Gas stations like those of the Maspalomas Taxi Cooperative clean the tanks every day due to the high fuel turnover and the high specialization of the staff who have been working stably for years and know the needs of the drivers. That is the trick of the quality of the fuel that goes into the cars of professionals that move in the south of Gran Canaria. Low-cost stations are cheap, true; but there are long-term risks. These gas stations are mainly in industrial areas such as Arinaga or places more or less removed from the urban center and in shopping centers. As the name suggests, the price of these gas stations is substantially cheaper, which leads many users to ask themselves some questions about whether or not they are as safe and reliable as regular gas stations.
To guarantee the quality of gas station pumps, including low-cost gas stations, the National Accreditation Entity company carries out periodic controls that are mandatory, practically as if they were the MOT of cars. This independent company inspects and certifies that the liters for which they pay are served, and that established safety standards are followed. In fact, all dispensers must display the label with the date on which the inspection was positively passed, as well as its expiration date.
If we doubt that the amount of fuel being served to us is what really matters, it is important to know that even a low-cost gas station must comply with the obligation to have a 10-liter volumetric flask available to customers. Basically, it is a container with which a liquid can be accurately measured. Any measurement error greater than 0,5% that we detect would imply a crime on the part of the gas station, so we will hardly find ourselves in a situation in which they are trying to deceive us with the quantities.
Without taking into account the service and continuing to focus exclusively on the fuel for which we pay, we may be assailed by the rational doubt of whether a low-cost gas station will supply us with fuel of the same quality as at a station from a large oil brand. Almost all of the fuel sold in our country is produced in eight refineries that treat imported oil identically. After this treatment, they are distributed to the storage logistics centers that we just mentioned. In the end we are still in front of warehouses, and both large companies and low-cost gas stations are supplied from there. Therefore, we can conclude that the quality of the base material is the same for all, and since the minimum quality standards required by law are quite high, we should not worry too much.
Where fuels differ is in the additives. The big brands load the fuel in tanker trucks and add elements to their product in order to enhance the characteristics of their fuel. With this action, many brands manage to increase the performance of their gasoline and diesel, facilitate its injection and anti-corrosion effect or even reduce the smell of pure diesel.
Of course, if we refuel at large companies that opt for this policy, we will have to pay for this extra. First, not having personnel to refuel reduces costs and allows the company to reduce the price per liter. In this sense, most low-cost gas stations have at least one person to collect, but in some cases not even that, because the user must pay at a machine. In some Autonomous Communities there is legislation in this regard that requires having at least one employee to be paid. Obviously, even if it is legal, if you are in a hurry and a problem arises, you will have to wait for an employee to arrive.
These companies have seen their market share reduced in certain areas (generally, in the most populated areas), so, logically, they have been forced to 'make a living'. First, maintaining a level of direct customer service compared to low cost companies, and also with loyalty programs that maintain regular customers and attract new ones, although low cost companies can also offer these types of programs in one way or another. .
They also rely on periodic cleaning of the service tanks every five years, which reduces the possibility of sediment appearing. That said, many of the modern low-cost gas stations would also be trustworthy in this sense, with some old, low-cost recycled gas stations being the ones that, due to budget issues, have a harder time achieving these maintenance levels.