Save Money on Gas and Auto Repair - By Not Topping Off At the Pump!

As rising gas prices seem to show no sign of letting up any time soon, you could actually be your own worst enemy, adding fuel to the fire, by overfilling your tank!

Have you ever found yourself at the gas pump trying to fill your gas tank up with an unreasonable amount of fuel? Have you ever thought, "If I can just squeeze 25 more cents into this tank I will not have to fill up for another ¼ of a mile"?

The truth is, there are many risks, and factors to take into consideration, when overfilling your tank. The parts of your fuel system that are supposed to be soaking in gas 24-7 are designed and formulated to do their job for years. But the parts that aren't supposed to soak in it - things like your fuel filler tube or the rubber seal where the filler meets the chassis - can suffer from continual saturation.

Those things were not made to be soaked in fuel on a continual basis, and if one of those parts is damaged, you could be shelling out some serious cash in auto-repair bills.

We have been told for years, that if we don't fill - up, we will leave more air space for the gas to evaporate. With that in mind, ignorantly people will top off their tanks, sometimes causing more damage than good.

I actually have a friend who can never seem to fill his tank, without somehow wasting it on his hands, clothes, or shoes. So, while he thinks that he is saving money by topping off, he is actually wasting gasoline, harming his clothes, and possibly even damaging his vehicle.

And if you are one of these "save the earth" types, think about all the pollution from the wasted fumes floating up into the atmosphere when it is spewing from your tank. Gasoline vapors contribute to bad ozone days and are a source of toxic air pollutants such as benzene.

Vapor recovery systems on gasoline pumps are designed to prevent vapors from escaping into the air. Continuing to pump gas after the automatic shutoff can damage this system, and result in gasoline spills.

The bottom line is this. When you are at the pump and the nozzle clicks, causing the pump to stop, hang it up. Anything more that you decide to squeeze in is not even going into your tank, causing you to pay for pollution and possible future auto repair!