The car rental fleet of Leisure Car Rental consists of sedans with very economical fuel consumption - except if you choose the larger SUV. Every few kilometers, the motorist will come across a gas station, on both the Dutch and the French side of the island. Some of these stations, like the SOL in Simpson Bay, offer 24-hour service.
Even late-night partygoers have no excuse to run out of fuel. Gas stations only recently started accepting credit cards for purchases above USD 15.00. The stations usually have a decently stocked convenience store attached. On the French side, the Cadisco chain of stations operates complete supermarkets.
Prices shown on both sides of the island are for one liter of fuel. Forget about the gallon - it is not used in metric countries. Now to the prices: On the Dutch side, the price is listed in Antellian Guilders (NAF) - not the US dollar. The conversion rate is fixed: NAF 1.80 buys USD 1.00. Also, the pump with show guilders, not dollars - even if there is a dollar symbol. Don't make the mistake of paying the displayed amount in USD! All stations take the Dollar and the attended will convert NAF into USD within seconds for you.
On the French side, the prices are shown in Euro. Play it smart at these gas stations: many let you pay in Dollars instead of euros and you save about 20%!
Many gas stations don't take credit cards! Make sure you bring cash or see if the station has an ATM machine.
Services: Usually, an attendant is filling your tank. Late at night, some stations have changed to self-service with pre-payment on a teller window.
Please refuel your rental car, before the tank is almost dry. Due to the tropical island conditions, gasoline is sometimes slightly contaminated with water. No big deal, if there is always some fuel left in the tank. But if you consistently let the engine feed on the bottom of the tank, it might affect car performance.
Flat tires are a sad reality on the island's roads. Unfortunately, the air compressors on most stations are not serviced and are usually out of order.
In case you find yourself with a flat tire, there is one thing you should not do: continue driving the car or even attempt to make it back to the rental car office. This will destroy the tire completely and most likely also damage the rim.
Before you start changing a tire, consider buying a Fix-a-Flat spray (available at all supermarkets) to seal and pump up the wheel. In most cases, these sprays will solve the problem temporarily.
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