A new personal record: I’ve spent over $70 at the gas pump. The shock of that first $50 transaction a couple years ago has long faded, and the $100 fill-up is clearly within reach.
This was a worst-case scenario, though. I coasted up to the pump, having just run out of gas, so the tank was pretty damn empty.
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on March 7, 2008 at 10:04 am Nic wrote:
I was shocked at spending over 40 to fill up! I only have a 12 gallon tank though.
on March 7, 2008 at 10:06 am Megan wrote:
It sounds like you had an adventure this morning. I’m glad I slept in.
on March 7, 2008 at 11:25 am Scott B wrote:
Sleeping in is always the best policy!!
Gas sucks… I even have to put premium in my tank… meh.. its just a fact of life these days.
on March 7, 2008 at 3:40 pm molly bradley wrote:
i don’t even have a car and i spend about $50 a month on the stuff!
what a rip off.
on March 7, 2008 at 5:30 pm Tom wrote:
I hear you. Still, if you figure a conservative average of $2.50 for 16 ounces of Starbucks coffee-related drinks, that’s $20/gallon. And we all spend that kind of money regularly. (Though if you can drink a gallon of coffee, you’ll be stopping enough that you won’t be burning a lot of gas anyway.)
What is going to start becoming a problem is the cap that a lot of gas stations seem to have on at-the-pump transactions. I helped a friend drive a moving truck back from Boston the summer before last, and we frequently ran into problems with the pump stopping at some round number ($75 or $100 or something). I’m sure when the people who program the pumps did that it seemed like a ridiculous amount of money for gas, but now it’s quite possible.
I’ve only run out of gas once, but it was a similar kind of thing — I ended up able to coast the last 100 feet or so. I gunned it when I realized it was about to die, and that was enough to get me up the driveway of the gas station and within five feet of the pump on a pleasant spring day. Given that most people run out of gas ten miles from a pump in rainstorms, I felt pretty blessed. And on top of that it was my little Subaru Justy, so it would have been light enough to pick up and carry (particularly if the tank was empty) if I’d needed to.
on March 8, 2008 at 12:45 am nick wrote:
I don’t even want to think what our motorhome and the boat or the jet skis’ will cost to fill up this summer..
motorhome 45 gal.
boat 16 gal. two days of play
jetski x2 20 gal a day…
I think my wallet just blew up just thinking about it…
on March 8, 2008 at 1:11 pm Doug wrote:
Yeah, Nick, boats are the worst. A few years ago I agreed to get the gas on a boat my brothers and I rented for the day, and I watched the pump at the gas dock pass $50, $100, $150, $200, and stop at $220. For one day! (It was some giant thing with two inboard engines in it, and Ken was driving, both of which surely contributed to that total.)
on March 8, 2008 at 2:15 pm Thomas wrote:
Remember your complaint about the prices in Switzerland? Gas is one thing that’s cheaper there than in Germany. For your fill-up I would have had to pay 129 Euros here. Thankfully my cars are less thirsty so I get away with about 70 Euros each time for 700 kms. You’re lucky over there…
on March 17, 2008 at 11:32 am AUNT MARSHA wrote:
Do I know Nick? Was he at the wedding? Does he let you, Meg and your AUNTS use the houseboat?????