Car taking more petrol than the tank capacity?

[lfcjfc]

I filled the car up with petrol yesterday at a garage that I havent been to before. I know the tank was low when I got to the garage but I probably had another 10 miles in it at least. The car has a 60L tank so I was surprised to find that it took 60.9L to fill it - even then, it wasnt quite full to the brim. I have never known this car, no matter how low the tank is, to take over 60L. Should I be a little suspicous of the pump? Who watches these petrol stations - Weights and Measures? At €1.02 per L, you wouldnt want to be short-changed too often.

 

[RainyDay]

Maybe you should drop back to that station with a small petrol can whose capacity you have measured before hand to confirm/deny your suspicions?

 

[DOBBER22]

I filled the car up with petrol yesterday at a garage that I havent been to before. I know the tank was low when I got to the garage but I probably had another 10 miles in it at least. The car has a 60L tank so I was surprised to find that it took 60.9L to fill it - even then, it wasnt quite full to the brim. I have never known this car, no matter how low the tank is, to take over 60L. Should I be a little suspicous of the pump? Who watches these petrol stations - Weights and Measures? At €1.02 per L, you wouldnt want to be short-changed too often.

This sounds very suspect try out Rainydays suggestion and let us know what comes of it could be another listing for Ripoff.ie

 

[zag]

Measuring it with a small container isn't going to work - you can't measure it exactly enough.

I suggest giving the weights & measures people a bell and seeing if they have a complaints/enforcement section.

At first glance you seem to have a good case for a complaint.

z

 

[ajapale]

Legal Metrolgy are the people to contact with respect to this:

[broken link removed]

Legal metrology is that part of metrology relating to activities which result from statutory requirements and generally concern units of measurement, measuring instruments and methods of measurement. Legal metrological activities are carried out by bodies legally designated for such tasks. The Metrology Act, 1996 (No. 27 of 1996) is the principal piece of Irish legislation which regulates metrological activities in particular units of measurement and the use of measuring instruments for the purposes of trade.

Trade measurement is defined in the Metrology Act as meaning ‘any use in connection with or with a view to any contract, bargain, sale, dealing or transaction, the collection of tolls, taxes and duties, or the computation of salaries, wages or allowances which has been or has to be done, sold, delivered, carried or agreed by weight, number or other measure’.

 

[jdf]

I recently put 6.5 litres of diesel into a 5 litre can. I asked the attendant to explain. He said the pump was fine. I told him of course it was it was making money from thin air for them. I measured the capacity of the can my self when I got home and to where the pump dispensed 6.5 litres I measured it as 5.2 litres.

This is an area where I feel garages are making a killing. There is confusion about exactly how big a cars tank is. Most fuel guages in cars don't spell out specifically how many litres are on board. A cars tank capacity is usually known to the owner but that is just the tank. This figure does not include the capacity of the feeder tube to the tank. So in most cases if your car has a 60 litre tank you could get between 60 and 65 litres of fuel in it depending on the capacity of the feeder tube. Add this to the fact that you don't actually see the fuel, nor pay too much attention to the price per litre, ppl, (I do but most don't) and there is room to rip people off on a grand scale.

I've heard garage owners defend their ppl and they go on and on about how tight the margins are. Well hey if you are getting money for 5 to 10 litres that you don't supply at an average price of €1 per litre from most of your customers then I have no sympathy for you.

I know what my brimmed tank figure is and if your pump sells me more than that I don't go back.

Maybe now I'll get receipts and start reporting these places.

I'll wager that every station in this country has pumps that do not sell you an exact litre of fuel.