Happy Birthday, Self-Serve Gas
An innovation introduced on June 10, 1964, forever changed fueling.ALEXANDRIA, Va. - Today more than 123,000 U.S. convenience stores sell fuel, and self-serve is available in 48 states. But back in 1964, allowing customers to pump their own gas was unheard of, and also was prohibited in most of the country because of state fire codes. Self-serve visionary John Roscoe changed all that when he added remote fueling to one of his Big Top c-stores in Westminster, Colorado, more than 50 years ago.
Roscoe’s stores with self-serve were soon selling an average 4,500 gallons per week. By making the investment in remote fueling, “we effectively got the gasoline business from full-serve gas stations without their labor expenses,” he said. “If you could sell 1,000 gallons of gasoline with a 10-cents-a-gallon margin, you could double your margin without adding much to your expenses.” As state regulations changed and Roscoe’s success caught the attention of others in the industry, self-service became more widely accepted among c-store operators.
Not all were immediately won over, however. “Some convenience store owners thought it was ridiculous, that no one would want to pump their own gas,” said Fred Lowder, who co-owned the Jiffy c-store chain with his father. But as it turns out, cost-conscious customers loved the idea from the start and flocked to c-stores for fill-ups.
There also was the concern about losing store traffic. “Some people thought it was a stupid idea because customers wouldn’t go inside the store anymore, and in-store sales would drop,” said Scott Negley, director of global produce management for Wayne. “But what they found was the opposite: Sales went up because the experience inside the store was better without gas-only customers clogging up the line.”
More: http://www.convenience.org/Media/Daily/Pages/ND0611182_Happy-Birthday-Self-Serve-Gas_Fuels.aspx#.Wx46L9VKhdg
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I still remember the days of gas being pumped by the attendant, oil checked, windows washed, tires checked and alike. 
Now we have no choice but to pump our own gasoline.
When I was a kid, my Dad would roll down his window and always say "Fill it please, regular." When self service gas became the norm, he wasn't a fan. 
I took my car to the Mobil station just down the road, the same place that my parents took their cars for service. We knew the owner and the names of the mechanics - the owner was a really nice older guy and he looked after us, he gave me a special key chain with the name of the station on it when I got my own car (1971 Plymouth Duster inherited from my mother who got a new car every 10 years). I remember that he died rather suddenly one Christmas Eve and my friend thought it was odd that I took the time to go to the wake - but my parents went, too. He was considered a family friend. 
Bought gas and had repairs done much as you described. I think they just closed up likely the owner sold out or something happened, we never knew.
I drove a 1974 Duster, jet black with white stripes. Liked it except the engine wasn’t up to handling the air conditioner and with our hot and humid summers I preferred to be cool.
And right at the exit/entrance to the highway. Things started changing shortly after I got my license, I remember something about a big rent increase, and the Mobil station owner moved his service business to another location - a garage, no longer a gas station - and we followed him.
And I loved that car, though it had neither air conditioning nor a defrost for the back window. My Dad bought me some kind of grid that stuck to the back window that defrosted it. That car always ran well and I got hit early on - a guy ran a red light, my Dad found me a lawyer and we took him to court and won! So I got it fixed, they made cars much sturdier in those days - and I'd probably still be driving it now if it wasn't for the rust. That happens here in the North Country because of the salt they use on the roads.
I don't remember those, though I was a late driver. By the time I was old enough for a license, I was away at school so I didn't get my license until I graduated from college. But even then you went to a gas station to get your car repaired. I went to the Mobil station right down the road, same place that my parents took their cars for service. We knew the owner and the mechanics, too. The Mobil station is still there, but it's practically a grocery store now! 
They are getting harder and harder to find.
I found mine at J.C. Penney's - though I can no longer find the women's socks in the store, have had to order them. And my brother likes those, too - the "Fluffies" - he said he needed socks and when I was doing my Christmas shopping I was sure I saw a package in the store, so I went back and finally found them. I remember back in the '80s there was one store at the local mall that only sold men's socks - the fluffy kind, all colors and double thick soles! I got socks for everybody there.
