What Gas Stations Won't Tell You

1. "Good luck finding the best deal."

2. "I hate high gas prices too."
They earn the least when prices are highest.

3. "My gas isn't better for your car; it's just more expensive."
One gallon of gas is as good as the next. True, additives help to clean your engine, but what the companies don't tell you is that all gas does so. Since 1994 the government has required that detergents be added to all gasoline to help prevent fuel injectors from clogging. What's more, your local Chevron station may sell gas refined by Shell or Exxon Mobil. Suppliers share pipelines, so they all use the same fuel. And the difference between the most expensive brand-name gas and the lowliest gallon of no-brand fuel? Often just a quart of detergent added to an 8,000-gallon tanker truck.

4. "If you're smart, you'll put that debit card away..."

5. "...and don't even consider applying for our gas card."

6. "Looking for the cheapest gas in town? Try the Internet."
Try GasPriceWatch.com and Gaswatch.info, they help people track pump prices. But the most comprehensive of the bunch is GasBuddy.com, which includes a network of 174 local sites, complete with maps and message boards, that tally gas price by zip code.

7. "It's a gallon when I say it's a gallon."
It's hard to know if you're getting all the gas you paid for at the pump. But in some places there's a very good chance you're not. The state or county weights-and-measures department usually checks pumps for accuracy, but in some areas it can be years between inspections. Arizona, for example, has only 18 staff members to check the state's 2,300 stations. That means stations there can expect a visit once every three to four years.

8. "I might gouge you on a soda, but my coffee's a bargain."
You'll pay more for a 20-ounce soda at a gas station than you would for a 2-liter bottle in a supermarket; the average price for a liter of water at pumpside marts in 2005 was $1.24, a markup of 55% over wholesale; and energy drinks cost 50% over wholesale. But there are bargains to be had: Some high-volume goods, such as cigarettes and beer, are often competitively priced at gas stations. And a cup of coffee goes for a fraction of what you'd pay at Starbucks.

9. "If you're having car trouble, you're in the wrong place."

10. "You don't even need gas to run your car."
Cars run on gasoline — but not all cars need gasoline to run. In fact, 6 million cars on the road today (mostly from U.S. manufacturers and built since 1998) are "flexible fuel" vehicles that can run on E85, a new fuel that is 85% ethanol and only 15% gas. Though E85 is currently available only at 710 stations, it's expected to show up at 2,000 stations by the end of the year.

Source: SmartMoney