Arco Station

I am a little upset with my self for not knowing better, but more upset with the smog people at this Arco. I went there on 4÷23÷16 for a smog and my check engine light was on. I was hoping it wasn’t something that would cause my car to not pass. Of course they were more that happy to test my car, even with the check engine light on, which I later found out it should not have even been tested. So they took my money and told me my car did not pass.
I talked to my regular mechanic, awesome shop (Island Auto), and he told me that my car should have never been tested if the light was on.
There’s a lot to be said about a business that is willing to make a quick buck for one time business and a place that wants to do the right thing and have repeat business. I’ve had all my cars tested at this Arco in the past, for over 12 years, but will not spend my money at this station again.

I never thought I would review a gas station, but honestly, this place has changed my misanthropic attitudes I’ve held from living in the Bay my whole life and dealing with a lot of assholes in that time.
I came on April 16^th to get some gas, and this is the closest station to my house that is somewhat on the way to the freeway. I never, ever pay for gas with my card because 1) I’m afraid of skimmers stealing my information, and 2) usually gas is cheaper if you pay with cash. I like this Arco because the kiosk that allows you to pay for gas without venturing inside to interact with a human being also accepts cash, not just card, so I put in a wrinkly $ 5 bill in there. Unluckily for me, the machine jammed because it is snobby and does not like wrinkly old money. Then it threw up the «out of service» sign, and alas, I had to go inside to talk to a human being.
Lorena, the manager, was on duty that day, and came outside and checked on the machine to confirm that it was indeed jammed. She told me to write down my number and name and she’ll give me a call when the company that comes to pick up the cash will come and open the machine, and take out the jammed bill and save it for me, since she did not have the key to that. I wrote it off as a $ 5 loss in my mind, because I have a generally low amount of faith in strangers. That way, I’m never disappointed when they don’t even reach the very low bar I set for them.
Come Wednesday, I get a call from Lorena telling me that the people came and took out my jammed $ 5 bill, and that it was ready for me to pick it up. Lo and behold, when I get to the gas station, they had it, even more wrinkled than before! I immediately used that to buy more gas because this was one of the most exceptional experiences I’ve had with customer service in my life, and it was from a gas station! I will always patronize this gas station, but not use the bill machine since my money is always wrinkly!

A little expensive and took a little longer then what they said but my truck is running like a champ. Will Def go back. Stayed 3 hours passed closing just to make sure it got done. Thanks guys.

Word of warning — I went into this Arco on Thursday afternoon and paid for $ 25 gas with my debit card, and by Friday morning at 9am I had 2 fraudulent charges to Loot Crate totalling $ 383.
I don’t use my debit card, ever. It stays in my center console in case I need cash (rare) or these cases where I can’t use credit for gas. My credit card buys everything (reward dollars) and my bank is there to pay the card off. I mention this to emphasize the lack of possible other swipes that could’ve compromised my card.
I am considering letting management/​authorities know about this, but at the very least will not be using any more Arco stations without cash. It makes sense that debit skimmer theives would prefer to target the spots that don’t allow credit cards.
Luckily Wells Fargo is FREAKING AWESOME and fixed my account quickly and happily… that Unilocal review will follow.
2 stars for having cheap gas. Could’ve been 3 but its a clusterfvck of frustration trying to get to an open pump due to combination of cheap gas, poverty, and extreme overpopulation.

Filled up my car rental earlier today. Cheapest gas in the area. Very busy gas station as most Arco stations are.
They do not have the usual convenience store at this location. Still some snacks and sodas can be bought inside.
Good place to fill up the tank if you do not mind lower quality gas.

My favorite Gas station. The staff are always so friendly.

My family and I have been coming here for auto repair for years and as long as Jeff and Pao are there, we won’t go anywhere else! For years we all had older cars that needed very frequent work and we have always been treated fair and given great deals on auto repair and maintenance! We used to live close by so we’d get gas there too, however, now we don’t live close enough to fuel up there regularly. We all still go there for oil changes and other maintenance and repairs. I recommend this place to anyone who wants good honest affordable service!

Usually the lowest price on Unleaded in San lorenzo Plus they have a small store that has all the basic ingredients to make Sysrup. Lol

These guys are very good, make a long story short. It would have cost me around $ 300 for the part plus labor. The owner and his team made it happen for
under $ 250 for everything. Thank you!
~Leo

Arco here, for a few days now, is the cheapest in the ‘dro area. since being bought by BP. arco seldom sells the cheapest gas.
reasons for cheaper gas:
–excess inventory heading into the holidays
if so, prices will go up in december.
–expect slower sales since people out of town
–got a cheaper price.
gas drips:
–saw on drive by.
–prices unreliable in ‘dro area
–false gas prices reporting aplenty.

This review is for the mechanics that did my smog check. They had every opportunity to rip me off. They did a pre-​test for me on a Camaro that was flagged for a «test-​only» station. The car did not pass the pre-​test. The problem ended up being a simple blown fuse. The mechanics here were able to diagnose this problem, replace the fuse, and get me on my way so that I could pass at a «test –only» station for no extra charge. I have been in this same situation at another station, and had to pay for an hour of labor. I really appreciate the honesty of the mechanics here.
Another plus. they have $ 10 off coupons for the «test-​only» station.

I am over 50 years old and I never was so turned off by any business operation to the point where I took my money back and walked out the door until today. The station attendant that was working there Sunday, morning on Nov 7^th 2010 needs to be retrained. I went up to the outdoor service window and pushed my money through the collection draw and the attendant wouldn’t bother to turn his body to the window to collect my $ 40. I waved to him and using sign language let him know the money was in the drawer. He looked at me and motioned to me to come into the shop. Upon entering the shop I casually asked, is the drawer not working or something? And he said, the door was unlocked and he wanted me to come in instead. I was annoyed but plopped down my $ 40. He scolded me and said don’t throw your money. Honestly I did not throw my money down nor was I in the mood to deal with his bad attitude. So I picked by up my money and said «seeya» and walked out the door. Fortunately I didn’t have to drive very far to find another gas station that sold gas even cheaper than the Arco. You lost a customer buddy because you projected such a lazy, snarky attitude.

I bought gas here on Sun 2÷21÷10. When I go to Arco I usually pay CASH because they don’t take Visa.
Reg 87 was $ 2.779×8.152G = $ 22.65.
I saw single serving of Coconut M&M’s. I didn’t buy them, but just if you’re looking for them, they are there.

Why would buy this shitty gas when you can get the Chevron or at the worst case 76 for the same price?
I have used this gas for few years back in the days and my cars would never pass the smog test. Now I’m using the Chevron from East 14^th street in San Leandro and it’s the same price or even cheaper sometimes. My car runs better and get better gas mileage and passes smog check with no problems. =)
A lot of people think that all gas are the same because it comes from the same refineries. But if you really want to get the quality tested, put some gas in your old lawn mower from Arco and try to start it. After you finish using all that up, try putting in the Chevron gas and you will see that it starts better from the first pull, runs better, and it doesn’t smoke that much.
Mechanics that work at Arco, doesn’t know shit, they do some mickey mouse work there. Avoid taking your car there for any car repair.
This is the closest gas station to my house, but I still drive 3 – 4 miles to Chevron to get better gas, even though this is 25 seconds away from my house. =)