BajaNomad - Last US gas station near tecate?

Last US gas station near tecate?

mrfatboy - 5-8-2008 at 01:12 PM

I'm going to Canon de Guadalupe in a couple of weeks. I have not been thru Tecate in years. Where is the best place to fill up with gas before crossing into Tecate?

vandenberg - 5-8-2008 at 01:18 PM

Sounds like you're asking for a station on the US side. :?:

Since gas is cheaper on the Tecate side, it makes more sense to fill up there.
There's a new station on hwy 3, just south of the Mexicali-Tijuana toll road. Easy to get in and out and a lot of pumps.

tripledigitken - 5-8-2008 at 01:20 PM

There is one on the left side of the road (rt188) about 1/4 mile north of the border crossing.

But I have to ask with gas prices in Tecate about $1.40 per gal less why fill up with US gas?

:?:

Ken

Did not mean to tag team you. Vandenberg got his response in sooner than mine.

[Edited on 5-8-2008 by tripledigitken]

mrfatboy - 5-8-2008 at 01:43 PM

I guess I didn't really think of it. But thinking of it now I bet Pemex does not take VISA/Mastercard :lol:

I assume they would take US dollars but I usually don't carry cash.

I also take it by your answers that the pemex gas quality is fine to put in our cars?

tripledigitken - 5-8-2008 at 01:54 PM

Don't have to worry about the quality of the fuel. I have run it in my street fuel injected motorcycles as well as cars and trucks with not one problem. Just take enough cash to fill it going down and when you head home.

Please post a trip report i'm sure many here would like to know how the campground has recovered from the recent fire.

Ken

mrfatboy - 5-8-2008 at 01:58 PM

I hope the campground recovered also. I knew nothing about the fire when I booked it. I just happened to find out when I was researching it on the web.

I have been looking forward to this trip for awhile. I hope I won't be disapointed.

mtgoat666 - 5-8-2008 at 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mrfatboy
I guess I didn't really think of it. But thinking of it now I bet Pemex does not take VISA/Mastercard :lol:

I assume they would take US dollars but I usually don't carry cash.

I also take it by your answers that the pemex gas quality is fine to put in our cars?

gasoline is better in Mexico because it's cheaper. why would you think it is poor quality? it is probably refined in US and imported to Mexico. Pemex is a major modern oil company, and probably has quality control equal to or better than BP/ARCO (certainly has better worker safety record than BP/ARCO).
take cash, you'll find that small stores and small restaurants and rural places generally don't take credit cards. you can also get pesos from ATMs.

DENNIS - 5-8-2008 at 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mtgoat666

Pemex is a major modern oil company, and probably has quality control equal to or better than BP/ARCO (certainly has better worker safety record than BP/ARCO).

Actually, Pemex is an archaic joke. They haven't put a peso into oil field maintenance or technology since they expropriated the industry from the Yanks and Brits. All profits have been stolen one way or another. The new stations popping up everywhere are franchises paid for by private investors. What the government should do with Pemex is sell it to somebody who knows how to run a business instead of treating it like a piggy bank.

mtgoat666 - 5-8-2008 at 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by mtgoat666

Pemex is a major modern oil company, and probably has quality control equal to or better than BP/ARCO (certainly has better worker safety record than BP/ARCO).

maybe, maybe not; but that has nothing to do with whether gasoline meets specs for any normal auto.

Udo - 5-8-2008 at 03:25 PM

Ey, mister fatboy,
I take the Tecate exit from Baja about every three weeks. If you are going to cross into Tecate from the US side, it is a gorgeous ride. If you feel safer filling up in the US, there is a convenience store just about 300 yards north of the border, however, I always fill up in Ensenada, and if I have to in Tecate. Ensenada gas is about 15 cents a gallon less than Tecate. There is also a Pemex station in Valle De Guadalupe (the wine country...RUTA DE VINO). The reason gas is more expensive at the border is to keep us gringos from driving down there just to fill up, and that move was OK'd by the Mexican oil Feds.
Once you crossed into Mexico, turn right at the first traffic light. The gas station is on the right.

DENNIS - 5-8-2008 at 04:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mtgoat666
maybe, maybe not; but that has nothing to do with whether gasoline meets specs for any normal auto.

Agreed. I have no problem with the gas and haven't since they got rid of Nova.

bajamigo - 5-8-2008 at 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by mtgoat666
maybe, maybe not; but that has nothing to do with whether gasoline meets specs for any normal auto.

Agreed. I have no problem with the gas and haven't since they got rid of Nova.

It's probably refined in San Diego anyway.

DENNIS - 5-8-2008 at 05:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajamigo

It's probably refined in San Diego anyway.

If the Padres dont start winning a few games, they can turn the new ball park into a refinery.

TonyC - 5-8-2008 at 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by bajamigo

It's probably refined in San Diego anyway.

If the Padres dont start winning a few games, they can turn the new ball park into a refinery.

Dennis, then I can get a transfer to San Diego, and have a few Pacificos in Ensenada during my weekends with. Easier than planning a ride down from the Bay Area.

David K - 5-9-2008 at 07:06 AM

Yes, gas is cheaper in Tecate... but the station is a few blocks to the west of the park (you are heading east for Guadalupe Canyon) on the free route to Tijuana. The new station is a mile or more to the south on the Ensenada route... HOWEVER, there is a Pemex at LA RUMOROSA on the west end of town... along your route of travel. Take the VALLECITOS exit if you are on the toll highway and go south to the free road and turn left... the Pemex is on your left... Continue through town and rejoin the toll road where the free road ends into it before the long grade down.

Other than the gas pumps just before entering Mexico in Tecate , CA, there are ARCO and 7-11 gas pumps a few miles out on Hwy. 94 where it is a 2 lane road... Delzura?

Nope, it's JAMUL... just past the big fruit stand (thanks DENNIS)!

[Edited on 5-9-2008 by David K]

TMW - 5-9-2008 at 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mrfatboy
I guess I didn't really think of it. But thinking of it now I bet Pemex does not take VISA/Mastercard :lol:

I assume they would take US dollars but I usually don't carry cash.

I also take it by your answers that the pemex gas quality is fine to put in our cars?

Several Pemex stations are now taking Visa and Mastercard. Trinidad, Ensenada and San Quintin. We used master card. The gas in Baja Norte is refined by Shell in CA or has been unless they switched.

David K - 5-9-2008 at 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mrfatboy
I hope the campground recovered also. I knew nothing about the fire when I booked it. I just happened to find out when I was researching it on the web.

I have been looking forward to this trip for awhile. I hope I won't be disapointed.

Here is my Guadalupe Canyon/ La Vibora Canyon Petros trip report (with many photos) from last January: http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=29358

cpg - 5-9-2008 at 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS

Quote:

Originally posted by mtgoat666

Pemex is a major modern oil company, and probably has quality control equal to or better than BP/ARCO (certainly has better worker safety record than BP/ARCO).

I have problems 2 times with a fuel injected vehicle on Pemex. Truck wanted to stall at Idle. 2 out of about 20 fillups.

DENNIS - 5-9-2008 at 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
Other than the gas pumps just before entering Mexico in Tecate , CA, there are ARCO and 7-11 gas pumps a few miles out on Hwy. 94 where it is a 2 lane road... Delzura?

Jamul.....

David K - 5-9-2008 at 07:55 AM

My Toyota trucks from 2000- today, fuel injected, thousands of Baja miles, hundreds of gallons of Pemex, have NEVER had a mechanical problem from fuel (or anything else!).

Bad gas or bad luck (or bad truck)... who knows? It could happen anywhere. What will you do if you go south more than what your tank of U.S. gas can hold... Baja is so worth taking a chance on their gas!

rob - 5-9-2008 at 01:40 PM

TW: The gas in Baja Norte is refined by Shell in CA or has been unless they switched.

Then what is that refinery in Ensenada?

DENNIS - 5-9-2008 at 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rob
TW: The gas in Baja Norte is refined by Shell in CA or has been unless they switched.

Then what is that refinery in Ensenada?

You may be seeing the power plant in action. Pemex has a "tank farm" for gas storage in Rosarito. I don't think there's a refinery or, have I missed it.

Woops...Thought I read Rosarito. Well, Pemex has a tank farm in Ensenada as well. No refinery.

[Edited on 5-9-2008 by DENNIS]

[Edited on 5-9-2008 by DENNIS]

TMW - 5-9-2008 at 03:07 PM

According to the Ministry of Energy, Mexico in 2006 there were six refineries all on the mainland. Salamanca, Tula, Salina Cruz, Cadereyta, Madero and Minatitlan. Maybe the Ensenada plant is storage or LPG? Check the following site for info.

www.rrc.state.tx.us/commissioners/carrillo/mexico/2007/prese...

[Edited on 5-9-2008 by TW]

HotSchott - 5-10-2008 at 06:42 AM

I think there is a new Pemex under construction at the East end of Tecate just before the toll road. It looked like a gas station last time we went through about four weeks ago. It is on the right side headed east past the cement plant, but before the toll road.