Arco AM/PM

What can I say, it is a gas station. It provided us gas. We had no issues with it, really. It was conveniently located to us at the time.

Wow. Some friends helped me out with their truck and their moving power, and I bought us some hot chocolate afterwards. It was crazy salty and sour — completely weird. Don’t know what happened, but — No problem, I just needed a refund.
Which. Took. Forever. Even. Though. My. Friend. Was. Buying. Other. Stuff. As. Well. I apparently needed to wait until literally everyone that walked through the door got served before first. We 3 just stood there, and stood there, being repeatedly told to wait. Really? I finally had to say, «NO,» and describe, loud enough so that everyone there could hear me WHY we needed our refund. I doubt those folks will ever be buying hot chocolate there!

Normally not any trouble, but today I filled my tank (Had ¹⁄₃ tank) added 10 gallons and my car was only a little half filled. (14 Gallon tank) Shady stuff.

Wow. Pumps ate my credit card. The clerk sent me back with a surgical tool to get it out. He made it clear that it happens often. I could not get it out. He told me he was too busy to assist. He finally came out and said, «oh, power on the machine is off — I will reset.» Again, he made clear this happens often. This place is falling apart and customer service is horrendous. It took me 20 minutes to finally get my card back from their machine.

Cheap gas but super sketchy people hang around outside. I’d go to the one on 105^th instead but there are even more sketchy people outside of that one. If you want to get asked for change or followed back to your car by someone, be my guest and go to this Arco. If not, there are other gas stations NOT on Aurora that you can visit.

Three stars because the gas is the cheapest I’ve ever found in the city (I’m grateful I live near it!)… however after a recent experience, I’ve got a bad taste in my mouth.
My car’s a fairly new Ford, and thus doesn’t have a gas cap. You just shove the pump into the nozzle thing and all’s well that ends well. I pulled up to pump gas the other night and for some reason, the pump wouldn’t start pumping. I had my friend run in to notify the cashier and he came out to assist.
I’m not sure if we were just miscommunicating because of the language barrier, but his body language and tone of voice basically told me he thought I was an idiot who didn’t know how to fill her car’s gas tank. He kept telling me it was a problem with my car — probably because of how the gas capless filler thing works — and that there was no issue with their pump, and telling me that I’d broken something. Weirdly enough, when I pulled up to a different pump, it worked without issue.
But anyway. So cheap gas that works in my car, but ughhhh when things go wrong, it’s so very not worth the experience.

This place usually has some of the cheapest gas around. My preferred stop when in the area.
Slow service and very challenging driving in the lot thought given the congestion and all the bad drivers making there way around a small lot in a weird part of town.

It’s everything you would expect a cheap gas station off Aurora Ave to be.

The owners and employees are super friendly, the prices on gas are less expensive than at the gas stations nearby, and the jalapeño corndogs are disgusting… ly delicious. I wouldn’t recommend going here between 4 and 6 pm, however, as you usually end up locked in an epic battle of who can steal the next available pump first which often ends in a symphony of honking.

I’ve bought gas here a long time because it’s cheap. But now I am going to buy my gas somewhere else. I was in here the other night and there was a girl in the AmPm buying some cigs, and the guy at the counter was not even trying to disguise his lecherous intentions towards her. It was nasty.
Otherwise I’ve never had any problems here, except that it gets crowded. So now I guess I’ll go up the street to the one on 105^th.

This is gas station purgatory. Where the street ho’s linger and blue collar contractors give you the finger. Where tweakers are freakier and beggars fester and pester. Its dirty and dank and noxious and rank they sell fake pink franks that emit a sulfide stank.
But, the gas is cheap. YAY.

Cons: it’s not the best area at night (so don’t go get gas at night, duh.) There can be long lines for a pump during prime commuting hours.
Pros: It’s generally the cheapest gas in the area, and I’ve never had any issues there. So yes, this is where I tend to head when my automobile needs a little bit of petrol.

I give it a 5 for being the cheapest gas in Seattle give it a — 2 for personal safety. It is close to my old house (I moved because I didn’t want prostitutes for babysitters — yes, they offered to babysit!). Stopped here just last week for gas and some guy getting gas next to me asked me for money while we were both fueling up our cars and then started screaming at me (Satan and the spawns were in the car) calmly told him to f-​off, finished pumping my gas and went to Beth’s. I may have moved out of the city but still don’t let this crap sway me.

I wish Unilocal had a ‘fear for my safety’ meter.
This is the kind of place you go to get raped, or to experience a car accident (and then get raped).
There are always some extremely rude and frightening stalkers /​bums hanging about the lot. And the management doesn’t seem to care. If you’re a woman, I wouldn’t go here without a defense weapon or a friend (especially at night). Also, because the ethanol is cheap (but not as cheap as the Arco a few miles north on 99), the place is always packed. If you’ve seen this lot, you’ll know it’s a real clusterfuck. To top it off, people drive like madmen, racing to get to an open pump.
Besides, any deal you’d get is lost on the transaction fee (if you use a card to pay for gas, like 99% of modern society). Just go to Safeway, down the street. It’s as cheap, with the card discount. And as an added bonus, you’re not likely to be raped in the parking lot.
If you value a few cents over your life, definitely give Arco AM/​PM a shot!

This is the ultimate dive bar of gas stations.
Cheapest alcohol (gas) in town. If you check
, you’ll find that this Arco (and the one up on Aurora and Northgate), often tops the list of cheapest gas within Seattle city limits. True to form, a quick search today found this location is the number one cheapest, at $ 2.21/gallon. Now THAT’S cheap hooch!
However, if you pay by debit, count on the extra $ 0.45 «transaction» fee. If you buy more than 10 gallons, it raises the price per gallon by less than 5 cents, but I really don’t recommend using debit at any Arco for less than 10 gallons, because that debit fee counteracts the savings you get here. And otherwise, what’s the point? Well, besides the ambience, of course. And no, they don’t take credit cards. Cash is best.
While you’re inside, check out the great food specials. Today you can get three hot items (burgers, hot dogs, corndogs) for under $ 3. I challenge you to find even one happy hour that offers that much food so cheaply. Good? No. Cheap? You bet!
The regulars here are fascinating, and it gets even more interesting if you make eye contact — that is not recommended. But this Arco gets a wide crossection of society cozying up to the pump, from students to suits to methheads to pimps.
It seems, everyone passes through here at some point in their lives. If you haven’t been here yet, don’t worry, it’s just a matter of time.
You usually have to wait a few minutes for gas until someone clears out — unless you are very lucky to drive right in on your motorized bar stool to fill up – just stash your booze and watch out for the cops, who always seem to be «around.» But don’t hesitate, if there’s a spot open, GRAB it! You have to be assertive to keep your place in line.
Just don’t be TOO assertive, or you might find yourself with either a (nother) dent in your car, or looking down the barrel of a gun.

Sketch-​o-​meter: BWOOP! BWOOP! BWOOP! Off the charts!
Number of times I’ve been to this gas station: 100 (give or take).
Number of near-​fender-​benders at this gas station: 99*.
Number of times I’ve drooled over the $.99 hot-​dog advertisements: 100.
Number of actual hot dogs purchased: 0.
Number of Huge Sodas purchased: not nearly enough.
Number of Dollars Saved: Uncountable.
*Escaped certain honking of horns once by going late at night. (Do not recommend, due to High Sketch-​Factor).

Cheap but simply not a safe area. Count the video cameras, drug dealers and prostitutes.

I always use this gas station to fill my rather thirsty vehicle because it’s always cheaper than everywhere else, usually by at least 20 cents per gallon. For my 25 gallon fill-​up, that’s 5 whole dollars! It’s not the most convenient place, since every so often I need to wait a minute for a pump, and the automated payment stations are shared, but when an extra minute or two of waiting pays for a beer, I’ll always choose the beer!

Why do people pay more for gars? That’s right I said gars and not gas. Gas seems more fitting a word when it’s a bodily function or heating your house or both if your a savvy scientist. Some people have actually been snowed into thinking that gars differs in quality depending on where you go and that some gars (the more expensive stuff) offered is better for your car than from other petroleum companies. Well I say BULL HONKEY! Gars is gars and it’s all made the same way with the same grades by the big companies. Arco is a BP or British Petroleum company. Their gars is no better or worse than 76, Shell Chevron, or any other big company. The only difference is in the price. So when say Chevron has .89 octane (what our Ford Ranger takes) for 2.69 a gallon, chances are Arco has it for 2.25 a gallon. Oh sure some say they have additives that may or may not be better for your car’s health blah blah blah, but nobody has proved those claims and again I say BULL BUTTER or was it HONKEY? The only difference is that BP’s stock holders know they’ll sell much more gars at a lower price and get a better return while the other companies’ stock holders like to line their pockets more quickly by jacking the price up and making claims their fuel is better.
Bottom line is, I get our 2000 Ranger checked out by Ford every time I have them do a standard lube and oil change and they always give it a clean bill of health. So why do people pay more for gars? I don’t really know but I’ve been going to Arco for 18 years and am not about to pay more elsewhere for the same product.