1st Time Driver - Fuel?

[Gareth& Hayley]

Hi All,

We are leaving on the 30th for 2 weeks in Florida, staying on IDrive.

We have taken a last minute decision to book a hire car to get the maximum amount of flexibility when on our holiday. The hotel does offer free shuttle buses but based on (often conflicting) advice we have made the decision to hire a car.

I have some really silly questions so please excuse me

1. When I need fuel how will I know if I need to pay before or after I fill up?
2. If I need to pay before I fill up how do i know how much to pay?
3. Any tips????

 

[Dimplenose]

We paid cash for our fuel and therefore needed to prepay. There was a sticker on the pump and the pump just sat there with a message not allowing us to get fuel until we paid. As we'd prepaid for a tank of fuel we didn't full up each time but bought it in $10 or even £5 amounts. First time I asked "Can I have 4 gallons of regular on pump 6 please?" but soon found out all they needed was "$10 for pump 6."

That gave us about quarter of a tank - I guess it will vary depending on the vehicle.

 

[doverfox]

gareth and haley
the should be signs if not they have tannoys and will tell you
the is a lever you have to move before the pump works as well
and depends how much your putting in but they give you change. we normall stick $10-$15 in but we always take the insurance with the tank of fuel so dont want to leave too much in the tank when we take it back.
dave rachel and the girls

 

[orangetiggs]

we always pput between 10 and 15 in as well, took us ages to figure we had to prepay the first time we got a car!

The pump normally shuts off when you get to your limit as well which is handy

 

[Lizzybear]

The vast majority of US gas stations require you to prepay so just assume you'll always have to in Orlando (anywhere touristy it's pretty much a given!) and you'll be fine I normally use my card for fuel but the few times i've used cash and paid too much I just went back in and got my change.

 

[Gareth& Hayley]

Thank you all!! I've just downloaded the TOM TOM maps for the area which I think will really help! Been busy reading up all I can on driving out there!!

 

[barry7767]

Just a point re using credit card - if using pay at pump method it usually asks for a zip code, well it does me anyway! Obviously we don't have one - simply go in store and pre-pay with card as you would with cash. In terms of how much - $20 is giving us the best part of 3/4's of a tank (we are here at the moment) when guage is low, so unless driving further afeild this should suffice.