If you had a chance to get $1 off a gallon of gas and were getting your car washed in the process, you might jump at the chance. But one person who got excited when Buc-ee’s offered him just that is now saying not to be fooled.
Creator Stuart Arnold (@babylionhotshot) shared his Buc-ee’s experience on Saturday, getting more than 272,000 views as of Tuesday morning. Jokingly imploring his audience to “stay in school,” he laid out the proposition he was given via an innocuous sign at its Calhoun, Ga., location and how the fine print tricked him.
The sign said $1 off each gallon of gas for each customer choosing a $16 car wash. Arnold reasoned, “I have a 65-gallon tank, so I’m gonna go ahead and hit the $16 button. We’ll lose $16 by getting a car wash I’m not gonna use, and then I’m gonna fill up my tank.”
He noted via on-screen caption that you could hear in his voice how excited he was as he selected the car wash, selected diesel, and saw what he was getting that for. “$1.79!” he enthused. “C’mon, boys.”
But then, as he neared the 15-gallon mark, he noticed the pump slowing down. And then he noticed what was written on the bottom of the sign: “15 gallon limit – no refunds.”
“I’m literally a [expletive] idiot,” he assessed.
He then implored people to “spread the word.”
@babylionhotshot Buccees In Calhoun, GA got me good. #buccees #gorgia #gasstation #trucking ♬ Mysterious and sad BGM(1120058) – S and N
But it’s a Buc-ee’s car wash
Despite his dismay over his transaction—which you could calculate as getting a car wash for $1 if you reason that you’re getting gas at the regular price—Buc-ee’s does have a legendary car wash.
The convenience store chain, started in Texas and celebrating bigness in myriad ways, boasts the world’s longest car wash at its store in Katy, Texas. The car wash stretches a mindboggling 255 feet, and one fan described it as “never ending” on a TexAgs forum cited in the Daily Dot’s coverage.
Some customers on the forum warned of scratches and dull finishes resulting from the journey through the car wash, reifying one commenter’s “deep distrust of automatic car washes.”
But one travel site quoted in the story, Texas Travel, emphasized that the car wash offered visitors “tons of colors and even a Buc-ee’s hologram at the beginning.”
Commenters weigh in
Buc-ee’s evokes strong reactions from some, and this video activated that for commenters.
“Well, I do it when I need my truck washed and a full tank of gas,” one reasoned. “It’s cheaper than buying a separate car wash at a different place and then going to get gas.”
“My car gets 15 gallons,” another shared. “I would’ve pretty much got a free car wash.”
“Spread the word?” one responded to his end-of-video challenge. “Buc-ee’s already spread the word with the the disclaimer at the bottom of their sign.”
Some suggested that Arnold actually get the car wash and enjoy it. But as he pointed out, “I guess for most people it would be good. Not with my 53’ trailer though…. But I did have an image run through my head of my pulling the step deck through.”
He then revealed the code (which has probably been used by now) in a follow-up video.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Arnold via TikTok and Instagram direct message and to Buc-ee’s via email.
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