HEFTY PRICE FOR PUMPING ‘BAD’ GAS
JUPITER FARMS — Debby Hodig thought it was unusual that the gas flowed sluggishly through a pump at the Jupiter Farms Mobil station.
It was around 11:15 p.m. on June 30. Neither Hodig nor her wife, Lynda Foster, realized the gas tank in their 7-month-old Land Rover was pushing toward “E,” and they had just picked up their friend’s dog to watch for 11 days. They wouldn’t make it back home to Port St. Lucie without stopping at the 10050 W. Indiantown Road station.
“When I put the premium gas in there, it was really, really, really slow. I was getting frustrated,” Hodig said.
Five gallons later, she stopped pumping and drove off.
A mile later, their new car died.
Two tow trucks and two days later, they found out that water in their gas had caused the breakdown. The bill? $1,280.
Hodig is one of 17 unassuming people who had pumped tainted gas into their cars and have now filed claims with the gas station’s insurance company.
The claims had initially been denied because the claims adjuster with North Atlantic Risk Services did not think the gas station was at fault, said Ronnie Michaels, maintenance manager at Jupiter Farms Mobil. She said the gas was delivered by SouthGate Trucking.
“I’m really upset about it because it’s just not right,” she said of the claims not being fulfilled.
Jay Seewald, who heads Spanish River Services LLC, the company that owns the gas station, said the bad gas was an “isolated event.” On Wednesday, Seewald said the insurance company is “reconsidering their stance” and reopened the claim after input from an outside adjuster.
“We want to get it resolved as soon as we can,” he said.
Nate Miskulin, owner of All Hooked Up Towing, said he received calls from people who needed a lift at the gas station, from five miles down the road and even after some had reached home.
Local mechanics say consumers don’t know they have pumped bad gas until it’s too late.
“There’s no real way to know as a consumer when you’re buying the gas,” said David Okun, owner of Car Care of Jupiter.
It’s even difficult to diagnose the problem. Okun said that if your car breaks down after getting gas, it’s best to tell the mechanic first so they can take a fuel sample.
In the best-case scenario, the gas can be flushed from the tank and replaced with new fuel. That’ll run a couple hundred dollars for someone with a regular car. If water gets into diesel fuel, “everything has got to be replaced,” Okun said.
Water in gas changes the octane rating, said Dave Taylor, shop manager at Li Donni Auto Services. That means the fuel isn’t as powerful.
Okun and Taylor say there are a number of ways that water can get into gas. Ethanol, an ingredient in gasoline, attracts water, so it’s likely that the more ethanol is mixed into the fuel, the more water there could be. If the underground tanks are old, condensation could build up or water could leak in.
“Whoever gets the bad luck, gets the bad luck,” Okun said.
Southgate Trucking did not return phone calls seeking comment about the incident.
As the insurance companies for the station and the trucking company work to figure out who is at fault, Hodig is still awaiting her reimbursement.