Last Friday Mr. Fixit and I decided to do a bit of exploring. When we began our little trip, we had no idea where we were going. I wanted to be home by 6:00 pm so we decided to head down to Columbia, SC.
On the way back, I stopped to get gas. We have been checking our mileage since we bought the car, and I thought we should be getting very good mileage on the highway. When I stopped, I had an eighth of a tank. When it gauge gets down that low, it usually takes about 10 to 10 ½ gallons to fill it up. When Mr. Fixit told me it took a little over 12 gallons to fill it up, I didn’t think too much about. Mr. Fixit figured out the mpg, it was a little over 24 miles to the gallon. I told him that must be an error because when driving around town, I get about 30 mpg. Half of the gas had been used for stop-and-go driving while the other half had been used on the highway to Columbia. He checked his figures, and there was no error.
Then it hit me. I have never put 12 gallons of gas in that car. I always fill it up when the gauge shows there is an l/8 tank left, and it always takes about 10 ½ gallons. Mr. Fixit checked the little book where I figure the mileage and saw that it usually takes 10 or 10 ½ gallons.
I suggested he figure the mileage using 10.1 gallons instead of the 12.1 gallons indicated on the pump. Using those numbers, my mileage would have been about 31 mpg. That seems more likely.
The only explanation is the pump was wrong. What I don’t know is whether the pump had been tampered with or if there was some malfunction. All I know is that the gas was $2.46 a gallon. If that pump had been deliberately tampered it, someone stole almost $5.00 from us. I wonder how many people use that pump in one day. The service station was a major chain station with about 10 pumps on a major interstate highway. Someone could be making a small fortune on the side.
Things like this make me so angry! Even if I could discover the right agency to report these people to, I know I have no way to prove what I suspect happened.
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2 comments:
Don't you wonder how much money we could all save if we kept closer eye on merchants? I cannot count the number of times I have noted the price on the shelf only to check out and see the item scanned at a higher price. I bring it to their attention and they assure me this is not a common occurrence. Yea, sure.
http://agriculture.sc.gov/Content.aspx?MenuID=111
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