Why do gas stations let us pump up the air in our tires for free instead of charging us for the service?

Why do gas stations let us pump up the air in our tires for free instead of charging us for the service?

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Because even if every gas station in the country unanimously decided to charge for air at the same rate, one gas station would realize that they can earn more business through free air. Thus they all have free air because it costs them very little in the grand scheme of things.

Uh some still charge a quarter where I live

This, most of them require a quarter around here.

Because you'll by gas, drinks, snacks, and lotto tickets at the station with free air. Since you don't own an air pump and have to find a gas station with an air pump.

Seriously, how often does the average person have to put air in their tires though? I doubt those machines even pay for themselves when they charge $.25 per use after the cost of purchasing them, installing them, placing barrier poles in front of them, and maintaining them when they break or get vandalized.

>Not going to QT

I always go there to pump up my tires and air tank.

>Texas
>QT
>free air
What's it like not having freedom

I live in Texas and have a QT a couple miles away from me but I have an air compressor at home and usually just go to the gas station that's 2 blocks from my house for beer, cigarettes, and other shit. The gas station near my house requires a quarter for their tire inflator machine but I never see anyone using it. I never see anyone using the free one at QT for that matter either.

In CA free air is required by law if the station is within 1/8 mile of a freeway.

I have places that'll charge $1 for airing up tires. I know one will turn it on for free if you buy gas from them first. There's a family owned Chevron that has it for free for everyone and I'll buy from them mostly because of that reason.

People are using them constantly here in Canada. The temperature changes here mess with tire pressures and trigger the TPMS. A lot of tires have slow leaks at least in my experience with lightweight car and SUV tires. Most are $0.50 or a $1 so they pay for themselves pretty quickly even when niggers steal the hoses.

Air costs $1.50 where I live.

>at gas station for a few minutes at most a week
>drive by it for a few seconds a week at most
>never sees anyone us it
>conclusion
>no one uses air ever

>not having your own compressor

No need, I have electric tools.

in CA free air and water is the law.

>Go to QT to get air because front tire has a leaking valve stem
>See some faggot in a Dodge Avenger there
>Fills up his tire
>Compressor cuts off
>Turns it on again
>Fills up his tire more
>wat
>Compressor stays on for a few minutes
>It cuts off
>Turns it on AGAIN
>Fills his tire up more
>Drives off

His tire had to have fucking exploded down the road

>not walking up to the cashier and asking for them to turn it on

I live in georgia. I see people at them pretty regularly. Most dudes in trucks airing up their tires for road use.

All of them around here charge a $1.00

And I can see why as often as they get vandalized. Sometimes you have to go 3 or 4 places to find one that hasn't had the hose cut, the fitting stolen, gum in the coin/dollar slots, etc.

You are still paying for your air, just not directly. I'm sure it's factored into either gas prices or snack prices at the gas station. They find a way to make up for it.

Because they can get more people in the door that way.
Why not buy gas at the same station where you get your free air from?

Well of course they'll have to make up the money in other areas, I just don't think the machine itself comes out to a net profit for the stores.

I just buy my gas from the station with the lowest prices that is along my usual route, unless I've gotten shitty fuel from that station before in which case I never go back there.

Only if you purchase fuel, I think. Usually it's 75 cents around here if you don't buy anything else.

you think huh? how about you stop posting conjecture and stick to known facts

Free if you fill up just ask

>implying normie's tires ever see attention outside of a roadside flat or a tireshop

I never noticed, because I pump my own air with my own pump.

Because they're not dicks

>Seriously, how often does the average person have to put air in their tires though?
They should be doing it about once a month. If their car has tire pressure monitoring they'll be on top of that shit just to avoid the light annoying the fuck out of them.

My mom's car has tire pressure monitoring and she's only had to put air in her tires like 3 or 4 times over the past 5 years.

charging for air is Persian store owner tier.

>PAYING for air
LAND OF THE FREE
A
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F
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wtf in texas it's $1 all the time. Never seen it free. But I have 2 compressors.

Store owners are free to charge for their goods and services as they see fit and customers are free to choose whatever store they want to go to for those goods and services.

it's not just air

its pressurized so it gets delivered

>rofl i bet you fagots pay for bottled water to
>you can just drink tap bro

>mfw i am not a homebound neckbeard and occasionally buy bottled water when i exhaust my mobile supply

>its pressurized so it gets delivered
honestly can't tell if bait or just retarded.

they skirt that law where i live by having a coin-op pump that runs on """"""donations""""""

>not having an air compressor
And you call yourself a "car guy"

yep, and the store with the free air by me includes a pressure gauge and actually makes some pretty decent food. Even though there are other stations with air compressors, they charge for it, so I'll go to the free place and usually end up getting a sandwich while I'm there. Charging for air is fucking retarded because all it takes is one station to give it away for free and I'll make the trip to them instead.

I would not think it costs them allot
as the ones I have used do not have a large reserve tank

>they skirt that law where i live by having a coin-op pump that runs on """"""donations""""""
any station that does that shit deserves to have the thing smashed with a brick.

>be australian
>wake up next to your sister
>"ay dahlin fahk moi that was a noice root last noight"
>ride a kangaroo to the shitposting plant
>get stopped by abos
>their faces haven't loaded yet because of high ping
>give them all your petrol anyway
>apologise for invading their country
>say thank you to the traditional owners of the land, the irrawajjialabumbajjiju people
>continue on your way
>shitpost hard on Veeky Forums all day so you can afford to pay your internet bill ($1000 for 0.1bps connection, 3mb data cap)
>go home
>get mugged by abos again
>no petrol this time, give them some of your ping instead
>switch on the tv
>the wallabies lost to new zealand again
>"fahkin no worries m8 she'll be roight I'll just watch the loigue instead"
>the kangaroos lost to new zealand again
>"m-muh cricket"
>3news.co.nz/sport/video-highlights-australia-bowled-out-for-60-england-dominate-day-one-2015080706
>"m-muh afl"
>can't see what's happening, players' mullets blocking the camera
>go to new zealand, steal some pavlova and claim it was yours all along
>cry yourself to sleep muttering "m-muh hdi, m-muh gdp per capita"
>get bitten by spoidah
>die within seconds

They don't have tanks, they're just compressors

they all do it

>They don't have tanks
that is the case with the automatic units where you set the pressure first
but I do not trust how long they take between pumping and pressure checking

the manually operated ones have a reserve tank and a pump handle with a lever and gauge they dependence about 1 psi a second

CAfag that works at a gas station here. I'm told it's free by law, you have to come inside and ask us to turn it on though, but I've seen some with the button on the compressor outside. We have customers using ours pretty often, and I'd say it's pretty even between cars and bikes ( homeless people with bikes more often then not)

>tries 2 hard
>embarasses himself
cringe

Quid pro quo. It's a marketing trick to make people think they owe you something when you give them something first. Customers are more likely to spend money there. And air is almost* free.

*Except for the maintenance cost of replacing broken fittings when some mong won't roll up the hose and then runs over the valve.

It's a fucking copypasta you reddit piece of niggershit you fucking embarassment on mankind kys you fucking nigger nigger nigger

cringe

nigger

nigger

Jokes on you, I have a compressor. I'm just observant.

>all these people even considering paying for air
What? Even if they supposedly charge or they say "no free air" just ask the attendant to turn it on for you.

around here, it's the law. free air with gas purchase

One of my tires has a slow leak so I'm filling my tire at least once a week

>dorm has an own air compressor for pumping up tires
>it's free to use for everyone who passes by
>... BUT it's in the basement next to the loading ramp so you can only pump up your bicycles there (or motorcycles if you're desperate)
Fitness enforcement yo

>take off tire
>roll that shit down
>repeat x3

around here, they charge you, if you don't just go in and ask

you don't even need to fill up to get them to turn it on, just say you're worried about a blow out on your suv, and the cuck behind the counter needed a fucking quarter, imagine the news annoying the shit out of you for month over 25 cents

>and the cuck behind the counter needed a fucking quarter, imagine the news annoying the shit out of you for month over 25 cents
translation please

Why don't you just go get it plugged at a tire shop for $5 or go buy a plug kit and do it yourself?

Look up the term "lost leader".

Something to draw you to the store that you then think "well while I am here I might as well get this and that as well"

I did that once it was a small non franchise gas station. I didn't have coins or a dollar in cash so I went in. The cashier said no even if I bought something from the store. Never went back to that gas station since.

Here in Chicago it costs up to $1.00 for air

Well, the fucking motor that pushes the air into your tires doesn't run on fairy dust and America envy.

At that point you're also getting fit so the purpose has been achieved

i thought the point was a car wouldnt fit near the compressor

>Fitness enforcement yo

And this is the example why people fuck up their tires do often.

They do here. Fucking things are coin-operated.

I can't stand that, so I bought a foot pump.

There are three gas stations in my town that have pumps. One station is also a convenience store and the area near the pump is always filled with cars for people in the store.

The second is right down the street from my house but if you pull up to the air pump you block the gas pumps.

The third is a nice set-up... away from the building and gas pumps. 50 cents to get the thing going. I usually have to remove all the valve stem covers first and then race around the car filling the tires. I think 50 cents buys you about 60 seconds pump time.