My 2006 Pepper White Cooper, Chequers, has been in the shop for almost a week, and may be there another week at this rate.

Last Monday I made the grievous error of purchasing gas at a local Texaco station. I always put in the premium super unleaded. Not three minutes later as I was motoring to the cat food store, Chequers sputtered and died. After waiting FOUR hours for MINI Roadside Assistance to make its appearance, I was towed to the BMW dealership.

Initially the problem was believed to be the fuel pump. However, after testing, it was discovered that the gas I purchased was heavily contaminated - the service guy told me it's one of the worst cases of contamination he's ever seen. They think they can save the fuel tank, but the pump unit and fuel injectors are severely damaged and must be replaced, all at an estimated total of $2,128.46.

I am currently waiting for my insurance company to review the estimate and authorize repairs. This seems to be a very slow process. I am also in touch with the rat bastard of a station owner and his insurance company in order to recoup any and all costs.

This whole ordeal just makes me SICK. I am an attorney, and after I get my car repaired (I just hope they can repair it), I intend to go after this jerk. He has been cited a number of times in the past for environmental violations. I just wish I'd known that before I ever purchased gas there.

Has anyone else ever had this sort of trouble? How long did it take to repair your car, and did you have any future trouble?

 

Ouch - sorry to hear of this. I hope they get your MINI fixed soon and I hope that you manage to get compensated by the gas station owner.

 

Was it a name brand or no-name station? That's terrible to hear. Was there a tanker there refilling the tank at the time? They can stir up all the sediment while they refill the tanks.

 

I purchased gas from a Sunoco (i think) station a couple of weeks ago and immediately noticed a change in my car - reduced acceleration and a slight sluggishness. Figured it was bad gas and that I would just let it go empty since I did not notice anything major. I have filled up maybe twice since then and it still seems a little sluggish since before I had the bad gas fill-up but again nothing too major. Maybe I should take it in to get checked out? I've only had the car for 2 months - bought new '07. Currently 3400 miles. Anyone have any suggestions?

Chequers - please let me know the outcome for you - good thing you're a lawyer !

 

I always fill up at Shell or Chevron, they just seem to have higher-quality gas.

The local QT stations advertise that if their gas is bad, they'll pay for the repairs. I still don't care for their gas.

Please keep us posted, incase (god forbid) someone else has to go down this road in the future.

 

I never believed there was a difference in gas from the various stations. But I just recently had a good example of Chevron's gas being cleaner. I've got this old 91 Sentra, drive it almost daily. At 185k miles it starts loosing it's ability to idle (after zero problems, looking like new, and still getting 38 mpg). It would run really rough and needed a foot on the throttle to keep it idling. I did all the usual stuff; plugs, wires, cap, rotor. Ran a bottle of Techron through it. Idle was better, but still bad and would almost die without throttle input.

I didn't have time to take it to a shop (couldn't be without a car) or have the injecters removed and cleaned, so I thought I would just deal with the rough idle.

I stopped buying from the cheap gas stations and used only Chevron. In 10k miles of only Chevron 87 octane, the car runs like brand new. I can't believe the gas makes a difference that much.

My Mini will definitely get it's drinks from Chevron. I'll put Shell or Texaco in if a Chevron isn't available. No more cheap stations, even for my daily driver.

 

i get bp all the time now. about 10 cents more expensive than other gas stations around it. but im only losing a little over a dollar.
here's i site i found a long while ago. (got a free car freshener from them with info on it)
(i think it's mainly about polution..not the quality. but here it is anyways)
and it's on this website too. here's the info

Bottom of the Barrel

* ExxonMobil
* ConocoPhillips

Middle of the Barrel

* Royal Dutch Shell
* Chevron
* Valero Energy Corporation
* Citgo

Top of the Barrel

* BP
* Sunoco

and here's the site.
http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/pickyourpoison/

but sorry to hear about your mini. hopefully everything gets resolved and that gas station pays for your damages.

 

I pay for the best gas available to me, I couldn't care less whether the company supports "the military government in Nigeria." Since Chevron isn't readily available, I'll stick with Shell.

 

Well, repairs have FINALLY been authorized for Chequers. He's only been in the shop since Monday the 10th! I'm hoping it won't take too long now. Insurance company is sending us a check, which we'll sign over to BMW of Dallas. Apparently there was a question about the need for replacing the fuel injectors - service says water in the gas got into them and corroded them.

The station involved was a Texaco. It's never very busy - I guess I should make sure I fill up at a busy station. There was no delivery truck there at the time. The owner is admitting that there was water in the gas, and his insurance company will pay mine. I have gotten gas there a number of times before without incident. It's safe to say, however, that they have lost me as a customer!

Other stations are in our area include Mobil, Chevron, Shell and Valero. There's also gas available at our local Kroger, and I've gassed up there in the past with no problems, as well as Costco. Again, I ALWAYS use the expensive stuff. I really hate to throw money at Mobil, but that seems to be the busiest station near us. Shell and Chevron are in rather inconvenient locations, but they're both busy, as well.

Thanks again. This has been a real nightmare. I do have a loaner MINI (2007 British Racing Green), which has been fun, but I miss my little Chequers!

 

Anyone know how Costco gas rates?

Glad to hear Chequers is getting fix, and you don't have to fight any harder for them to take care of it. Hope you're off motoring again soon!

 

Good to hear!

 

I just checked out Chevron's web site and they apparently also own Texaco--does that mean Texaco is also a good place to get gas from too?

Let's see if I got this straight from my reading of NAM forums:

Good gas: Shell, Chevron
May be good enough: Texaco, ExxonMobil, BP
Bad gas: no-name brands (not always though)

I'm not clear on where Sunoco stands, as I've been going to a local Sunoco for gas for a while and haven't noticed problems with my Saturn.

Is this the general consensus around here re gas brand?

 

Do a search for top-tier gasoline on here and you'll see what stations to use. Texaco isn't on it. i use Shell and Chevron. I can tell a difference even between those two (Chevron being better). I was surprised to see that Cononco is on the top-tier list but haven't tried it in the Mini yet. I know you pain, I had an old Volvo in college and bought Mobil one time and the car never did run right again :(

 

Here's the link: http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

Sissy

 

Boy, it was good to see him! He drives as well as ever. We immediately rushed him to Shell and filled him up with the good stuff. I'm also going to get a bottle of Techron and be sure to put some in every few fillups.

 

Always remember, that ANY gas station can get a load of contaminated gas.

 

I'm surprised that BP isn't on the top tier gas list. The Texaco station around here is usually a pretty good price.

 

As earlier asked, does anyone know where exactly Costco gas is from? And is it ok to fill up the mini there? Whenever I head to costco for food I usually fill up my acura. Anyone have info on its gas?

 

Texaco IS on it...

 

Gromit is right, contamination can occur to any station at any time. And all this stuff about which brand is better is complete nonsense. Do some studying how gasoline is distributed in the US. NONE of the major brands controls the gasoline from refining to the pump. Instead, they refine some, put it in the pipeline, and then take out that much from the other end. However there is NO guarentee that the gallon they take out the end of the pipeline is the same as the gallon they put in. In fact, it is highly unlikely. The basic fact of raw gasoline in the US is that it is EXACTLY the same no matter where you buy it.

What does vary is the additives. The major brands add detergents and other additives to do things like reduce ping, where the cheap brands probably don't. What also varies is the level of maintenance at each individual station. Some owners take more care than others to keep everything in repair and keep crap out.

So the bottom line is that unless you're talking about additives making a difference, everything else is just the result of Big Oil marketing departments.

 

List available here.

http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html

 

My bad. Didn't remember it being on there. And as mentioned on here, a lot has to do with the individual station.

 

I would assume it is similar to Sam's Club gas, which is garbage.

 

Thats no good. So basically the reason its dirt cheap (compared to the others) is because its not up to par (compared to the others) ? I guess its time to scout out the cheaper shell stations near by.