[libranof1987]

I generally look for big (by area) petrol pumps where there are quite a few private vehicles lined up.
An adjecent food court/refreshment facilities are the clincher.

Also, I generally pay by credit card so ask for card payment facility first.

Have not come across Shell on highways though. Shell is hardly "present" up north; as is Essar.

About Reliance : what exactly is the status on those pumps? because, I see some Reliance functioning while many just covered up.

[sriturl]

Originally Posted by gavinimurthy

Did reliance re open their bunks? I still find them closed in most cities of AP.

Murthy

Some of them are opening up.
On the Bang-Hyd highway, the ones near Gooty have opened, and they accept credit cards as well.

[comfortablynumb]

After resetting the dispenser to 0, if the operators set the amount for which you need fuel too (rather than just setting 0 and filling till that amount), without being specifically asked to, there's a good chance that they don't do any hanky panky while filling up, and that the fuel quality at that pump is good.

Disclaimer: This is just an observation that I've made after filling up at different pumps in my city. Please don't hang me if you know of / find exceptions to this norm!

Cheers,
Vikram

[blorebuddy]

I did not find IOC COCO bumps being superior in quality. May be they are contracted to third party as it is mentioned by others.

I prefer Reliance which I can believe for better quantity and quality compared to PSU OMCs.

With in cities as others said where there is a big queue and lot of vehicles rushing in.
Example: HP Pump, City service station in JP Nagar which has lot of vehicles all the time. There is one IBP few metres away (near delmia signal) which does not have any customers

[GTO]

In an unknown town, a sureshot way of finding the most reliable fuel pump is to go where the locals fill up! Ask around, locals are ever ready to help. "Herd mentality" is not a bad strategy here...and on national highways too.

[Champion]

Talking about bunks mates, there's one incident that comes to my mind when I was in India last month. I was on my way to Chennai through the Trichirapalli-Chennai highway when I was running short of fuel on my Swift VDI. We missed filling up at Trichirapalli city and it was about 10pm and drizzling when we spotted a Reliance Bunk, about 60-70Kms off Trichirapalli that is. The bunk was big, had restrooms, a restaurant and surprisinlgy a book shop too. We couldn't resist getting in since we thought we could take some rest, fuel and refreshments. BUT BUT, there wasn't one vehicle refueling, which we thought was queer. But since it was late in the night, and since it was the highway, we thought it should be obvious why. I stopped the vehicle where it read diesel and out of an odd feeling I told the attendant to fill for Rs.500. The guy started pumping fuel and my cousin, driver and I were watching him do that. The meter was kind of slow and we were getting impatient. Just out of curiosity I turned to see the price of the fuel and it read Rs.57 and odd. By then the meter had reached Rs.467 and odd. I asked my cousin how come its so costly and he replied that it could be a special one. This attendant fellow heard us but didn't respond to this. But I was apprehensive and feared the worst. When the attendant finished I asked him what he had filled, and he casually said "PETROL SAAR"!

My whole body went berserk with sweat and I thought thats the end of the game for my Swifty. I started thinking that I wouldn't be able to claim a warranty if in case of a mishap. Incidentally though I had switched off the engine while I was getting ready to refuel (which I normally don't). I didn't know what to do. My cousin called up the Maruti guys and they were like "Sir you should bring it back to the dealership at Trichirapalli tomorrow". He asked them how and they said tow the vehicle but never start it under any pretext. I went wild. This bunk was out of no-where with a couple of shops in the opposite. We couldn't possibly stay here. I went to the bunk manager and complained. He was a retired person from some government service and understood the gravity of the situation. Well educated and for once I was thankful I was meeting a responsible person in this scenario. He promised he would be helpful and that I should get about getting the petrol out of the tank first. By this time my cousin got across the road and got some MyTVS guy to come over and check. He came about with his assistant and siad that it wasn't a problem, if we could get the petrol out, then it should be fine. The solution is fine but how do we go about it, I ask and he's blank. By this time my cousin had called the Maruti guys and found out that there is a fuel hose in the bonnet which supplies fuel to the engine. We should be able to get the petrol out through that and we set about doing it. I sat around smiling to myself, thankful to God that it isn't any worse.

A Maruti guy came around at 11pm to help us out. Hats off Maruti. He guided us to get the petrol out, refuel the tank with Diesel, first 5 litres flushed out and then another 5 litre flushed out. He pulled out the fuel hose, switched on the ignition and the fuel splurted out. He did this numerous times until there wasn't any fuel. But he did warn that no matter how much we flush out, there would be a residual fuel of a litre or so. He advised we should fill diesel to the brim. The tank's holding capacity is 45 Litres and we filled 44 litres. The Maruti technician said that it shouldn't be problem from now on. He switched on the vehicle and accelerated for sometime and said we should be fine from now. I heaved a big sigh of relief (though I was apprehensive) and we paid for the filled fuel and left. The bunk manager was kind enough to forego payment for the petrol and deducted the diesel price for the amount of fuel that was already present before the re-fuel. We thanked him and left and until the time we reached Chennai, nothing happened. MY SWIFTY's SAVED!

Some really odd experience there. Subsequently the following week I put a Diesel sticker on the fuel cap. I am contemplating if I should do the same with my Innova as I know I would be in big trouble if the above happens with a Toyota. Kudos to Maruti and their technician.

Cheers
Champion

[khoj]

Originally Posted by Champion

I went to the bunk manager and complained. He was a retired person from some government service and understood the gravity of the situation. Well educated and for once I was thankful I was meeting a responsible person in this scenario. He promised he would be helpful and that I should get about getting the petrol out of the tank first....

.... The bunk manager was kind enough to forego payment for the petrol and deducted the diesel price for the amount of fuel that was already present before the re-fuel. We thanked him and left and until the time we reached Chennai, nothing happened. MY SWIFTY's SAVED!

The excerpts above from your post give me all the reasons why anyone would go back to that bunk time and again.

Originally Posted by Champion

When the attendant finished I asked him what he had filled, and he casually said "PETROL SAAR"!

OMG. I don't know how the attendent could afford to be so careless.

Generally, while entering the pump itself, the usherer would guide car to the particular pump after ascertaining type of fuel, petrol or diesel. Whenever I fill up my Fiat Linea's tank, after switching off the engine, I go out, stand near the fuel tank and instruct the attendent 'Ordinary petrol - auto stop'. Of course, my Linea's fuel lid has the sticker that says, 'PETROL'. We have to be vigilant to avoid all these dangers lurking in the petrol pumps.

[libranof1987]

I thinka a major reason for this is the fact that quite a few cars these days come both petrol and diesel variants.

I remember during the initial few months of Indica diesel coming up, the pump attendants first asked which fuel and then guided to a refuelling station.

Mentioning "Petrol/Diesel" on the tank lid looks bad; though that is one eye sore one would have to bear to avoid the wrong fuel being filled!

[Sheel]

I have ordered two sets of stickers reading "Petrol" and "Diesel".

I have gone through the ordeal which Champion has (the commuter Car which I have and not in my hands, but the chauffeur, thanks to weddings).

Hope the stickers are of help.

[shatrughna]

Less confusion in cars like Mahindra Scorpio, Bolero, Skoda etc.
I guess cars like Swift , Logan etc which has good number of diesel as well as petrol version on the road, must be pretty confusion for the type of fuel required and I hope attendants as well as owners make sure the type of fuel before filling.

In skoda, I also find that the type of nozzle required is also an important thing to look for at a fuel pump. A larger sized nozzle fits well for truck tanks but not skoda's and its painfully timetaking exercise at pumps which are meant for only trucks. Scorpio's have no issue with bigger or leaner nozzles.

[Neilguy]

But aren't petrol car's fuel tank (filler) openings smaller than diesel ones for the very same reason so that diesel can't be filled accidentally into it.

Link: Differences_in_fuel_dispensers

Motorists occasionally pump gasoline into a diesel car by accident. The converse is almost impossible because diesel pumps have a large nozzle with a diameter of 15⁄16 inches (23.8 mm) which does not fit the 13⁄16-inch (20.6 mm) filler, and the nozzles are protected by a lock mechanism or a lift-able flap.

One less thing petrol car owners have to worry about and Diesel car owners need to be more careful about.

[khoj]

Originally Posted by Neilguy

But aren't petrol car's fuel tank (filler) openings smaller than diesel ones for the very same reason so that diesel can't be filled accidentally into it.

That is the general practice internationally but not a rule here. I believe since there is no legal compulsion this coupled with our weak consumer laws, allows Maruti to save money by offering the same tank with common sized filler tubes in both the Petrol and Diesel versions

[mithun]

Originally Posted by arunkk

If its a company owned, it will be displayed in some huge hoarding which cannot be missed.

Not in 75% of the cases.

[stanjohn123]

This maybe funny but i generally tend to follow my nose in this issue. I usually just try to sniff for stronger petrol odor few steps around a particular bunk. The bunk that has the strongest petrol odor is the winner. I generally found speed petrol bunks better than the indian oil ones in this regard.