Buying Gas in France
 

We will be using a rental car through Normandy. Are service stations self-service? Do they have automatic credit card readers as in the U.S. or are Euros required?

Hi P,

Service stations are semi-selfservice.

You pump your gas and then you pay at the kiosk.

The gas pumps will not take your US cc, so make sure that you fill up on Saturday, as the stations aren't staffed on Sunday.

Diesel is "gasoil".
Gasoline is "essence".

((I))

Credit cards are used in gas stations. We tended to use the stations connected with a supermarket as the rates were slightly cheaper than elsewhere (still much higher than you will have been paying in the US though. At these stations you pump and then drive past the booth/walk up the booth depending upon the layout and pay by credit card

You need to use a station that is manned - many stations, when unmanned, have pumps that work only with French (or French-compatible) chip and pin cards. Your US card will not work, and they don't take notes. The only chance of buying fuel then is to ask another French driver for the use his or her card in exchange for cash euro.
There are 24-hour manned stations on autoroutes and in major cities - otherwise the usual opening times are 6 or 7 am to 7 pm, with a possible lunchtime closure around 12 to 2. Some may be shut completely on Sundays.

And remember, gas is something you use to fuel your camping stove or certain types of barbecues. Alternatively it is a contribution made by cows to global warming.

Thank you!

I have found that the best places to buy fuel are the hypermarchés such as Carrefour, Auchan, Casino and Leclerc. The prices are usually significantly below that in service stations, even if they are right across the street from each other. Diesel is usually always more economical, both in price and performance than gasoline, and I always try to get a diesel rental car.

BTW, although "gasoil" is correct, you will usually see it referred to as "gazole". Never, ever mix the two fuels. Maitaitom's hilarious thread on his travels in Italy will tell you why.

We also use gas stations that are associated with some sort of a convenient store. Pump your own and go inside and pay with your credit card.

Remember, the handles on the gas pumps for gas are Green, and for diesel are Black.

I agree, if you can rent a diesel, you will get better mileage and a cheaper price. ((b))

More than 70% of the cars sold in France and Belgium are diesel.

The nozzles for gasoil are slightly bigger than those for petrol, if that may prevent you from inverting the two fuels ...

Petrol in a modern Diesel engine is quite disastrous, it can ruin the (very) expensive common rail injection system, and it will certainly "wash" the fuel pump.

By the way, Diesel is the name of the German engineer who invented the compression ignition engine - no sparkling system. These engine generally run on low-grade fuels, such as gasoil. It is a very common mistake if French to say "Diesel" for "gasoil". Please don't !

There are two grades of gasoline : Sans Plomb (=Unleaded) 98 and Sans Plomb 95. The latter is, I believe, close to the "regular" gasoline in the US. It's cheaper (slightly), but on my car, gets worse mileage.

Major oil companies now offer two grades of gasoil.

I prefer to drive a - manual transmission, of course - car running on gasoline over its Diesel-engined cousin, but it's true that Diesel engines will give you better mileage.