Do others pay $0.75 for air for your tires?

[Zywiec]

One of my car tires was running a little low on air. I went to several gas stations looking for air, but everyone of them required that I pay 75 cents for about 15 seconds of air. Is this something exclusively in the DC area, or all over the country?

[Squatch]

1. Any way to separate you from your money...

[notadmblnd]

2. they usually charge.25 at service stations in Michigan

but I have an air compressor, so it's not often I pay for air.

[michreject]

46. Wow. I live in Michigan as well

And every gas station I go to, air is .75.

[notadmblnd]

51. maybe they've raised th price since I last checked?

I don't know where you are but demographically, I'm about 30 minutes north of Detroit. Like I said last I checked it was a quarter. doesn't seem right, 75 cents. I can vacuum my entire car at the car wash for that much.

[michreject]

57. North Oakland County

I have and air compressor too, but in the winter, it's easier going to a gas station.

[notadmblnd]

58. Hi neighbor

:hi:

[michreject]

59. Hey!!..... .......nt

[AlCzervik]

3. most places here air is still free--how weird does that sound? Anyhow i l know of

a few places right near the highway that do charge $1 for the privilege though.

[BrotherBuzz]

35. California kinda sorta has mandated free air - but often you have to ask for it

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/99-00/bill/asm/ab_0501-0550/ab_531_bill_19990930_chaptered.html

Free Air, Water at California Gas Stations

Several cities in California made news when they mandated "no-surcharge" ATM's, laws which were later challenged by Federal banking authorities. The outcome of those challenges is still up in the air.

The California state legislature enacted a similar Free Air & Water Law mandating air and water at no charge for service station customers. This time, there's no legal challenge, but the law contains an annoying loophole. It might be expected that service station trade groups would object to California's plan to cut off the income they've been earning by selling air and water, justifying their position by the high cost of maintaining the coin-operated devices that would now have to be paid for by higher gasoline prices. Without a coin box to be vandalized, these costs might drop way down.

But few station operators are thinking along those lines. Instead, they're taking advantage of the hole in the law that allows them to charge people who aren't buying gas. (Yes, you are entitled to free air if you buy 5¢ of gas.) Additionally, many stations are increasing the fee for those who do pay from 25¢ to 50¢.

Those who object to this law on the grounds that it's telling people how to run their business are overlooking (or at least not bothering to mention their objections to) the numerous regulations that any business needs to comply with: zoning, environmental, and signage regulations would apply most everywhere. Localities may also limit the number of pumps in a gas station, based on the lot size and other considerations. Mandating free air is certainly no more onerous than many of these other rules.

Without this new law, stations that might want to provide free air and water would likely be burdened with numerous motorists buying gas at other stations, while crowding those stations offering free air. But with every station having free air and water, there would be no reason for this to occur.

Meanwhile, you never know whether you'll need gas when it's time to pump up your tires. So remember to ask for your "free air" tokens every time you gas up.

[Buzz Clik]

4. You're getting screwed.

The only place I have to pay is at a convenience store that also sells gase. Any true gas station that has a mechanic on duty will have a compressor working full time, and you can tap into that air for free.

Under the worst of circumstances, I had to pay $0.50 for ten minutes; in other words, 50 cents for all the time I needed to check and fill all four tires.

[shain from kane]

19. Did you check your spare?

[Buzz Clik]

30. Dad? Is that you?

Hell yes, I checked my spare. Even though it was 15 degrees outside, I still had time to adjust the pressure on the four regular tires on the car and to check the pressure on the donut in the trunk.

[Zywiec]

38. LOL... I had a Dad like that too!

[recoveringrepublican]

5. The one I use is free for customers

I have been to other places that charge anywhere from $0.25-$1.00. My main gas station is free though.

[Pawel K]

6. We used to get free air here everywhere, now it costs around 50 cents for about 5 minutes or so

Not really breaking the bank but that is an interesting trend.

[DS1]

7. I buy a .50 bag of chips or a small drink, then ask to get the air turned on

and it's a lot more than 15 seconds, I've picked up the hose after someone else was done and checked all 4 of my tires

[Zywiec]

8. Maybe I need to look around a little more

but when your tire is pretty low, you're subjected to being ripped off.

[AndyA]

9. Some gas stations here charge .25 for air, but it runs for a couple of minutes.

At some convenience stores, it's free. And according to an investigative report by one of the local news stations, the gas at this chain of convenience stores is better quality than most of the national brands.

They tested for octane, ingredients that keep your fuel tank, fuel lines, injectors, etc., clean, and found that the convenience store brand was much better overall than the big oil company gas. I have no idea where they buy their gas, but I can tell a difference in my cars between it and one of the big national brands.

My cars run much better on the convenience store gasoline.

[iamthebandfanman]

10. they charge 50 cents here

but usually if you go inside n tell them u need air they will turn it on for free

[taterguy]

11. I never use gas station pumps to fill my tires

I just use my foot pump to make sure that I don't over-inflate them. That's one of many many advantages to using a bicycle for transportation.

[DS1]

13. Did you mention you ride a bike to work?

:-)

[Solo_in_MD]

12. I can't recall seeing a free air hose at a service station in years

Normally there is a place off to the side where you insert quarters and a mini pump will run for 60 seconds or so.

Since so few gas stations are service stations these days, this is not surprising. Your typical 7-11/Gas Station would have no reason to have an air compressor.

[KansDem]

14. Remember, they're not called "service stations" any more...

I did "buy air" once in a pinch, but normally I keep a tire pump on hand for regular maintenance. I really irks me that we used to drive our car into a "service station" and not only have our gas pumped, but the oil, water, and air checked and serviced if necessary (of course, oil carried a purchase price, but water and air were free).

Now you have some clerk wearing the corporate polo shirt sitting behind a bullet-proof screen who's only job is to take money and make change. You have to "pre-pay" because the gas companies don't trust you, you have to pump your own gas, you have to check your own oil and water, and you have to check your own air and pay for the air if you need to put some in your tires.

The "mini mart" concept is overblown; the food and snacks are lousy and unhealthy and cost more than I would expect to pay if I were buying lousy, unhealthy food and snacks.

[Jim Warren]

15. Pick up a mini auto compressor

They plug into the dash of yout car. I've seen them new for $20 or I got one at a yard sale for $5. Works great and you can keep tires optimally inflated for good gas mileage.

[TX-RAT]

24. Yep, i have one in every vehicle.

[Frank Cannon]

44. Absolutely. I have one in every car.

They take a little longer to get the job done, but they work. And you don't have to pay the gas station's exorbitant rates, you always have air when you need it, and you become very popular with your coworkers when they have a low tire and need some help.

[tyedyeto]

16. 50 cents here

Recently though I had a slow leak and needed some air. I did not have 2 quarters, so went inside to get one for 2 dimes and a nickel. The attendant then turned the air on from inside and I didn't have to pay for it. Worked for me! :thumbsup:

[gatorboy]

17. The machine here in Arkansas are 75¢

But considering they're broken half the time, they're not really that much help. Luckily, there's a station close to the in-laws that provides- get this- FREE air!

[slackmaster]

18. Gas stations are required by law to provide air free to anyone who buys gasoline here (CA)

It's state law in California. No minimum purchase, you just have to buy some.

[BrotherBuzz]

39. True, but many stations still have the vending machines and you have to ask for the token

Exercise your rights and demand the token every time you purchase gasoline! Oh, my twelve-year-old son discovered the tokens work at family fun centers ;).

[Zywiec]

20. I think that's a great idea.

If you purchase gas they should provide some minimal level of service such as gas. Thanks.

[IChing]

27. Fill your tires with Nitrogen if you can.

Nitrogen molecules are bigger than air molecules, so they leak out more slowly and tires stay inflated longer. This inert gas, which makes up 78 percent of the atmosphere, has been used for years to inflate high-performance tires on race cars, military vehicles, giant earth-moving equipment, even the space shuttle." It is possible to buy a pump that filters nitrogen from the air, and some businesses like Costco and America's Tires have started filling the tires of their customers with nitrogen at no extra charge over a year ago.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/10/inflate_your_ti.php

[Blue_Tires]

49. excellent idea

[rurallib]

21. Got a battery powered small compressor in my trunk

Had flat tires before. This little thing gives me enough air to at least find a place to get the leak fixed.

[TX-RAT]

28. My new one puts out 2 cubic ft per minute.

I can air up all 4 tires in about 10 minutes. Plus it has a working pressure of 140 psi.

[Norquist Nemesis]

22. It's 50 cents around here (Chicago burbs)

The one station that as of last year still had it free is almost always out of service. And when it is 'working', it barely has enough pressure to fill anything bigger than a bicycle tire.

It seems the people who are plotting them down on station properties must be making a killing on these things, too. Whenever there's a problem, the best the station employees can do is say they'll put in a call for service to the company that owns the pump. They can't/don't/won't give refunds after it swallows up the quarters but won't work.

I get the impression that the station owners get a few dollars for offering customers the privilege of paying for air, and the company shares the profits with them.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

32. I'm starting to see .75 in NW subs. There's a Jewel with gas near me that offers free air. They >

Have a sign that tells customers that they're on the honor system and if they damage the pump or the hose, no more free air. I see the hose is almost always neatly & safely hung when I stop by.

[porphyrian]

23. You're not paying for the air, you're paying for the machine and power to pump it...

...at least, that's the rationale for taking money from people who need to inflate their tires. I've noticed that most of the places that charge for air have damaged or destroyed air gauges anyway, so I've just looked around off the beaten path and have always found free air somewhere. That wasn't in DC, though.

[DefenseLawyer]

29. If it costs $0.75

to power an air pump for two minutes, I am in the wrong business. Someone can correct me if I am wrong but I would guess the electricity to run that pump costs a couple of cents at best. Of course it is a shame that we don't have any laws in this country against price gouging.

[porphyrian]

36. Try to buy water or ice after a hurricane - same thing.

The laws are there, but half of them aren't enforced until someone connected is affected personally.

[Kingshakabobo]

55. What about vandalism and theft?

The pump at my neighborhood station is constantly out of order.........it's usually due to a sliced air hose. File that one under: "lowest common denominator"

[DrDan]

25. same here is Florida

get a small air compressor . . . pays for itself in no time if you have several cars or bicycles

plus many other uses

[TreasonousBastard]

26. It's annoying, but most of the gas-only stations I've seen...

in the Northeast have those pay-for-air pumps. Around here, Hess stations are the only ones who still have free air.

If there's a repair shop on premises, increasingly a rarity, a compressor is always running and they usually let you fill a tire.

Coupla cans of Fix-A-Flat and one of those cheap compressors in the trunk is a good idea.

[Buzz Clik]

31. Shell stations here have free air.

BP has gone the convenience story/gas station route with no mechanics. Ditto for Speedway and Marathon.

[iverglas]

33. never heard of it in Canada

Had new snow tires installed defectively last fall, and I've been filling one up regularly until I get around to going back to the repair place. Never ever heard of a charge for air!

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

62. Maybe Canadian stations SHOULD charge for air

Then you'd get off your * and get that tire fixed!!
:rofl:

(is it still snowing up there?)

[iverglas]

64. ah, the invisible hand of the marketplace

snork

I only drive about once every two weeks, so I may have exaggerated the number of times I've had to fill the thing. ;) And that's why I'm not going to bother changing the tires to something else for the summer. These will last longer than the '94 Mazda van they're on, I expect.

It may be snowing somewhere way up there, but in my garden the tulips and violets and periwinkle are in bloom, the lilac is about to be, and the ferns are two feet high. The perfect time, all neat and green and orderly, before it all goes to overgrown wrack and ruin ...

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

66. Ok, I understand the economics of it and all that

but still, there's something wrong with your tire, and it could "let loose" at a most inopportune time with dire consequences.

We'll want you to outlast the tire and the 94 Mazda.

Ah, springtime in Canada. Those three weeks after the snow melts and before the mosquitos come out.

[iverglas]

67. ah, I was being too dry

I thought your suggestion was cute. I'm just lazy enough that I'd pay the 5 bucks every time, if that were the price, though. Make it 10, and I might think about it.

(edit -- oh, and I didn't mean I wasn't actually going to get it fixed -- I'm going to demand that it be fixed, not at my expense! I just meant I'm going to keep the snow tires on for the summer. I'm just not a proper Canadian; never had snow tires before, and never plan to get into this seasonal tire-changing business.)

But too true; I shouldn't be driving with a deflating tire, if only in the public interest. I already went through uncontrolled acceleration twice last year; google that, and you'll find that it's all in the head of irresponsible drivers who just want to blame someone else for their own stupidity/dishonesty, especially if they're women, who everyone knows can't tell their gas pedal from their brake pedal. Believe me, it isn't imaginary, and it's horrific. Happened to me the first time in no traffic on a wide city street, managed to turn off, throw it out of drive and stop. Seemed like some weird fluke, and was okay when I started up again. Then some time later it happened as I was merging into expressway traffic from an on-ramp in driving rain. Bizarrely, my then kinda balding tires probably saved me; when I threw it into neutral or park or reverse or whatever I instinctively chose without having had time to plan for the occasion, I spun 180 degrees on the wet road and when I opened my eyes I was facing backwards, 3 inches from and parallel to the concrete barrier along the side of the ramp just before it merged into the main lanes, instead of hitting the barrier broadside at about 50 mph as I had been about to do. Anyhow, 500 bucks and much insisting to the mechanics that this was a real genuine true and serious problem and telling them what the causes might be, and I have a very clean throttle plate and a few new bits and pieces, and it hasn't happened again

I made up a joke once, and then years later I found it on the internet. I know nobody stole it from me, it just wasn't that brilliant to start with. And real economists did it better.

How many economists does it take to change a lightbulb?
None. They all went for a beer and let the invisible hand take care of it.

[hashibabba]

34. I think they're still $.50 in Manassas/Woodbridge. Also, there

are still some places that give you the air for free.

[donco]

37. Most of the ones around here are free(St.Louis)

,but the ones close too the Interstate charge $.50.

[catmandu57]

40. Here air is free, down the road in stinktown however,

Everywhere you go there's those nasty coin ops doling out air, it usedto be .25, now it's .50 but i can see the jack coming.

[One_Life_To_Give]

41. Depends where you stop

Some have a main garage compressor and usually this is free to use.
Some have an air pump installed just for customers. This can be free to all, free to those buying gas or charge 50cents.

[Canuckistanian]

42. I pay 50c. Half goes to a children's hospital.

CHEO, if any eastern Ontarians are here.

[bikebloke]

43. Kids on bikes

What do they charge the nieghborhood kids when they come by on their bikes to fill their tires? Or do kids still do that?

[taterguy]

53. It's a really bad idea to use gas station pumps for bike tires

The pumps are designed for car tires, which are much larger than bike tires. It's very easy to overinflate a bike tire that way and explode it, which I've learned the hard way.

[bikebloke]

56. I was always careful

But that was back when hardly anyone had a bicycle pump. And if one kid blew up a tire, the rest learned.

[uppityperson]

45. Feed store has free air here, and you get to look at baby chicks, ducklings too.

every where else charges some amount, except Les Schwab tire store which will fill for free, even if not their tires.

[rucky]

47. Just ask the clerk to turn it on for you. n/t

[in_cog_ni_to]

48. HELL NO! I bought a tiny little home compressor for $60 years ago and use that.

It works GREAT. It has a gauge on it, different types of valve adapters and works on everything that ever needs air...rafts, tires, balls and BALLOONS for parties!

This is the brand I have and mine is almost exactly like this only it's blue...I bought it years ago. If they're now charging for AIR????^%$#@!! It may be worth your investment! It's $60.00 and MUCH MORE convenient to do it at home. It takes me maybe 10 minutes to air my tires...


http://www.shop.com/op/~120V_Air_Compressor_Inflator-prod-6219570-8904146?sourceid=298

[devilgrrl]

50. We have that here in Los Angeles...

the gas station I normally use will give free air to customers but if all you need is air - you have to pay 50¢.

[HeeBGBz]

52. Nope. That way here in Mississippi

Paid $.75 last week and I barely got air in all four tires before it shut off.

[flvegan]

54. I'm another with a mini-compressor in the car. I've helped a lot of

other folks in a jam, too. Made me real popular at work.

[Blue_In_AK]

60. No, it's free here. n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

61. Had to pay the same in Washington State.

That was some years ago. The price has probably gone up.

[bleedingheart]

63. I pay around $0.50 or more depending on the station

typically it ranges from 0.50 to 1.00

however I am not complaining because there are a lot of gas stations that have no air ...and that sucks...

[ThomWV]

65. Paid $0.75 in West Virginia last week. It used to be a Quarter.

Not all that long ago.

[Solon]

68. The only gas station I go to for air has a compressor with a button on it...

You push the button and have about a couple of minutes to fill up or check tires. There is no "cutoff" switch inside the CFM, you simply don't pay, you don't even have to leave the vicinity of your car, you just drive up, push a button, fill up a tire, and leave. If you run out of time, you hit the button again and it simply just starts up.

[high density]

69. 15 seconds??

You can't even put in the quarters and make it back to the tire in that amount of time.

[Thothmes]

70. Sears use to sell a good hand air pump for $4.00

[Redstone]

71. A $13.00 compressor that you keep in your trunk will solve that problem.

Redstone