**1) Have you, or do you currently, own (or regularly drive) a diesel vehicle. What make/model is it?
If you currently own/drive a diesel, what is diesel fuel selling for in your area right now? (Mentioning where you are would be greatly appreciated.)
What made you decide to go with diesel in the first place?
Have you ever used bio-diesel fuel of any blend? How did you like it?**
As for me:
[ol]
[li]Yes, we own an '03 VW Golf TDI.[/li][li]Approximately $3.05 - $3.15 in the San Gabriel Valley area of Southern California.[/li][li]It was brought to our attention at a VW dealership when we were shopping for a new car. We had never considered diesel before. But after one salesperson tried to push one off on us that he was having trouble selling, we looked into it. The superior fuel mileage was a huge factor for us, and in Southern California, we knew we weren’t going to have much trouble finding gas stations that carried diesel.[/li][li]Only a couple of times when we first bought the car. It smelled like french fries, as everyone says. Supposedly, B100 causes your car to run smoother, as well. If there was a difference for me, it was barely noticeable.[/li][/ol]
**1) Have you, or do you currently, own (or regularly drive) a diesel vehicle. What make/model is it? **
2003 VW TDI Jetta Wagon
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2) If you currently own/drive a diesel, what is diesel fuel selling for in your area right now? (Mentioning where you are would be greatly appreciated.)**
I saw 3.33 on a sign on my way home from work in Lakeside (east of San Diego) today at the Valero, but last time I fueled up (a week ago) I paid 2.99 at a Thrifty in North Park, at least I think that’s where I was, or maybe the Arco off the 8 in La Mesa. Wherever the heck I was, it was the first time I’ve paid less than the price for gasoline (usually here it’s more expensive than premium (!!!) but it may have been less even than 87. Tellin’ ya, it was a thrill. )
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3) What made you decide to go with diesel in the first place?**
We were living in the SF bay area and spending every freaking vacation driving thousands of miles to be tormented by relatives so I really wanted a vehicle that would have good miles per gallon and hey, added bonus of the diesel engine, last a realllly long time. Also, lots of room, safety and an okay resale. VW was the only option that combined all the things we needed and wanted. We waited 18 months for ours to come in–so our shopping experience was kind of the opposite of yours. Originally I wanted a Passat TDI wagon, used, but they were hard to find to find at blue book price–there was a real frenzy going on at the time that seemed to blowing the prices up.
4) Have you ever used bio-diesel fuel of any blend? How did you like it?
RTC Fuels on El Cajon Blvd off the i-15 here in San Diego has B20 and for a while we used it instead. I really didn’t notice any difference except perhaps slightly lower fuel mileage. But then they got snarky about VWs and sometimes would refuse to sell me biodiesel blend. I had to sign a “waiver.” Whatever, then the price of it exploded and I went with my wallet. They used to have great prices, I fueled up there every time. Now, it’s a crap shoot so I don’t bother.
I have been entertaining the idea of a home-brewing kit but I don’t think I’ll do that any time soon.
1983 Mercedes 240D. It gets 30 mpg - not bad for a 23-year old 3300-lb car.
I believe I paid $2.79 last time (3 days ago). I remember it was $0.10 cheaper than regular unleaded gasoline.
The car is a hand-me-down from my uncle. If I’m to buy another car, I’d prefer a diesel but it’s not a must-have for me.
I haven’t looked into it - I don’t know where to get biodiesel. I do have a friend/co-worker who has done a Greasel conversion to a similar car. This is different from biodiesel; it allows you to burn untreated vegetable oil. But my take is that you can buy an awful lot of diesel fuel for the cost of the conversion.
It’s going for $3.09 in my town in Central California, but up at the truck stop it’s probably about $2.89. I go up there and fuel up on Sundays.
The mileage and the longevity of the motors. I swore I’d never buy another gas-powered truck again. I traded up from a gas-powered half-ton Dodge, and about doubled my mileage. If I’m pulling the trailer, that’s where the difference really shows. This truck doesn’t care if I’m loaded and in the mountains; it still gets better mileage than the gas truck did on the highway in the valley. And I kept wearing out transmissions in the old truck - 3/4 tons are built much heavier. I also like that my mileage keeps improving as I put more miles on the truck (I’m not quite at 40K now, so it’s not really even broken in yet.)
I’ve seen a couple of trucks around here geared up for biodiesels, and it’s intriguing. I can’t afford the change now, but at least I have a truck that has the potential for that. I haven’t seen any alternate fuel that you can put straight in the tank - all I see are trucks with 55-gallon drums of waste vegetable oil in the back.
I love my diesel, although I’m not thrilled with the fact that as soon as I bought one, fuel prices went from cheaper than gas to the same or higher. I’m still ahead on the mileage.
1) Have you, or do you currently, own (or regularly drive) a diesel vehicle. What make/model is it?
Ford E-350 Ambulance
2) If you currently own/drive a diesel, what is diesel fuel selling for in your area right now? (Mentioning where you are would be greatly appreciated.)
Metro Denver- $2.99/gal
3) What made you decide to go with diesel in the first place?
I haven’t seen a gas-powered ambulance in years.
4) Have you ever used bio-diesel fuel of any blend? How did you like it?
Nope.
Tortuga, I’d seen you’re in SD before, but who knew you were a diesel driver? :: waves ::
I owned a 2002 VW Golf TDI up until October (when I switched to a hybrid). When I bought it I wasn’t ready to commit to hybrid technology, feeling that it was still new. My then-boyfriend tipped me off to the existence of diesels. I bought it for its better fuel efficiency.
I saw $3.19 for diesel the other day, but I’d defer to Tortuga’s judgement about my area, since I’m not currently filling up with it. I keep an eye on diesel, but not as much as I did when I owned the Golf.
I never tried bio-diesel but did a little reading on it. It intrigued me, but I’m not much of a motorhead, so anything involving extra effort flew out the window.
I actually made a road trip to that station a couple of years ago during a get-together with the TDIClub folks. I think we spent the morning at Capistrano VW and then several of us caravaned down to RTC from there. I remember hearing the flap about them bringing up the waiver issue shortly thereafter.
The only other alternative fueling station is about 25 miles from me, so I don’t bother.
It’s actually RTC, not VW, that makes you sign a waiver.
The long and short of it is, since there isn’t yet a nationwide standard when it comes to biodiesel, VW has continued to perform a CYA maneuver by saying that the use of biodiesel in a TDI will cause your entire warranty to become null and void.
If I recall correctly, and Tortuga can probably speak to this better than I can, RTC decided that under the circumstances, they wanted people who were using their biodiesel to sign a waiver basically acknowledging that they were voiding their warranty by doing so, keeping people from coming after them in case VW refused to service their vehicles.
