Well, yesterday I did something I never thought I would do. I was filling up in the Valley (L.A.), and my 8 year old son was driving me crazy with questions, opening the door etc...I was so distracted that I forgot to remove the gas pump. As I drove away, I heard a weird noise (flat tire?), and a guy waving at me...I stopped and noticed the hose sticking out of my gas tank. I only drove about 20 feet. It appears (it was a chevron) that this hose snapped clean off and there was some type of breakaway joint so as not to damage the pump. The hose was in perfect shape, as was the handle. I tried to reattach the hose, and even though there didn't seem to be any damage to the mechanism, it wouldn't latch together. The owner claims that he needs to buy an entirely new hose, and it will cost north of $1200! He can't just reattach it, according to CA law. I gave him my info, and told him I would pay for it myself...with a $1000 deductible on my auto insurance, it's not worth going through it. In the meantime, I've been searching the internet and it seems this is a pretty frequent occurance. Not only that, but often the gas station absorbs the cost themselves. And the cost to reattach the hose should be anwhere from 100-500, max. A friend of mine, who also owns a gas station, confirmed this. Any suggestions on how I should proceed? I don't want to get ripped off, but also don't want to get into a legal battle. Thanks.
You should call your insurance company -- this is your liability policy not your collision coverage .. no deductible .... most companies don't even rate things under $500.00 ... They will know all about this and how it should be taken care of.
All fuel pumps have a breakaway, which prevents you from tearing the whole pump put of the ground, and from fuel being pumped out now that there is no longer a shut off valve at the end (the nozzle). They are right, can't be reattached when it is broken.
Normally (for example) if you cause damage in a retail store- you're expected to pay for the damage. Why should the gas station be expected to pay for the damage you caused? If they don't ask you to pay for the damage (maybe their insurance will pick up the cost) that's good for you- but I'd fully expect to have to reimburse them in any case. Our local utility company now charges drivers if they damage one of their "telephone" poles.
I work for an insurance Co. That would fall under property damage but more than likely if filed through your insurance it would be considered a claim/accident.
Been there, done that! It was many years ago. Lucky for me, nobody noticed, so I just put it back near the pump and left. Pretty stupid. But I believe I could have just put it back together.
It would be nice to see the cars that use gasoline take a lesson from EVs. Don't let the car out of park if it is 'plugged in'. Ny_rob, the OP wasn't suggesting not paying, just that he pay the appropriate amount and not double the cost. Personally I applaud him for stepping up and doing the right thing.
Find and call gas station repair/maintance companies and get a quote on fixing it and bring them back to the station.
I'd laugh, but honestly this could happen to anybody, even though it's rare. Just yesterday my daughter pointed out to me that the nectarines don't go in the freezer. I was unpacking the groceries and if she hadn't mentioned it we'd now have frozen nectarines. As mentioned, find some gas station repair place, or even find another gas station owner. If he's asking $1200 and the cost is $100-500 obviously you need not pay that. Ask him who he uses to fix these things and maybe they can give a better number (unless they are in cahoots and trying to screw you over).
Sorry to hear you made that mistake Hope your Prius survived without too much damage. One safety feature all vehicles should have is a interlock switch on the gas filler door so the vehicle will not go into gear with the fuel filler door open/unlatched. Get it all repaired, call it a day and you definitely get the pie in the face award this week Mike
i work for a oil co. our hoses have breakaways,we just put a new breakaway on.no need to replace the whole hose!!!
