MA Viber suffers from bad gas

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joatmon
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MA Viber suffers from bad gas

Post by joatmon »

http://www.tauntongazette.com/...rfi=6Quote » Customer: Station added water to gasBy: CHARLES WINOKOOR, Business Writer09/28/2005RAYNHAM - An independent gas station on Route 138 has closed down after at least one customer said it resorted to adding its own special fuel additive: Water.The Raynham United station at 593 Broadway stopped selling gas shortly before noon yesterday after a local woman who had just gassed up couldn't get her car to start again.Erica Rotondo of Taunton said it was 11 a.m. when her 2004 Pontiac Vibe briefly vibrated, and then conked out for good - right after she finished pumping in $15 worth of gas.Rotondo, 22, said the station manager, a man in his 20s, told her the station had been having problems with water in its gas supply during the past two weeks, and that a company representative was on the way to test for water contamination.But shortly before noon the alleged manager had locked up and left, leaving her to wait until 2:30 p.m. for a AAA tow to her Pontiac dealership in East Providence.Before that, while she and the 10-month-old baby girl she was baby-sitting waited, she said witnessed two other customers buy gas and manage to drive back onto Route 138."I couldn't believe he (the station attendant) let them go after buying gas," Rotondo said."I hope they stay closed," she added.Rotondo's compact SUV spent the night at the Pontiac dealership. The estimate she got was a minimum of $500 to have the tank drained and engine fixed.Raynham United is listed as being owned by C.K. Smith of Worcester, a company that owns and operates independent gas stations throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire.Calls to the company were not returned.Rotondo's experience was not an isolated incident. Taunton resident Linda Swain said she spent $50 on gas for her Jeep Cherokee early Saturday morning."It was $2.81 a gallon - I was happy to get it," Swain said.She made it as far as a nearby Dunkin' Donuts, which also happens to be located next to an Exxon gas station, before stalling out.After three hours at the Exxon station her car was towed back to her house where one of her sons, a mechanic, worked on it to no avail. She then had it towed to Big Al's Nappa Auto Care Center where on Monday it was discovered water was the culprit."He told me the gas in my tank was full of contaminants," said Swain.The cost to drain and flush the tank was $130, but she was told her engine could also be damaged as a result.Swain, 58, had gotten an early start Saturday to drive to Tufts New England Medical Center in Boston to pick up her husband, Mike, who had recently undergone quadruple bypass surgery.She said when she went back to the station Monday to complain the teenage girl attendant on duty said her car had been the sixth that afternoon to stall out after getting gas.Swain said the girl told her she had seen one customer's car come to a stop right on busy Route 138. Finally, she apparently had had enough."She said, 'I don't want to do this anymore ... and began to warn people," said Swain.But, unfortunately, Swain said, the girl's candor went largely unappreciated and some of those potential customers peeled out in anger, creating sparks in the process."Please call the fire department - I'm scared,'" the girl said, according to Swain.cwinokoor@tauntongazette.com©The Taunton Gazette 2005
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gargoyle
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Re: MA Viber suffers from bad gas (joatmon)

Post by gargoyle »

Hmmm... "a compact SUV"... I like the sound of that much better than a staion wagon or minivan.Ok, back on topic... is there some sort of regulatory agency that monitors gas quality? I'm sure it has to meet certain requirements. She should follow up and sue for damages if the gas has been altered or doesn't meet requirements.
binary
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Post by binary »

Hrm, that sucks. Most, if not all, the major stations have coverage for damage done if you can prove it was their gas.Weighs and Measures will verify your pumps are accurate for quantity... but as for quality, not sure.What's really scary is if water can get into the tanks, gas can get out.
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ColonelPanic
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Re: MA Viber suffers from bad gas (gargoyle)

Post by ColonelPanic »

Quote, originally posted by gargoyle »Hmmm... "a compact SUV"... I like the sound of that much better than a staion wagon or minivan.I thought the opposite... IT'S A STATION WAGON! (removed)! Anywho, I wonder if the gas was intentionally tampered with, or was it just issues with the tanks or equipment at the station? I can belive either, and to think that someone would water down their gas, that wouldn't surprise me. Since the prices of gas have gone through the roof, I'm having a bit of a problem finding good quality fuel anymore. The same stations that used to have halfway decent gas now seem to be hit or miss. Sometimes the car does fine, runs decent and respectable mileage, but runs like crap on the next tanks and it's a miracle to get out of the mid 20 MPG range. Seems to be that way with a variety of different brands, I usually don't fill up at the same place two times in a row. It's almost like they're adding something to the gas so they can get more money by selling less gas.
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northvibe
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Post by northvibe »

only 15$ worth of gas? that wouldnt affect starting would it? unless maybe the previous tank she had was bad too?? OR the water from the tank she just pumped since its heavier than gas went almost to the engine....but i think it would start first from the gas already in the lines.
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Re: MA Viber suffers from bad gas (joatmon)

Post by LUVROK »

CK Smith They used to deliver my heating oil until one day they left a fill ticket with 60 extra gallons hand written on the ticket. The driver also added a note claiming he forgot to start the ticker. I wouldn't pay and they threatened to hurt my credit. A quick call to the MA dpt of consumer affairs fixed those meat heads. I'll have to find a list of gas stations they deliver to, or better yet just start going to name brand stations..if they even use name brand fuel.
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joatmon
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Post by joatmon »

apparently TN Vibers can have bad gas too http://www.dicksonherald.com/a...30405Quote »Red traffic lights sent little waves of panic through Becky Timmons for a few days in 2005.Would the engine of her brand-new Pontiac Vibe, recently racked by tremors and coughing fits, die in idle? Would it restart?The Green Hills resident is convinced her temporary performance problems — which started minutes after fueling up — were caused by tainted gas....
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Vibr8tr
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Re: (joatmon)

Post by Vibr8tr »

Maybe she was running on "E" to begin with, and could only afford $15...Either way, who pays for those repairs? Would the gas station, or the gas company, or the insurance company, or is it just bad luck and the driver's stuck paying?
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Whelan
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Re: (Vibr8tr)

Post by Whelan »

Unfortunately water in gas works the same way as if it was sucked up through an cai or the like. You can cause piston, ring, rod, and cam damage very easily. Ever seen a bent rod blown apart on a cameshaft due to water. Not a pretty sight.
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TraySeeLea
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Re: MA Viber suffers from bad gas (gargoyle)

Post by TraySeeLea »

Quote, originally posted by gargoyle »Hmmm... "a compact SUV"... I like the sound of that much better than a staion wagon or minivan.Ok, back on topic... is there some sort of regulatory agency that monitors gas quality? I'm sure it has to meet certain requirements. She should follow up and sue for damages if the gas has been altered or doesn't meet requirements. vibes are classified as "sports wagons"living in NY I know that sometimes the Native American Reservations are also a place in which there are not regulations on gas....but who doesn't like going there to avoid the imposed NY tax?!I don't live near any reservations, but when i would go to my undergraduate college in Fredonia, the Seneca resevation was right there.....so if I was driving through sometimes I'd pull of the thruway and get some...but it was a sketchy area.
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