Gas Prices Too High For Some Older Pumps

CBS News Interactive: Eye On The Economy
MINNEAPOLIS (CBS) ― With gas prices approaching $4, some service stations with older pumps are having a hard time displaying the high cost.

One store owner said he is waiting for a kit that will fix the pumps so they are ready for $4 a gallon gasoline.

"Who ever thought that things would change this much?" asked Terri Sloan, with Mattson Oil in Minnesota.

The gas station was first opened after World War II. Its pumps are still stuck in the past with mechanical gauges.

"Those pumps there, they only go to $2.99, and we had to get parts to put in there to get it over $3," said Sloan.

Apparently at the time, no one thought prices would ever go this high. If and when the price hits $4, they're going to have to figure out the price at the pump the hard way.

"You can put the gallons up there and the price, and we have to figure it out by calculator. The gas we're okay because that's not over $4 yet," said Sloan. "You put the parts in to go over $4, but if it goes under $4 then you have to take those parts off and put the old ones in."

Diesel is also a problem at Sloan's station. The owner is now pricing his diesel fuel by the half gallon. Customers have to go into the store to get their final tally.

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)