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Tesco Diesel

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mrmmhf
mrmmhf Posts: 111 Forumite
Fourth Anniversary 10 Posts
The most convenient place for us to fill up our car is at Tesco, and we've been doing this for quite some time now. We were recently speaking to a friend who said that their mechanic advised them against using filling up their car with Tesco diesel because it's "dirty" and damages your engine in the long run.

Is there any truth to this?
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Comments

  • worried_jim
    worried_jim Posts: 11,631 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    mrmmhf wrote: »
    The most convenient place for us to fill up our car is at Tesco, and we've been doing this for quite some time now. We were recently speaking to a friend who said that their mechanic advised them against using filling up their car with Tesco diesel because it's "dirty" and damages your engine in the long run.

    Is there any truth to this?

    No truth whatsoever. Ignore your friend and carry on.
  • Browntoa
    Browntoa Posts: 49,602 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    All basic fuel is the same before the brand puts in additives

    And it must conform to the British standards

    https://www.simplemotoring.co.uk/supermarket-vs-branded-fuels/
    Ex forum ambassador

    Long term forum member
  • Supersonos
    Supersonos Posts: 1,080 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    I heard Tesco petrol was made from this dirty old black stuff they found underground. Definitely don't put it in your car.
  • mcpitman
    mcpitman Posts: 1,267 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    mrmmhf wrote: »

    Is there any truth to this?

    Not even remotely.
    Life isn't about the number of breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away. Like choking....
  • motorguy
    motorguy Posts: 22,611 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    No truth at all.
  • mrmmhf
    mrmmhf Posts: 111 Forumite
    Fourth Anniversary 10 Posts
    Thanks for the reassurance - I figured as much, but wanted to make sure.
  • elljay
    elljay Posts: 1,010 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts
    A friend goes to the most expensive garage in town, rather than the supermarket, as her dad has told her this 'dirty petrol' story. She won't be persuaded it's an urban myth. Ask your friend where their mechanic got this information from and what his evidence is.

    Madness!
  • giraffe69
    giraffe69 Posts: 3,603 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I'll start by saying I most often use Tesco Diesel and have not suffered any problem in any car I have used it on. If you choose to a. read and b. believe Honest John on his website and in the Telegraph he recommends using high octane diesel from a known brand such as Shell.
  • Aylesbury_Duck
    Aylesbury_Duck Posts: 15,662 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Never had any problems with supermarket fuel, nor have I noticed any improvement in economy or performance from using so-called premium brands. I have a whole load of Redex I got incredibly cheaply a few months back so I stick some of that in every other fill. I can't qualify its effectiveness but I got it so cheaply I reason if it does any good at all it's a bargain and if it does nothing it's costing me less than 50p a tank to add anyway.

    My EGR valve and the manifold it's mounted on need regularly de-sooting but I suspect that's more to do with the poor design (rough edges that collect and then attract soot more) than anything to do with fuel type or additives.
  • AdrianC
    AdrianC Posts: 42,189 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    All fuel is refined in a tiny handful of locations around the country, to two basic standards - diesel and unleaded - defined in BS EN228 for petrol, BS EN590 for diesel. It's illegal to sell road fuel that doesn't meet those standards... Petrol is the same maximum of 5% ethanol that it's been since the 80s (7% for diesel), although clearly-labelled 10% ethanol petrol is coming soon - it's been in other EU countries for years, and the US since the 70s.

    That basic fuel is then distributed via a small number of regional depots that serve multiple brands. At the point of "dispense" (loading the tanker) brand-specific additives (including octane enhancers for 97+RON "super" unleaded).

    So whether it's "the same stuff" or not really comes down to how you feel about homeopathy...
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