Do you hate fuelling your car?

[Time40]

I'm quite surprised by the number of MNers who say they absolutely hate filling up their cars. It seems to be high on the list of most-detested tasks. Those of you who hate it - do you know why you hate it? Do you also hate washing your cars, or doing other car-care jobs?

I like filling my car up - I have no idea why I like it, though. I'm not all that wild about washing cars, but I don't hate doing it - it's one of the less awful chores, even though it's a chore.

There is...
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/102600/new-on-demand-fuel-service-will-fill-up-your-car-at-home

i hate it when the pump is on the wrong side and i have to pull the pump over, gives me fear

It doesn't magically jump to the other side. You parked the car to the wrong side of the pump! Still, the vast majority of hoses will reach around a car easily that has been parked on the wrong side.

dh put the air in my tyres recently, now that gives me the fear

What could possibly go wrong!

one of the garages has a huge grid next to the cars, i live in fear i will drop my keys down it

Hate it so much!

i know where i park, i am not stupid!
the vast majority stretch, but my local ones are a struggle, although i am more confident now someone told me where to park and bring it round the back of the car

I too don't understand why people are so hung up about it. My mum couldn't bring herself to refuel, even though she always used the car the most - my dad did it every weekend. When I was a driving instructor, I used to get the learners to do it.

The only thing I find satisfying is if I manage to do it at the lowest-priced garage I can find, usually a supermarket one. If I'm forced to do it elsewhere, I only put in a small amount. I make a point of not vastly detouring to a cheaper one, as that defeats the object.

I hate it, feels like a weirdly high pressure environment:

Choosing the right pump to queue at
Getting close enough to the pump to make it reach easily
Not being able to open fuel tank
Putting the right fuel in
Having a debacle about pay at pump or pay at cashier
Concern about accidentally spraying fuel over oneself, the car or other patrons
Not trusting the pump to gauge when the tank is full and either under filling or (worse) overfilling the tank with spillage of fuel
Mobile phone accidentally malfunctioning and setting entire forecourt ablaze
Taking too long and getting dirty looks from other patrons
Not trusting myself to tell the cashier the right pump and checking pump several times on route to payment.
Filling the tank and then my card not working to pay
Accidentally driving off without paying
When parked behind another car refuelling, being indecisive about waiting for them to finish and drive off or attempting to manoeuvre around them
Driving off forecourt without hitting the person putting air in tires
Ad Infinitum

@RockyHillsidesofMadagascar Don't forget all the risks associated with driving instead, which are probably much greater than those in your list, but you don't even think about them most of the time. 🙂 I know what you mean, though, especially at a busy time.

I once witnessed something which reminded me of those adverts which end in "have a break, have a Kit-Kat". My big Sainsbury's, with twenty pumps, had a policy of asking customers to confirm the amount, as well as which pump. The cashier was interrogating a tourist about this, who didn't understand the question, and eventually retorted "can I just pay?!" Then the cashier moved on to her next question:

"Do you have a Nectar card?"

Have a break, have a Kit-Kat.

I refuse to use the pump on the wrong side of my vehicle. Ever since I snapped the flap in half because I didn't quite get the tension on the hose right (ooh matron), I stick to my own side!

@fatoaf not all cards are accepted at pay at pump. American express is not and I have to go to the kiosk to pay

Mobile phone accidentally malfunctioning and setting entire forecourt ablaze

Just out of interest, how regularly does this happen to you?!

Don't you remember those laminated signs they used to have at petrol stations about The Dangers of Mobile Phones and Petrol Fumes, with the account of a guy who had his mobile in his trouser pocket and it rang while he was refuelling and it caused an explosion "in his groin area"? 😱

I wonder what happened to this particular very specific health and safety concern.

Oh, yes, I remember them very well!

You just made it sound like it was a regular occurrence fir you personally!!

Crikey!

Weird that anyone would hate filling a car with fuel, it’s such a mundane thing to have such strong feelings about. The biggest frustration for me is having to wait for super unleaded pumps at stations where there aren’t many.

@Shade17 is that a stealth brag that you have a flash enough car that requires super unleaded??

Joking...

I am in my late 30s yet still relish jobs that I always thought looked very grown up as a child, like filling up the car and doing the big shop. So yes, I love filling up the car (as long as the bloody petrol station is both open and actually has working pumps as we're rural). It just makes me think 'yippeeee, I'm an adult! I'm freeeeeee!'

You know it’s not only flash cars that require super unleaded, right?

I live overseas and we can order fuel via an app and a small truck turns up and fills your car. They deliver 24/7 and you can schedule it on a recurring basis so I get mine filled every Sunday evening at 7pm so I start the week with a fuel tank. You can add-on services like car washing, tyre checks/inflation etc. It's a game changer!

@Borracha can you tell me where you live as I plan to move there.

Our battered but reliable 24yo Golf has to have it - otherwise parts of the engine start to fail and we end up with huge mechanic bills to put it right.

The days of super unleaded only being for people with Ferraris who want to burn it down the motorway are long gone. E10 petrol is one of the biggest government scams going - even if your car can cope with it, you're still getting 'watered down' (bulked out) petrol - but it seems to have flown almost completely under the radar.

It's an eternal marketing favourite: downgrade the standard product and then re-introduce the old standard product as a 'premium/super/power' product at a considerably higher price.

Same!