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Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

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Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#151

Post by [deleted] »

seanp2k2 wrote: post #145
kamaal wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>Paying a startup $15/mo to reclaim even 40 mins a month of my personal time is a no brainer. Just asking, how do you wish to spend those 40 mins you are likely to save per month? Which you will likely get in installments of 20 minutes per 15 days(avg 1 minute/day).

I'd spend them doing anything aside from random boring necessary chores. If I could pay someone to actually handle all the boring mundane stuff for me just so I could have an extra hour a day to play video games, I'd do it. I have more money than time right now and you can't buy time ever, especially not while you're younger. I don't want to wait until retirement to have time to do whatever I want all the time. There…

[deleted]

Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#152

Post by kamaal »

seanp2k2 wrote: post #145
kamaal wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>Paying a startup $15/mo to reclaim even 40 mins a month of my personal time is a no brainer. Just asking, how do you wish to spend those 40 mins you are likely to save per month? Which you will likely get in installments of 20 minutes per 15 days(avg 1 minute/day).

I'd spend them doing anything aside from random boring necessary chores. If I could pay someone to actually handle all the boring mundane stuff for me just so I could have an extra hour a day to play video games, I'd do it. I have more money than time right now and you can't buy time ever, especially not while you're younger. I don't want to wait until retirement to have time to do whatever I want all the time. There…

>>If I could pay someone to actually handle all the boring mundane stuff for me just so I could have an extra hour a day to play video games, I'd do it.

Sure, makes perfect sense for anything that goes beyond >1hr a day.

But lets do the math here. Lets say some one charge $15-$20 per hour do your chores(Going by the minimum+ wage). For two hours you are now looking at $450-$600/month expenses for that. If you can afford that and are willing to spend that kind of money, then it makes perfect sense.

Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#154

Post by mikeash »

jedmeyers wrote: post #141

That's kind of similar to how airplanes are getting filled up at KPAO. Fueling truck comes by, doesn't see a white mark on the right tire - refuels to the max. In the end it saves a lot of time, because you don't have to worry about filling it up.

That's pretty weird, since the importance of weight makes it common not to fill airplanes to the top.

Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#155

Post by niftich »

untilHellbanned wrote: post #148
aresant wrote: post #92

I think the HN crowd underestimates how valuable target users consider their time. I probably average 2 trips to the gas station a month and I have a below average commute. Each trip takes me 10 mins out of my way + 10 mins of fueling depending on if there's a line or not. And it's always before work (I'm in a rush) or after work (want to get home to family). Paying a startup $15/mo to reclaim even 40 mins a month of…

I think you underestimate how valuable the vast majority of the world considers their money. All this use of "My". Sorry to be blunt but you are irrelevant. Spend some time outside of the bubble, St. Louis for example. People here ain't gonna pay $15 to reclaim 40 minutes a month. This strikes me like the gig economy spend a $1 to get $0.90 strategy. There are huge costs for physical presence businesses that can only…

You're not wrong, but it's a premium service for a self-selecting market. Given SV/SF's narrow geographical spread and high disposable income, I can see it working there, while it would probably falter in most of Middle America.

Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#156

Post by vkou »

fryguy wrote: post #121
bdamm wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me it would be not needing to experience the little bit of stress I see when the fuel indicator is edging down to 1/4 tank and wondering when I'm going to squeeze in a trip to the gas station when I'd really rather be somewhere else.

Just buy a Tesla and charge it every night :)

Instead of having fuel anxiety every two weeks, you'll have it every time your car spends the night outside of your garage.

Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#157

Post by shostack »

rconti wrote: post #58
nostromo wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine it's quite a bit more than $15 a month. They probably bake some healthy margins into the price of gas.

I had never heard of this kind of service until a couple of weeks ago when I saw a Booster fuels truck. The advertised prices on the truck were a good 20 cents/gallon lower than the Chevron across the street from where it was parked. OTOH, I don't know if they use top tier fuels with whatever detergent packages or if it's Arco-quality gas, or what.

Having seen but never used Arco--is there a significant difference in gasoline quality? I had always been under the impression that it was largely a commodity product with the various additives largely being used to help differentiate from a branding standpoint and not actually doing much.

Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#158

Post by vollmond »

bubbleRefuge wrote: post #134
danhak wrote: post #3

I've never owned a car in a city as dense as SF or New York so maybe it's different in places like that, but this strikes me as yet another example of the "Uber-For-X" SV startup that doesn't solve any real problem. Stopping by the gas station once a week on my way home is simply not a big enough annoyance for me to subscribe to yet another service. I'm also skeptical of the long-term prospects of this business model…

Additionally, what about liability? Even though the chances of a static electricity induced explosion from metal to metal contact during refueling is infinitesimal, it exposes all the other cars in the area to that risk unwittingly.

Is that any different (legally) than if you refill your own car with a gas can?

Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#159

Post by rdl »

joelg236 wrote: post #126
nick007 wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes actually we've gotten a surprising number of requests for this

Sounds like a niche that might work for you guys. I'm guessing the people who need that kind of fuel intersects nicely with "people who don't have time to fill up" and are willing to spend some extra money for convenience.

Plus there are very few stations which carry that fuel -- maybe 6 in the bay area.

Re: Yoshi (YC S16) launches “set it and forget it” vehicle re-fueling service in SF

#160

Post by rdl »

ars wrote: post #146
nick007 wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We offer both regular (87 octane) and premium (91/93, depending on the market) grade. Not ethanol free but it is high quality ("top tier" in most markets).

> regular (87 octane) and premium (91/93) Mid-grade (89) is just a mix of the two - it shouldn't be hard to implement.

Usually additives are added to premium which wouldn't be in mid-grade (not a huge cost difference, though). Usually this stuff gets mixed at the rack (along with ethanol, etc.), although there are older gas stations and cheaper stations which mix high and low on-site at the pump for medium.
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