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dirtbikr
Junior Nomad
Posts: 72
Registered: 11-1-2011
Location: sacramento
Member Is Offline
Mood: start slow....then taper off!
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pemex lessons I have learned
Most every trip to baja I learn things not to do next time I fill the tank. 1. Always watch them reset the pump, 2. If paying in dollars, what is the
exhange rate, I have been told 10 to 1, 11 to 1 on the same day within eyesight of two different stations. when paying in dollars they will give you
pesos in change at their advantage, so I usually just tell them an amout so there shouldnt be change if I can. One time I had a friendly guy
distracting me, talking talking talking, while the guy to my back was somehow changing the pump, they tried to charge me 10 more liters than my truck
tank could hold and my tank was on a quarter full when I came in! Then after they washed my windows I felt the need to tip. After I made my stink they
changed their minds as to the amount to charge. Just be aware and observant. On the plus side I have had some of the best tamales I have ever had by a
family in a worn out datsun station wagons ice chest.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
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I wish Mexico would just quit taking dollars. It would be so much more peaceful down here without all the distrust and wasted caution.
It has nothing to do with your ordeal, DB. I'm just making an observation from all of the past turmoil the exchange has caused.
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sanquintinsince73
Super Nomad
Posts: 1495
Registered: 6-8-2010
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by dirtbikr
Most every trip to baja I learn things not to do next time I fill the tank. 1. Always watch them reset the pump, 2. If paying in dollars, what is the
exhange rate, I have been told 10 to 1, 11 to 1 on the same day within eyesight of two different stations. when paying in dollars they will give you
pesos in change at their advantage, so I usually just tell them an amout so there shouldnt be change if I can. One time I had a friendly guy
distracting me, talking talking talking, while the guy to my back was somehow changing the pump, they tried to charge me 10 more liters than my truck
tank could hold and my tank was on a quarter full when I came in! Then after they washed my windows I felt the need to tip. After I made my stink they
changed their minds as to the amount to charge. Just be aware and observant. On the plus side I have had some of the best tamales I have ever had by a
family in a worn out datsun station wagons ice chest. |
Also, make sure that they don't steal your gas cap....they do that in TJ alot and then re-sell them. If you get motor oil make sure it is a new
container. What they do is save all of the old containers, drain them into one and sell it as new with different types of oil. Many times you are just
getting a half-full container.
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: optimistic
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My rules:
(1) Ck that pump meter is set to zero, then keep your eyes on it
(2) pay in pesos only
(3) take your own motor oil to Baja & put it in yourself.
The rest is too hard to figure out, so I don't bother.
Barry
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Barry A.
The rest is too hard to figure out, so I don't bother.
Barry |
You mean like how they get six gallons of gas in a five gallon container?
That's a tough one, for sure. 
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: optimistic
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by Barry A.
The rest is too hard to figure out, so I don't bother.
Barry |
You mean like how they get six gallons of gas in a five gallon container?
That's a tough one, for sure. |
It is when I don't have a "5 gallon" container with me, which I usually don't unless they are full and part of my "reserve".   
Barry
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rhintransit
Super Nomad
Posts: 1588
Registered: 9-4-2006
Location: Loreto
Member Is Offline
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if you have a choice of stations where you live, watch where the locals go. there's always a line at the (more honest measure) one.
reality\'s never been of much use out here...
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
Member Is Offline
Mood: Optimistic
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I have always trusted the pumps at the highway Pemex south of Mulege to be off a certain, accepted amount...but on Nov 8th for the first time since
the station opened, I was short-changed quite a lot of cash in a dollar/peso transaction for 1900 pesos on the pump. My bad for having only dollars
at the time, but it happens.
What goes around comes around....and usually hits a solid object and gets flattened.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4848
Registered: 9-27-2006
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Pompano
I have always trusted the pumps at the highway Pemex south of Mulege to be off a certain, accepted amount...but on Nov 8th for the first time since
the station opened, I was short-changed quite a lot of cash in a dollar/peso transaction for 1900 pesos on the pump. My bad for having only dollars
at the time, but it happens.
What goes around comes around....and usually hits a solid object and gets flattened. |
How is the one in town, assuming you can maneuver in a very tight lot?
(Come to think of it, it has been loaded with locals most every time I have looked. I think I answered my own question.)
[Edited on 11-15-2011 by tripledigitken]
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Pompano
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8194
Registered: 11-14-2004
Location: Bay of Conception and Up North
Member Is Offline
Mood: Optimistic
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It's okay and convenient to shopping downtown...and I fill the Jeep there...just NO diesel for my Cummins, or I would fill that too. I trust the
attendant there, also. Never had a similar problem in town.
I do what the voices in my tackle box tell me.
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Bajahowodd
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9274
Registered: 12-15-2008
Location: Disneyland Adjacent and anywhere in Baja
Member Is Offline
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Having fueled both at the Pemex in town, and the one South, I cannot recall anytime when I thought I got screwed.
That said, it seems to me that the tales of yesteryear about massive fraud at the pumps, had been put behind.
Just a guess on my behalf, but since there has been such a proliferation of Pemex stations, all franchised, and mostly designed to make their money on
sales inside a convenience store, current alleged fraud is more likely driven by the desperation of folks who are living a a couple of dollars a day.
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elfbrewery
Nomad
Posts: 348
Registered: 12-25-2006
Member Is Offline
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Our experiences have gone from bad to worse to perfect fill. You just can't count on one station to always give you a "proper" fill. One year we had
a great fill at Villa Jesus Maria, and then the next year we got hit for a 30% loss (Easter time). However, in areas that have a large Mexican/Gringo
ratio, you can find better fills. We have stopped at a PEMEX in Ensenada each year on our way North and received a good fill each time. But we won't
count on it next year...
And believe me, there are more scams than you can be prepared for.
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
Member Is Offline
Mood: Full Time Residents
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this summer i ONLY had dollars and the attendent mis-unterstood me
it was a saturday and the bank was closed
they were going to give me credit for 2000 pesos until monday
when we talked again... they easily changed the dollars for pesos
but gave me too much change
i gave it back to be "even"
....i think this gas station in Mulege trys to be honest and takes care of its customers...
sometimes mistakes happen...even the other way
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bob and Susan
sometimes mistakes happen...even the other way |
They do. I had an attendant in one of the Maneadero stations chase my car down the road once to give me my change that I forgot. I thought that was
pretty cool.
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Ateo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5917
Registered: 7-18-2011
Member Is Offline
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Does anyone know if Mexico has a Dept. of Weights and Measures? Seems like someone would be checking the dispensing amounts from time to time. The
owner would want to also to make sure they're not giving away any extra gas.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by ateo
Does anyone know if Mexico has a Dept. of Weights and Measures? Seems like someone would be checking the dispensing amounts from time to time. The
owner would want to also to make sure they're not giving away any extra gas. |
Yes. They do, but they don't seem to be very efficient, besides, they probably have their price.
They also have PROFECO who will act on your complaint if you can prove it.
The egregious offenders would rather pay the fine than change their ways anyway. Just like the bar owners who still allow smoking.
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Ateo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 5917
Registered: 7-18-2011
Member Is Offline
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Yeah Dennis, I forgot about most agencies in Mexico "having their price". 
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bajagrouper
Senior Nomad
Posts: 964
Registered: 8-28-2003
Location: Rincon de Guayabitos, Nayarit, Mexico
Member Is Offline
Mood: happy and retired
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pemex ripoffs
I like the one where you give the attendant a 500 peso note, the guy doing the windows distracts you and the attendant shows you a 50 peso note and
tells you thats what you gave him.........
I hear the whales song
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twogringos
Nomad
Posts: 184
Registered: 1-7-2007
Location: Bahia Asuncion/Color-Country
Member Is Offline
Mood: I feel more like I do now than I ever have before
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The station south of Viscaino still takes a 20% premium at the pump, same as two years ago.
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Bajahowodd
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9274
Registered: 12-15-2008
Location: Disneyland Adjacent and anywhere in Baja
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by twogringos
The station south of Viscaino still takes a 20% premium at the pump, same as two years ago. |
Just wonder how it is, after so many posted complaints about that station, anyone would still patronize it?
Have to admit to recently stopping there so one of our group could use the potty. Inside the bare office sat four guys playing cards. No store. No
nothing.
At the entrance to the restrooms was a table upon which was a roll of TP and a tip jar.
And, there was a sign on the front door that stated the restrooms were for customers only.
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