Random Thoughts... [Automotive Edition]

You seem easily baffled some times. I know people that beg for full service stations but can't find them anywhere here.

Its not that I'm easily baffled, its just that the options seem idk...stupid. What's the point of getting out of your car, swiping the card, them getting back in again without pumping.?

The person there fills up for you. The system registers how much is due in that particular pump.
You walk up to the convenience store OR the terminal next to the pumps, tell the attendant which pump you used. Swipe card. Done.
Not that hard, actually. I do this every week. :lol:

Its not hard, I guess I just don't see the point?
 
Yup. That feature survived up until the very last U-Body minivans. It was typically found on vans equipped with load leveling rear suspension. As off shoots of the U-Body, this feature was also available on Aztec and Rendezvous.

As mediocre as those vans were, they did have several innovations that no one else offered. In addition to the air compressor, the 94 models were the first vans with an available power sliding door, all the vans up to the last gen U-bodies used (or offered as a option in gen 2) lightweight modular rear seating which made re-configuring the space easier and more flexible than removing heavy benches.

That doesn't include "looked good at the time but in retrospect....." stuff like space frame construction and the panoramic windshield on the 1st gen.

My family had a Lumina APV dustbuster from 1990 to 2005 or so and I have nothing but praise for it. I distinctly remember an event where we had the car fully loaded to 7 with my grandparents on board, and got T-boned by a Cadillac DeVille making an illegal turn. The Caddy was totalled, the Lumina drove away needing a new door and fender. Otherwise it was just a durable beater. The second row having three seats across made rear access awkward, but allowed for larger seats all around than modern 7 passengers with three seats in the small third row.
 
Dave's Farm had one for a while

 
Its not hard, I guess I just don't see the point?

I don't understand why they're even called full service. Never once has a gas station that says "full service" checked engine fluids and tire pressure on top of filling my tank.

If I owned a gas station, I'd totally do that. On top of checking all exterior lighting.
 
I don't see what you mean.
Pump gas.
Pay.
Leave.
:dunno:

If the whole idea of full service is so you won't have to worry about getting out of your car to do something, having to get out to pay just to get back in sounds stupid.
 
I don't understand why they're even called full service. Never once has a gas station that says "full service" checked engine fluids and tire pressure on top of filling my tank.

If I owned a gas station, I'd totally do that. On top of checking all exterior lighting.



These days you're lucky if the guy doesn't spill gas on your paint.
 
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That's the biggest thing that would piss me off if I was driving through NJ or Oregon.

I simply don't get it..I mean yes, fine, its providing jobs, but its not like you couldn't split the pumps to be half self serve and half full serve.

All I wanna do is pump my goddamn gas in as short a time span as possible and leave.

Pennsylvania gets a hell of a lot wrong (booze laws anyone?) but thank FSM we get the gas pump thing right.


Edit: how the hell do you pay with debit/credit at full service? Do you let the guy/gal fill it with the desired amount then walk in to pay? Do you get out, use the reader on the pump, then get back in? Does the pump attendant have one of those wireless terminals or square-esque phone/iPad dongle?

The mind boggles....

Yes I hate full service stations in NJ, it takes twice as long to get my fucking gas.

As far as card thing goes, you can't use debit for obvious reasons, you give them your CC and they put it in the reader.

- - - Updated - - -



These days you're lucky if the guy doesn't spill gas on your paint.

Funnily enough last time I filled up in NJ the attendant actually cleaned my windshield with one of those squidgy things, was appreciated since I spent 3 hours driving through bugs :D Earned him a $2 tip too :p (all the cash I had on me)
 
Yeah there's a gas station I stopped at when I was on the palisades parkway last year that did that. But, it was raining...

They took my debit card too.
 
Shameless crosspost from here, so more people see it. :D

 
So, GF decided on the egolf. Filling out paperwork now.

Get the e-extended warranty. :p

Indeed $2,200 for a 4-year, 40,000 miles extension. didn't seem *too* bad...but she should have pressed harder for an answer to one question: does the warranty cover the batteries range performance, or just it's binary works/doesn't work operation? The battery is "allowed" to lose a certain percentage of it's range over time. Does the warranty just cover if the battery works at all, or does it guarantee the same percentage performance, but over the longer term? I told her to push for an answer because they just kept saying "yes, it covers the battery." :mad:
 
Iirc its 80% charge guaranteed for 5 years/200k kms here for the eGolf
 
8 years, 160Mm over here... I failed to find the percentage anywhere though.
What's even more amazing, you get 30 rental days a year thrown in.
 
If the whole idea of full service is so you won't have to worry about getting out of your car to do something, having to get out to pay just to get back in sounds stupid.

In fact, if I could I would pump the gas myself, but all gas stations here are "full service", since they pump the gas and clean windshields, check tire pressure etc. for you.

I could just stop and not get out of the car, but I dislike having people do things for me. I don't know why. :|
 
If the whole idea of full service is so you won't have to worry about getting out of your car to do something, having to get out to pay just to get back in sounds stupid.


You missed an obvious one that Flareside mentioned. You simply give the attendant you card and hope they don't swipe it twice. That is how I have done full service in the past.

EDIT: Or cash. I know it can be a pain, but it still is king.
 
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What's even more amazing, you get 30 rental days a year thrown in.

Not here. You just get 3 months of the CarNet app, and "access" to Chargepoint chargers...which just means they give you a card you can scan rather than swiping your credit card, but you still need to have a payment method linked to the Chargepoint card. We do get $10,000 in combined state and federal taxes, so there's that...bringing it down from $32,000 to $22,000 + destination, lic, sales tax (on $32,000).
 
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