(Filled-up 02/23/19 SA @ 12:30am): Let's unite for gas stations that were open 24 hours...but rail against those who charged more for credit cards!
An evening with fellow Yelpers was winding down, the company car was in dire need for fuel food, and Van Nuy's United Oil gas station was the only place I found that was still open. I frequented a sister station close to my parent's house (I was the Duke, bitches!), so I was familiar with their relatively reasonable prices. Normally during the day, I would've hit the nearby Costco Gas on Sepulveda Blvd. Would I find myself reunited with this fill-up joint the next time I was in the area!?
PURCHASE
87 Unleaded Gas ($41.50): Oddly enough, it was difficult to find a gas station in this part of town that was still open, so thankfully I found this one which happened to be of the 24-hour variety. As the red empty light stared me down, I rolled into an available pump and went at it. After 13.39 gallons of gas at $3.09/gallon, my "CRaVing Mobile" was so full I think it was ready to explode!
SERVICE
Unless there was something wrong with the pump you were at, the machine was out of receipt paper, your payment card wasn't working, or decided to pay in cash to which you needed to go inside, it was all self-service. Thankfully, my Pump #7 flowed well and all was working fine. Since I didn't have a need to go inside the mini mart, I couldn't speak to that at all.
PARKING (FREE)
There were only a couple spots directly in front of the food shop to grab a quick snack or ask for directions. Otherwise, why would you need to park anyway!?
ATMOSPHERE, DÉCOR, AMBIENCE
Located at a busy corner/intersection of Van Nuys Blvd. and Sherman Way, this was a small-medium gas station with sufficient room to pull in and maneuver around cars if needed. It had a total of 3 pump stations (four pumps each). Available was soapy suds, squeaky squeegees, paper towels, and air or water stations - just like most gas stations I've been to. But, there were places to dump any trash you had. The pump stations were completely covered https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=zWpeBWN3hxGRk9d37Q_5qg&userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw from the elements unless a hurricane or tornado headed towards you. There were numerous ways to enter and exit the area that potentially created a bottleneck. There was plenty of natural lighting during the day while soul-sucking fluorescent lighting covered the rest at night. Every pump had a TV monitor that offered a distraction https://www.yelp.com/user_local_photos?select=OHS8Mhe6wdjHu0KKglGR7A&userid=8jVT2inwc8GIQ6sH2UG9Vw while there was no background music.
ATTIRE
Totally casual, so I would normally be in a t-shirt, boardshorts, and flip-flops.
OVERALL
United Oil's Van Nuys location helped me in a pinch with a near-empty tank and easily provided what I needed at a decent price. However, its location wasn't as centralized to the city center, lacked easy access to a nearby freeway, charged for air and water (price unknown), upcharged if you used your credit card ($0.10/gallon - I REALLY ABHORRED THIS!) and I couldn't recall if any competitors were in the area. I found good value based on the prices, service, and experience noted above (TOTAL paid experience was around $41.50 BEFORE any discounts and/or tip). And, although I inexplicably used a different credit card, they accepted my credit card of choice...AMEX! 3.0 STARS read more