So, this weekend I went to get gas. Gas was really expensive when I first came here, at the time it cost me about 9,000 yen (about $90.00 assuming the yen is equal to the dollar) to fill my tank. On top of that, I was always going to full service places because that is all they have in Bando, so I know part of the 9,000 yen was paying for the full service.
Well, I finally found a station in Moriya that is cheap, and it is self service. Gas has gone down too, right now it is only about 4,500 yen to fill up. At this gas station I would always go to the same pump and fill up.
On Saturday night I was almost on empty and I went there. All of the pumps were full. One finally opened, but it was on a different side than I usually go on. I filled up, paid and went to leave. My car started to shake and it died two seconds after I turned it on. I realized I had put leaded gas in my car!
When I was pumping a part of me thought I was putting the wrong gas in, but I just kept pumping it anyway. So I had to call my friend and have him come translate for me. The people at the gas station said they could drain my car and put unleaded in it, but it might not start. It would cost 5,000 for them to drain it, and another 4,500 for the gas. I said yes do it and hoped for the best.
After the longest half and hour or so of my life, they finally pushed my car out to be filled up with unleaded. After filling it, they tried to start it. It didn`t start. I started to think about having the engine cleaned....or maybe would I have to buy a new car? How was I going to get home? How was I going to get to school on Monday. It is a half and hour drive, at least.
Finally, after trying for a minute, the car started! It was just running the leaded out of it. The man said they couldn`t get all the leaded gas out, so it might still shake at times. He said to fill it up again when the tank is half down. After about three or four tanks the leaded gas should be out of it.
I can`t tell you how happy I was. I only lost about 10,000 yen, it could have cost so much more than it did. Plus, the car is actually running better than it did before! So, this is the first major mistake I have made here in Japan. If I wasn`t illiterate here, it wouldn`t have even happened. I hope I don`t do more things like this...
1 comment:
I know 2 guys who have done this!!! One of my dad old coworkers and a guy I worked at camp with. Yours turned out better then both their situations. They also both did it with work vehicles, and they weren't in Japan. It's just one of those little life lessons. I'm glad everything worked out ok!
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