Why so much for gas?

[Eastender]

Just a little gripe!------Because I'm so cream crackered after the flight, & gas is so cheap compared with ours, I don't bother querying the price dollar on airport charge for a tank of gas when renting a car - about $37 even for a mid size. This seems compulsory. It costs about half that at most to actually fill it. In this country, do they say "the tank is full sir, that'll be £80 for petrol"?
And of course it usually goes back a quarter full. I just seem to remember some years ago that they charged a more realistic price but then you had the choice of bringing it back full & not paying.

 

[vernon]

As with a lot of things in the US, things are done to make you're life simpler, but you pay for the service. I agree it does seem the service charge for getting your gas tank full and having the facility to return it empty has increased a little but I guess it's priced at a level that the "market" will bear. You are usually given the option that you can return the car with a full tank of gas. In normal circumstances this would be the option I would take, but on my recent trip I flew in and out of Miami and it isn't an area I am familiar with. As many people do in that situation, I'm sure, I went with the slightly more costly, but easy option of not having to worry about finding a gas station late at night in an area I don't know.

It's a useful point to bring up though, I'm sure your post will remind people that there are cheaper options than taking the car with a full tank and returning it with as little as you can manage ( I try to drive around with the windows open and the A/C on full blast to use up as much as possible on the last day )

 

[Olaf]

Most Americans never pay the rental company for the gas. The price is ridiculous. We always fill up just prior to returning the car.