While traveling through the United States, my husband and I made a mistake. For the first little while, we would opt for the cheapest gas price when we filled up regardless of the octane level. Unlike in Canada, where the lowest octane level available is 87, in the States, you can buy 85 octane level gasoline.
After a few days of driving and some strange sounds coming from our car, we realized our mistake. We double checked our manual, and it indicated that we had to use 87 octane or higher. Now there is no point in buying a higher octane level than is absolutely necessary, but it definitely is not worth it to buy less than what is required. Sometimes it just doesn’t make any sense to try to save money as it can cost you big time in the end.
Being too cheap at times can be very costly. If we had continued using the lower octane gasoline it could have been really bad for the engine. Although it is easy to overlook simple things like this while traveling, remember not to assume anything. Every country and province/state you travel through will have unique characteristics that may take some time to get used to, so try to be aware of those differences and work with them.
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