This station is near OIA/MCO. He sucks the $$ out of the tourist returning rental cars. It has made the local news several times for the outlandish price that is charged. Only thing I wonder are you the person in the photo that they ran in the Orlando paper? At $3.59 the station owner still proclaims to be cheaper than if you let the rental company fill the tank.

Bob, you do know don't you that ggasoline prices at stations next to intersate highways are often significantly higher than at stations a few miles off the road?

I'm sure the State of Florida knows all about that station considering the fact that per gallon pumped they get more state tax revenue from it than the stations nearby.

So if I move out to the sidewalk and put up a table and a sign saying "lemonade --$35 per glass" that means I'm ripping off the silly fools who stop and buy it?

Here in Belgium we pay 5,7 $ per gallon(US).Arent you guys lucky!!!!!!!Paul

From the American Heritage dictionary:

"A product or service that is overpriced or of poor quality."

From Wikipedia:

"A ripoff (or rip-off) is a bad deal. Usually it refers to an incident in which a person pays too much for something. A ripoff is distinguished from a scam in that a scam involves wrongdoing such as fraud; a ripoff, on the other hand, is in the eye of the beholder."

From Cambridge dictionary:

"to cheat (someone) by charging them too much money
We got ripped off buying our new car."


Yes, it's still a RIPOFF! Whether lemonade at $35 or gas at 50% more than the place down the street. I still feel bad for this guy, and it could be me or you, given the circumstances. Returning a rental car before a flight is different than driving your neighborhood looking to fill up your tank, or buy a cold drink.

Y'all, I've done this before. Probably at the very same gas station...and YEARS ago. There has always been a very high priced gas station right off the Beeline before the airport.

ALL of us know to get gas before you get to the last exit before the airport. ALL of us know that gas will be cheaper a mile away. MANY of us run out of time, our meeting runs late or we just forget and buy expensive gas at the last gas station before the airport. Orlando. LAX. East Bumblewad. What's the big deal?

He noticed the price as he started pumping gas. He could have stopped pumping and gone elsewhere. He didn't. Time is money. Location, location, location. All the cliches.

Getoverit!

Yes, the place is a rip off. But not a scam. Would a savy traveler buy gas there...no.

Is a $3 coke in a restaurant a rip off? Probably not. Why not? Don't ask me.

Be a savy traveler. Realize gas right near the airport will be expensive.

Bob hasn't come back to this post (and who can blame him?), but I think the responses show that the tone of the original post would have made more sense if it had been in along the lines of "Be careful to check the prices before you fill up near an airport". After all, that was the real problem, rather than suggesting alerting the state of Florida that some stations charge more than others. Florida government departments aren't necessarily very bright, but they at least do know that!

The only time I allowed myself to be ripped off by gas for a rental car was when I drove a rental car from Boca Raton to Miami airport for a 6:00 AM flight. The rental return area at MIA is so creepy that I would have paid any amount not to have to stand by my car and refuel at 4:30 AM when the bar/strip club across the street was letting out.

Joan, I think the $6.00 a gallon price that Budget refefred to was if you did not take the auto fill up option.

I returned a car to Philadelphia Budget today and had the return empty / auto fill up option, and its $2.27 a gallon. Which is cheaper than the area gas station prices.

I'm curious why you chose that option Queenie. You prepaid Budget for a full tank of gas at $2.27 per gallon. Let's assume the tank holds 20 gal - you prepaid them $45.40. There is no way to return a car with an absolutely empty tank. If you left 5 gal in the tank, you paid $45 for 15 gal, or $3.00/gal.

Out of curiousity, I checked one time when I rented the same kind of car I rent at home. At the counter they told me the capacity was 22gal, and the most I've ever been able to put into my own, same vehicle was 18gal - even when the needle was well below E, so even if I drove the car to that point I'd be giving them 4 gal free.

The rental car companies know this is a sure bet money making scheme - it will never take as much gas for them to fill it up to the F mark as you've already paid them for.

I paid $36.92 for the tank of gas according to the contract.

It may not have been the most economnical, but I had a 7 am flight and since it was the Army / Navy game in Philly yesterday the closest room I could get to the airport was a 45 minute drive away. I was not interested in trying to buy gas in the dark at 5:30 in the morning.

Whether I take this option depends on the time of my flight, and the weather. And I always take this option if I am renting a car for work. its just so much easier.

BTW, I drove 444 miles on that tank of gas, so I am satisfied.

"There is no way to return a car with an absolutely empty tank."

Don't bet on that. I still laugh at our rental in Dublin, Ireland, where you are supposed to return the car empty. We were running low on gas and planned to stop to buy just a bit so we wouldn't run out on the way to return it, but then we weren't finding any stations. Suddenly we were at the return place, and the car literally stopped as we drove in the drive. We coasted to the door, and I put it in park.

I'm really surprized at the comments but I should have made this just a public service announcement. Evidently a few consumers have noticed it too. I evidently offended some by titling it "Rip Off". I believe Florida is looking into it. I know that buyers should be aware but I was running a little late. The folks at the car rental agency agreed that the price was way high. I had been using this same convenience/gasoline station for years and had not noticed the pricing being out of line on previous trips. Maybe with some training and following the advice of some of you helpful individuals on this site I too can become a sensible seasoned traveler. Anyway, hopefully other travelers will be aware of this particular convenience/gasoline station across the highway from Thrifty and Hertz rental car agencies at the Orlando airport. BS