MyExWifeIsAWhore.com

Those you who know me personally know that I loathe Walmart at any time of the day, especially at night.  I don’t know who is responsible for this, but his site is absolutely brilliant.  I’m sure you’ll agree:

http://peopleofwalmart.com

Generally, I don’t post the “funny of the day” type stuff.  There’s about a million websites that cover that kind of thing.  However, this one actually had me laughing out loud, so I felt compelled to share it with you:

OK, I’ve been getting non-stop text messages for 3 days since I posted this update on my Facebook page.

The verdict is in. watered down fuel. can you name a gas station that has been turned in to the fl dept of agriculture? I can!”

So, here’s the whole story:

Saturday night (Aug 8th) I stopped at a Chevron gas station on my way to the bar to see the MMA fight.  I filled up with 93 octane, and headed down the road.  I made it about 2 miles before the car started fighting me and stalling out.  I was able to get her into the bar’s parking lot (those of you who know me personally know the bar) and into a parking spot far enough away from everything as to not be in the way.

After the fight, it was decided that driving the car home had the high potential of doing more damage than good, so I set the alarm and got a ride home.

Sunday morning, thanks to my friends at the bike shop and the Nissan dealership, Skitch (the car) was towed to the dealership for an early Monday look-0ver.  Assumingly, I could fix the problem myself if I could get them to tell me what codes were being thrown.

First, the techs at Nissan had a difficult time figuring out what was wrong and did a number of tests including pulling spark plugs, fuel injectors, the fuel rail, and coils.

Finally, it occurs to me that I had just filled up the tank before the issues started so I called the dealership back and asked them to grab a fuel sample and check it out.  I still have the bottle sitting in my garage, it’s about 1/3 unknown fluid and 2/3 fuel.

So, where do we go from here?  A quick Google search shows that the Department of Agriculture is responsible for testing fuels.  So I call the 800 number and set up a visit to the station.

By this time (Tuesday), the car is fixed and ready to be picked up.  After getting the car, I get a call from the Dept of Agriculture guy telling me that he is on his way to the station to test the fuel, and to hold on to my sample as it may be the only example of the contaminated fuel.

I got home around 4pm and got online again.  I contacted Chevron’s corporate customer service dept and they sent me the proper forms to fill out, which I do and include a cover letter asking for a refund of the original fuel price plus the repairs.  I also attached copies of the invoice from Nissan.

Later Tuesday evening, the Dept of Agriculture guy calls me back and verifies that the unknown fluid, is in fact, water.  I learned some intersting facts about how this all works which may help you if you ever find yourself in a similar situation:

1. The dept of agriculture receives these complaints all the time (very often in this county) and 90% of the time the stations aren’t even aware of it. Generally it is because the tanks’ seals leak over time and standing water works its way into them. The calls go up in frequency in the summer because of the rain. Basically, the guy says to avoid any stations that look like they might have non-updated equipment.
2. Although it is the responsibility of the equipment owner (the gas station) to keep their tanks and pumps up-to-spec, there is no legal recourse that the state peruses to punish them for selling contaminated fuel. They are required to submit their findings to the station, and the state, and that is all. 

So, now it’s a waiting game.  Do I think I’ll be reimbersed the ~$650?  So far I have faith, but we’ll see.