral. It was the first funeral I ever went to in a Church, so, yes, I have a vivid memory.

People are angry today. They are angry because no matter how long and/or hard they may work, they cannot stay ahead of the game as everything is so unbelievably expensive, that they just cannot win in the game of life. People feel defeated before they begin. Even many of theose percieved as rich. It's the same for them. I know many rich people, it's the same, only on an elevated scale. My friend filed bankruptcy a year or two ago. He makes $127,000 a year, but has a $70,000 mortgage, a Jag XJ V.P. and a Mercury Mountaineer & a 2004 T-Bird and a boat down the NJ shore and a kid in college at $33,000 @ year, and and and BANG! Game Over ! See, just on a bigger scale.... same siht !

In OR and NJ, its required for someone else to fill, yes, but there's no extra fee for it (well, not directly). Thats not really full service, since they arent really performing any services.
Full service involves a friendly attendant doing a once-over on your vehicle, and there's a little fee. I really hate checking my own tire pressure. There's walking and bending and... ehhh. I dont even change my own oil anymore. I took the Q to the dealer today and paid $38 (instead of the $14 and 1-2 hours to do it myself... its a pain compared to most cars). I sat in a lounge on a leather couch drinking a soda and watching baseball for an hour. It was a nice break and totally worth the money, and I get to establish a relationship with the service writer.


Watch out for Jack McCoy. He doesnt make deals. You're going to jail for life! [I'm obsessed with the entire "Law & Order" universe.]

Well Jim Hare's is a little bit over exagerated, but it's funny. I too am in N.J. but far away from Jim's town. We here are paying $3.12 or so for premium and $2.97 for regular and the mid grades are around $3.05. They come out and pump the gas because in NJ it's mandatory that they do so. What burns my feathers is that 9 outta 10 will drip or spill or leak fuel down the side of your car. They are anything BUT careful ... so, I always get out. With you watching, they seldom do that.

Being 59, I was 17 (driving age in NJ) in 1963. I vividly recall taking Mom's 1963 Imperial Crown 4-Dr. Hdt. to the local Shell Station. I'd drive in & the attendant on duty would welcome me verbally, fill the tank with whatever I asked for (premium) and ask me if I'd like the oil or water checked. He'd eyeball the 4 tires to se if any looked soft. If so, he'd tell me to pull over to the air pump and he'd fill it with air. When done, he'd say goodbye & tip his hat to me. He'd also do the windshield and if a bird bomb was on the rear window, he'd wipe THAT one off as well. He'd frequently ask me how my Mom was, if he had not seen her in awhile. He was an older man, and he passed away around 1970. Mom & I went to his funeral. It was the first funeral I ever went to in a Church, so, yes, I have a vivid memory.

People are angry today. They are angry because no matter how long and/or hard they may work, they cannot stay ahead of the game as everything is so unbelievably expensive, that they just cannot win in the game of life. People feel defeated before they begin. Even many of theose percieved as rich. It's the same for them. I know many rich people, it's the same, only on an elevated scale. My friend filed bankruptcy a year or two ago. He makes $127,000 a year, but has a $70,000 mortgage, a Jag XJ V.P. and a Mercury Mountaineer & a 2004 T-Bird and a boat down the NJ shore and a kid in college at $33,000 @ year, and and and BANG! Game Over ! See, just on a bigger scale.... same siht !


Pretty much true, customer service in alot of places isn't what it used to be anymore though, people have realised they're gonna get paid no matter how they talk to the customer and it reflects badly.

This morning I got on the bus and was actually surprised to find a friendly driver behind the wheel. He welcomed me with a "hello" and I acknowledged him appropriately, showed my pass and got of and said "thank you" as I always do and he responded to everyone individually with a "goodbye" or a "thankyou now" and it was a pleasant surprise to be honest. It made a nice change.

As for the finances....

My dad is considering taking out £20,000 + finance on a new car or a 2004 car, or if I can persuade him, a 2003 BMW 530d Sport Touring. It'll be expensive, but nobody can afford to buy a new car cash outright,.

...and that's in England. See? Same crap as here.

...and that's in England. See? Same crap as here.

Same crap everywhere, I suppose. Nobody has it easy.

Being 59, I was 17 (driving age in NJ) in 1963. I vividly recall taking Mom's 1963 Imperial Crown 4-Dr. Hdt. to the local Shell Station. I'd drive in & the attendant on duty would welcome me verbally, fill the tank with whatever I asked for (premium) and ask me if I'd like the oil or water checked. He'd eyeball the 4 tires to se if any looked soft. If so, he'd tell me to pull over to the air pump and he'd fill it with air. When done, he'd say goodbye & tip his hat to me. He'd also do the windshield and if a bird bomb was on the rear window, he'd wipe THAT one off as well.
Yeah, I remember those days Sandy. Not only did they do all that, but they frequently gave you free mugs, dishes, S & H Green stamps or some other freebee to get you into their station as opposed to the one across or down the street to by their $0.25/gal gas.

I forgot that !! Right you are! S&H Green Stamps & Shell MUGS I recall.

I forgot that !! Right you are! S&H Green Stamps & Shell MUGS I recall.

Larry, Sandy, you guys and I need to start an "Old Farts" club here to swap stories with these young farts.. LOL

Yeah, I exaggerated a bit for the fun of it, but not by much. I used to live down near Atlantic City, and the half dozen or so stations I frequented there seemed to have nicer, more intelligent gas jockeys than I've run into around here in Salem. Just this evening we filled up the Deville, as noted, and we literally sat there for 7 1/2 minutes AFTER the hose rang off before the ONE guy running the pumps managed to run the card and come back with the receipt. It was a nice late afternoon, and I spent most of the time enjoying the combination of cool weather, and a fiancee with no bra on under a white blouse.. lol

The odd thing about NJ is that, at least in my neck of the woods, gas is 10 to 15 cents per gallon cheaper here than just across the river in Delaware, or up the river in PA, and that's for SELF SERVE in those states. Must have to do with taxes and all, I suppose.

I'd rather pump it myself, because, as we've noted, we can take better care of the nozzle, and not drip too much 87 octane all over the paintwork. But most women I know hate pumping their own gas. Must be a male thing, sliding that long nozzle in to the filler neck.. lol

Ciao!

I actually never knew about the whole Jersey "thing" where it's like a law that only the gas station employees can fill your tank, until a few months ago, believe it or not...and this is after living in PA for many years and now Delaware.

A co-worker from Jersey was talking about it, and I didn't believe them at first. Weird, I guess, because in 20 years, I only ever knew of one small station back home in PA where they did it for you, and then they stopped.

I'm so paranoid about anyone ever touching my car, I think I'd have to stay out of Jersey just for that reason:rolleyes:

Oh, but the funnier thing was, this lady who's in her mid 60's was born and raised in Jersey and the whole reason the topic came up because she was talking about how she never knew how to put gas in a car until just recently after buying a VW Jetta TDI, and it stressed her out...up until then, her husband had done it, and before that, it was always the full-service in Jersey. Especially when she ended up at a trucker's station once and was the only little car among a lot of big trucks:)

Then again, a few years ago I was visiting my grandmother in PA (just got my license too) and her car needed gas...but neither of us could figure out how to work the pump:thepan:

I'll admit that I've gotten spoiled by not having to pump it myself since moving to Oregon (oddly enough, our gas prices are lower than many other parts of the country). As I've said here before, I almost always buy gas at Costco, where most of the attendants are nice and efficient (considering the lines that can form, they have to be quick). Occasionally, I'll get gas at the local Chevron station, and the attendents there are nice as well. It helps that I often have my dog with me in the car; he enjoys meeting people.

Although I don't get full service at the gas station, the small lube shop where I live in Independence will top off your fluids and check your tire pressure in between oil changes, so I will sometimes stop by if I'm running errands on the weekend. And I always get fast, friendly service when I go to the America's Tire Store (http://www.tires.com) in Salem (it's Discount Tire in most of the US) for a rotation and balance.
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It's funny because when someone with a NJ plate pulls into a gas station out of state they just sit there and wonder what the **** the guy is doing in there behind a counter. I know how to pump my own gas though, I do travel........

They'll do the whole full service thing if you ask them to but nine outta ten times your gas attendant knows practically no english, no idea where your oil is, will clean your windows with the dirtiest squeegee you've ever seen, and dumps gas on the ground which you still get charged for.

I actually complained about that once. I made a huge scene because my gas attendant came back when my tank was full, squeezed it off to even it out but nothing he added made it into the tank. I refused to pay the full ammount and made a huge scene at the gas station. I won and paid only for the fuel in my tank.

Holy crap!!!!!! I have never spent 50 somethin bucks to fill up my tank... It's about $3.17 here for V Power.... 93 octane. I spend like no more than 40 bucks on gas.

Funny how when I went to get gas the other day at shell....they had all the gas pumps down except for the V power...forcing everyone to buy the top grade. Record profits for the first fiscal for exxon mobile is $8.7 billion dollars profit in the 1st quarter.....we are soooooo getting ripped!!!

I read somewhere a big wig at Exxon was retiring and the company bought him a $400,000,000 retirement gift. Or rather we did.....

Funny because I never got to sign the card.....

Holy crap!!!!!! I have never spent 50 somethin bucks to fill up my tank... It's about $3.17 here for V Power.... 93 octane. I spend like no more than 40 bucks on gas.

Funny how when I went to get gas the other day at shell....they had all the gas pumps down except for the V power...forcing everyone to buy the top grade. Record profits for the first fiscal for exxon mobile is $8.7 billion dollars profit in the 1st quarter.....we are soooooo getting ripped!!!

I got close yesterday, put 15 gallons in the V at 3.19 a gallon, 93 octane Chevron (that's self serve).

Usually the Premium only is due to their tanks running out of normal unleaded. Most "single hose" pump systems with more than two octane levels mix the gas to get the mid grades. i.e. If they have a 89/91 octane they mix a certain amount of 87 with the 93 premium. So if they run out of the normal unleaded the only thing left to pump is premium.

I read somewhere a big wig at Exxon was retiring and the company bought him a $400,000,000 retirement gift. Or rather we did.....

Funny because I never got to sign the card.....

Me either dude, what's up with that ;)

He got kinda pissed when people were doggin him about the 400 million retirement package too. In total it was a combination of cash (140-50 million), stock options, etc to come to approx 400 million in worth. But hey when you're the CEO of the company, you get to decide what the company pays you as you retire.....

There are no full service stations around West Palm Beach that I know of...

Me either dude, what's up with that ;)

He got kinda pissed when people were doggin him about the 400 million retirement package too. In total it was a combination of cash (140-50 million), stock options, etc to come to approx 400 million in worth. But hey when you're the CEO of the company, you get to decide what the company pays you as you retire.....

Actually, the board decides that. The CEO is still just an employee.

Actually, the board decides that. The CEO is still just an employee.

Well technically it would depend upon the amount of authority the board grants to the CEO, but I was trying to be a little funny in the post.

It's almost impossible to find full service here in Ill. Can't remember the last time someone pumped gas for me, but as JimHare said, I'd rather do it myself.

For you Jersey guys, I just heard on the radio while coming in to work that your wonderful governer Corzine has recommended dropping the no self-serve law to lower gas prices.

For you Jersey guys, I just heard on the radio while coming in to work that your wonderful governer Corzine has recommended dropping the no self-serve law to lower gas prices.

Every time gas prices spike, they trot this pony out. It's political posturing; remember this IS an election year.... Personally, i seriously doubt prices will go down much, if at all, if we go self-serve. The station owners will just make that much more profit.

I didn't realize that full serve stations were dying out. Here in BC where I live the majority of the gas stations around have a full serve side and a self serve side. Although most people use self serve (myself included), I just feel better about knowing how much is put in there, and I rarely trust the judgement of the attendants as far as my oil and tire pressure goes. One time I went to the full serve side with my '70 and the attendant (who was probably 16 years old or so) couldn't even find my gas filler neck. To be fair it is at the back of the car under the license plate, but I got a kick out of it either way.