Unleaded BP Ultimate Petrol in a Diesel Car

CarProblems_2

Do I have any comeback? At all? even a little bit?

Well....I have had better days....this goes down as the most costly of them all...

This morning I filled my diesel car and drove it for 2 miles with unleaded petrol

I used BP Ultimate and I thought I checked several times...though I didn't want Ultimate, I think that standard diesel is fine, but as I was running late I would use the more expensive Ultimate Diesel as I was next to it (except it was petrol)

They are SO similar - when the breakdown guy came he said '90% of people I come to with this issue have filled up with Ultimate - it's so misleading'

i was so convinced it was diesel we went back to check.....

I have seen some info on the net about the mix up - does anyone have any experience of this?

Little did I know how much this error would cost......

....but that's what insurance is for isn't it? Putting petrol in was total stupidity (don't write to tell me I am an idiot - I know!!!!) It is also stupid reversing into a bollard etc but that also is an accident and so gets covers by insurance

Anyway, it turns out my fully comp insurance via Swintons with Chaucer does NOT cover this

So - while I admit liability....I didn't think it would cost me quite so dearly

Quote (that will keep my warranty in place which I need to do as it is a car on HP) is over £5000

Do I have any come back on;

- BP with their almost identical branding of Ultimate unleaded and diesel
- My insurance company for exlcuding 'accidents'!

Help - I can't afford this and to cover it need to get a loan!!!

Many thanks

Idiot Driver

1echidna

Sorry I am not sure I can be much comfort to you. I too now drive a diesel car and it is a nightmare of mine to have a mental aberration and fill up with petrol by mistake. I think though that I would probably realise before completely filling the car and driving off. Your experience sounds very expensive indeed. Incidently I did notice earlier today that BP had changed the labelling on the BP Ultimate Diesel filling station which made me wonder for a moment whether I was indeed about to fill up with Ultimate or ordinary diesel. The word "Diesel" was written in large letters on the stand whilst "BP Ultimate Diesel" was written on the hose handle. I think I recall also that the hose nozzles used to be black for diesel but it was a standard metal nozzle. Perhaps the change is an admission by BP that old labelling was confusing, certainly worth trying to make a claim (nothing to lose) against BP.

Crabman

Hi CarProblems, welcome to MSE :hello:

I've moved your thread over to the 'Motoring Board'

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere (please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

goldspanners

if it said petrol on the nozzle or pump and out came diesel then you could claim BP. but if it didnt then its nobodys fault other than your own. why would you want to blame someone else for this?

i have a diesel van during the day for work and a petrol car for evenings and weekends,ive never mixed up the fuels im using. i really dont see why this is such a common problem,hardly rocket science.

CHR15

Ask your husband to fill it up

daveyjp

I stopped using BP stations at least 5 years ago for this exact reason. For reasons they won't explain they colour their pumps almost the same. Convention is green for petrol, black for diesel. They started using green and blue for everything and I stopped going.

mattymoo

Green for petrol, blue for ultimate petrol to stop people filling up run of the mill cars by mistake and then complaining about the cost .

Black for diesel.

A lot of insurers have started to explicitly state that costs arising out of misfuelling will not be covered. So long as it is spelt out in the policy contract you don't really have any comeback.

CarProblems_2

Thanks for taking time to respond (and I have re-read my email - I am not and I don't think it looks like I am trying to blame someone else - I know it is my fault......but £5,200 for a really easy mistake is very hard to take as I am sure even you would agree Goldspanners!!!) I have fully comp insurance, full warrenties and finance gap insurance on my car etc - I thought I had taken every precaution to not end up with a situation like this - who knew??!? I do now (
Thanks also CHR15 - made me laugh on a bad day...unfortunately I don't have a husband yet - maybe it's becasue I can't tell the difference between petrol and diesel ha ha.

vikingaero

£5,200 is a ridiculous amount to keep your warranty intact. Are you sure Chaucer don't cover it? Is it in the Policy wording? Sounds like the Insurer is looking to worm their way out of paying.

I would pay a couple of hundred to have the tank drained, filters changed lines flushed and then use the car as normal. If it works then it works. If it fails then it fails. A car mag did a survey of some car manufacturers to find out the worst case scenario of a misfuel. Most of them put it at £2k to £10k but most admitted that a simple flush and go worked most of the time.

If you do flush and go then you'll only lose the warranty on the engine and not on the rest of the car that isn't linked to the fuel/engine system.

Conor_3

CarProblems wrote: »

Do I have any come back on;

- BP with their almost identical branding of Ultimate unleaded and diesel
- My insurance company for exlcuding 'accidents'!

!!!!!! do you think? The colour of the pumps is different and the word DIESEL or UNLEADED next to the word Ultimate is a bit of a giveaway.

So no, you don't have any comeback against BP because you're a moron.

Conor_3

daveyjp wrote: »

I stopped using BP stations at least 5 years ago for this exact reason. For reasons they won't explain they colour their pumps almost the same. Convention is green for petrol, black for diesel. They started using green and blue for everything and I stopped going.

Another moron who shouldn't be allowed to own a car. Are you too thick to read the word on the nozzle holder?

FYI YELLOW is actually the proper convention for diesel if you want to be picky...