Availability of Diesel at Gas Stations?

[Hack&Lube]

Today, I am looking at a used vehicle purchase with the catch that it runs on Diesel.

I've never bothered to pay attention or look for Diesel at gas stations my whole life because I've always just filled up at the regular pumps with Petrol.

What is the available of Diesel in gas stations in Alberta, Canada, or North America? What complications might I encounter with Diesel?

[GP_Matt]

In the northern half of the province it is available at almost every station.
In the south, not so much.

[Northendzone]

i think that generally speaking, deisel are more expensive to fix; however, I beleive that on average, you likely go more km's before a repair

[DownhillGoat]

Availability isn't too bad. Have to pay attention for sure but it seems like even small towns always have at least 1 station that carries diesel. I've always been able to find fuel in Sask/AB/BC, and western US.

I'm not as picky with gas, but with diesel I refuse to fill up at discount stations. Bad fuel can do a ton of damage to a diesel. Also, if you ever use a full-service, make sure to watch like a hawk that they don't grab the gas nozzle.

[undercoverbrother]

Since moving to Dead Rear (Sylvan actually), I have noticed there is more diesel pumps. Every place I fill up, in every little town has diesel.

I don't recall that being the case in Calgary.

[wretched34]

It's really not much of an issue, almost all of the larger chains/stations have a diesel pump or two. pretty sure all Co-Op gas bars have Diesel, the majority of Petro's as well. It is usually just the little neighbourhood convenience stores, that offer a few pumps that won't carry diesel.
Did a road trip to Vegas just over a year ago, and never had an issue finding diesel, as every station we pulled into off the interstates was set up to provide diesel for Semi's.
Really, just get used to visiting the big gas stations.

As for "complications" with diesel vehicles, I wouldn't say you have anything more to worry about than a standard gas vehicle. Except in the winter, make sure you plug it in, as they don't like the cold. If you're buying from a used dealership, have them replace the glow plugs before purchasing, and have them provide proof. Glow plugs are a hassle.

[Da_Chief]

Places such as Petro Pass, Husky truck stop there are far more Diesel pumps then gas so you should be fine. Regular gas stations usually have a Diesel pump too from what Ive seen.

[wretched34]

Oh, get used to sitting behind people who pull up to the pump that has Gas and Diesel, in their gas engine cars, while all the other gas pumps are not in use.
Nothing bugs me more, it's like using the express lane at the grocery store for 12 items or less, when they have a full cart.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Check and price out the maintenance schedule. Some diesel motors have additional maintenance costs that negate some of the savings from longer mileage. A friend of mine ditched his VW TDI for that reason (just going on hearsay here, confirm yourself).

[Stanathan]

Calling it "petrol" is ridiculous, don't do that anymore!

Just kidding. If your only concern with the vehicle is availability of diesel fuel, then don't worry about it, you'll be just fine.

[opendoor]

Hasn't really been an issue for me as long as I've owned a VW TDI. Around where I live I it's maybe 1 in 10 stations that don't have diesel and I know not to go there.

The only time it has been even a slight issue is when I'm traveling and have had to keep an eye out for somewhere that has it. But that minor inconvenience once or twice a year is far outweighed by the fact that I can go about 60-70% farther between fill ups compared to the same model with a gas engine.

[burn_this_city]

It's everywhere, I've had a diesel for 7 years and never had a problem finding fuel.

[Regular_John]

The wife and I had a Diesel Jetta for about 2 years and absolutely loved it. 650km a tank in city driving meant visiting the pumps every second week.

In terms of availability it's typically pretty good in the city, we did have one or two "oh crap, we need to find diesel now" moments during that time, but the station closest to our house has a pump, and it seemed like most Husky stations were in the process of adding them around the time we traded it.

Budget didn't allow us to get into a diesel this time, but I'd absolutely jump at the chance to own another one in the future.

Only warning I'd give is the oil changes were not cheap, we typically had to drop $115-$120 a pop for synthetic oil and I'd been lead to believe they needed to be done at the 5,000k mark exactly. So we were spending near $500/year for oil changes.

[spetch]

Diesel availability isn't really an issue. Any gas station that is a good location will have diesel. In fact I have had easier luck in small towns than the cities. Guess US country folk love our hauling power. What is the issue is the fact the diesel prices are stupid in comparison to gas prices.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

[Zulu29]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

The wife and I had a Diesel Jetta for about 2 years and absolutely loved it. 650km a tank in city driving meant visiting the pumps every second week.

In terms of availability it's typically pretty good in the city, we did have one or two "oh crap, we need to find diesel now" moments during that time, but the station closest to our house has a pump, and it seemed like most Husky stations were in the process of adding them around the time we traded it.

Budget didn't allow us to get into a diesel this time, but I'd absolutely jump at the chance to own another one in the future.

Only warning I'd give is the oil changes were not cheap, we typically had to drop $115-$120 a pop for synthetic oil and I'd been lead to believe they needed to be done at the 5,000k mark exactly. So we were spending near $500/year for oil changes.

Interesting, my tdi jetta needs an oil change every 15,000

[wretched34]

Originally Posted by Zulu29

Interesting, my tdi jetta needs an oil change every 15,000

Ya, that seemed excessive, my Grand Cherokee CRD is every 12,000KM's. Diesels should require less frequent regular maintenance.

[Regular_John]

Originally Posted by Zulu29

Interesting, my tdi jetta needs an oil change every 15,000

What year was it? I was dealing with a 2000 so it was pushing 13/14 years old and 250,000+ on the odometer. I had asked my buddy who's a commercial mechanic if I could stretch them out past 5k at all and he said it wasn't wise to do so.

It's possible the newer model years are a little better... it's also possible I was simply a sucker for shelling out money every 3 months.

[wretched34]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

What year was it? I was dealing with a 2000 so it was pushing 13/14 years old and 250,000+ on the odometer. I had asked my buddy who's a commercial mechanic if I could stretch them out past 5k at all and he said it wasn't wise to do so.

It's possible the newer model years are a little better... it's also possible I was simply a sucker for shelling out money every 3 months.

since owning a diesel, I've come to find the majority of "commercial" mechanics, don't know a whole lot about diesels. It just doesn't seem to be something they learn in school, as they still aren't very common in North America, I could be totally wrong about that, but even the Chrysler dealerships I've dealt with when it comes to the Jeep, don't seem to have a clue what they are doing.
There are a lot of private shops that specialize in imports and diesels, which are great for information and tough fixes. But as far as Mr. Lube and places like that go, they're very capable of doing the standard maintenance, just call ahead to make sure they have the proper filter and oil available.

[Zulu29]

Originally Posted by jaydorn

What year was it? I was dealing with a 2000 so it was pushing 13/14 years old and 250,000+ on the odometer. I had asked my buddy who's a commercial mechanic if I could stretch them out past 5k at all and he said it wasn't wise to do so.

It's possible the newer model years are a little better... it's also possible I was simply a sucker for shelling out money every 3 months.

It's a 2012. The dealer says to change the oil at 8 thousand kms, but VW hq says 15 thousand kms. I went with VW hq because a) I think they know more about their product and b) I think the dealership just wanted more money out of me.

[Hugh Jahrmes]

Yeah I have a 12 tdi Jetta as well. Love it. Fun fact, if you're worried about finding diesel, just goto the navigation screen. The little blue pumps come up at places that for sure have diesel. It missed some in red deer, but I haven't been hassled in the 2+ years I've driven it


I also am switching to 15k for oil changed too. Gets pricy