New York Car Rentals and Gas Stations in New York

Filling up at the pumps isn't a very joyful experience these days, what with the soaring prices and random shortages. Buying gas in an unfamiliar city can sound even more daunting! That's why we here at Action Car Rentals have put together a page on the different types of gas stations in New York, and the different companies. This page also contains a few helpful tips for gassing up your New York car rental during your trip.

Types of Gas Stations and Different Gas Companies in New York
There a generally two different types of gas stations that you can take your New York rental car to when the gauge drops to the big E: Premium and Discount brands. The premium brand gas stations are most often the internal brands; in New York stations like Exxon, Chevron, Mobil, Texaco and Royal Dutch Shell.

These companies accept cash, Interac and credit cards. These stations are literally everywhere in New York, so you never have to fear running out of gas while driving your New York car rental. Discount gas stations are normally region chains or independently owned stations. Their prices are normally a shade lower than premium stations, but they may or may not accept credit cards. Examples of some of these stations in New York include convenience store chains like 7-Eleven, supermarket chains like Kroger and membership warehouse chains like Sam's Club and Wal-Mart (note that these chains may require special membership to receive discounts).

There are also two different formats of gas stations: The self-serve and the full-serve. At self serve gas stations you are in charge of pumping your own gas into your New York rental car. At full-serve stations an attendant is available to pump your gasoline for you. It is customary to tip the attendant for his services, and note that some of the premium stations will actually jack up the price of fuel at full-serve gasoline stations.

At gas stations in the state of New York customers are allowed to use self-service pumps after paying the attendants in the booth, which is in contrast to many other states.

Helpful Tips for Filling Up

• Make sure your paying the correct amount! Remember the Times 10 rule. If gasoline is priced at $1.50 per gallon you should receive 10 gallons for $15.00, (just move the decimal one to the right). Many of us assume that our pumps are set up correctly, but this isn't always the case.
• Don't top off! Nozzles at gasoline stations are equipped with automatic shut-off valves that will click off when your tank is full. If you continue to fill your tank after this has clicked off you may be blocking the vapor line in the pump causing troubles for the next customer. It is also bad for the environment since spills are quite common during the top off process.
• Remember your receipt! This allows you to validate your purchase information with a credit car bill to ensure that you haven't been over charged.
• Be aware of your car manuals estimations! The manual for your New York rental car has an estimate for the capacity of your vehicles gas tank. Be sure to read this manual and to keep that estimation in mind while you're gassing up. Although this is just an estimation it will help you to gauge how much gasoline will fit into your tank.