<p>I’m going to have the use of a loaner vehicle for a couple of weeks that uses diesel fuel and will be making a fairly long roadtrip through NY and PA. I’m curious about availability of diesel fuel, never having had to notice this before. Do most gas stations have it? Anything unique to diesel vehicles that I should be aware of? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!</p>
<p>We don’t have one now but my H used to have a diesel pickup. I don’t recall ever having a problem finding fuel. I know the gas station I go to now has a diesel hose at the same pump as the regular gas. Plus remember that big rigs use diesel so you can always find it on the highway.
Back when we had one diesel was cheaper. I don’t think that is the case now.</p>
<p>I’ve owned a diesel (the same car) for 20 years. Couple of things, no, most gas stations do not sell diesel, all truck stops do sell diesel. Starting a diesel is different from starting a gasser. Diesels have “glow plugs” that must be warmed up before you start the engine. Overnight in <25 degree weather older diesels need to kept in a warm garage or plugged in to prevent fuel gelling and starting problems. Diesels are not as peppy as a gasser, you’ll need to adjust your driving style. </p>
<p>My '79 300D has over 300k miles and shows no sign of quitting.</p>
<p>I rented an Audi A5 diesel in the UK a couple of summers ago and tooled around for a couple of weeks. Of course, they have diesel available at all their stations but I don’t know about the NE of the USA for it. It seems like there must be a resource online that would point them out.</p>
<p>That was the first and only diesel vehicle I’ve driven. I was surprised at how easy starting it was. I really didn’t have to let the glow plugs warm up first and this included some fairly cold locations in northern Scotland (but not below freezing). It was also pretty quiet and didn’t spew diesel fumes. It had plenty of low end torque and seemed to go a long ways on a tank but I didn’t check the actual mileage. I was favorably impressed with the diesel engine in that car.</p>
<p>I had a VW Diesel Rabbit. It was terrible. I was so happy when it finally died at 110K miles. The frame and muffler couldn’t withstand the engine vibrations. During it’s last months I needed either a new tailpipe, a new muffler or at the very least a welding job once a month. Never again and I had previously owned VWs that I loved.</p>
<p>BTW, after I bought it (it was a VERY hot commodity at the time) diesel prices increased and it would take almost 100K miles to recoup the additional cost for the engine which, if I remember correctly was about $600.</p>
<p>^^I just realized you’ll have a loaner. In the NY/PA area you should have no trouble finding fuel.</p>
<p>Thank you to all of you for your help, I truly appreciate it. I discovered that mapquest has a function which will find service stations for you and you can indicate what type of fuel you’re looking to purchase. It doesn’t appear that I’ll have any problem with availability on the route I’m taking. Thanks again!</p>
<p>When my H had the diesel our dogs would get excited several minutes before he arrived home. They knew the sound of his truck and could hear him when he was several miles away.</p>
<p>Don’t drive a diesel, but do drive in NY/PA a lot. So long as you’re going to a gas station along decent highway they should have diesel… if it’s some random gas station in the middle of nowhere then they might just have gas.</p>