The more I think about it, the more I suspect it is just in his head, and he has some bad luck with something. He will only buy his fuel at one place he trusts, but think of all the truckers who use diesel and buy it at truck stops. I don't understand why it would be any different from place to place. I'm not going to worry about that.
The thing I didn't realize was that diesel forms a wax film when it gets below a certain temperature. So the fuel itself needs to be heated a bit, or it will clog the fuel filter, and at a certain point, around 5 degrees F, it doesn't really work at all. So there is a little preheater deal-y to warm the fuel filter before you start the car in cold weather (adding an extra step to starting the engine that I only heard about from New Cellmate - from looking at my manual, I think maybe my car does it automatically so I don't have to stop and wait before turning the key all the way - will ask when I take it in for it's first service), and apparently something warms teh fuel after the car is started, but you have to be sure to get "winterized" fuel if it is going to be severely cold, or keep your vehicle inside. It is rare for us to get down that cold here, so hopefully will be a non-issue. Supposedly in winter the engine will be a lot louder until it warms up. However, the VW people can't emphasize enough that it is NOT good to sit and idle the engine. Much better to get moving and bring engine temperature up as quickly as possible, which I thought was really interesting.
I don't know about bio-diesel. The VW engine runs on ULSD - ultra-low sulfer diesel - which apparenty is a US and Canadian fuel only and apparently THE WORLD WILL END AND I WILL GO TO HELL if I put any other fuel in the tank. :D They say to be careful if the car is being taken out of the US and Canada, because I may not be able to get car food abroad. Also, I have now realized that not every station in the neighborhood has diesel, and have done a little research to find out all the places in the areas I travel. There are plenty that are convenient, but I can't just drive in anywhere.
Apparently diesel fuel packs a lot more punch, so diesel engines are overall 20-30% more fuel efficient than gas engines, and they also have more zip. The internet promises me a very sporty performance from my engine. Also, apparently diesel engines are impossible to kill, with 250k being a typical expectation, and many lasting 300k or more. So that's cool.
Diesel is more smog producing, but has far lower CO2 emmissions, so that is a trade off.
And there ends my current knowledge of diesel. *hugs the internet*
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The thing I didn't realize was that diesel forms a wax film when it gets below a certain temperature. So the fuel itself needs to be heated a bit, or it will clog the fuel filter, and at a certain point, around 5 degrees F, it doesn't really work at all. So there is a little preheater deal-y to warm the fuel filter before you start the car in cold weather (adding an extra step to starting the engine that I only heard about from New Cellmate - from looking at my manual, I think maybe my car does it automatically so I don't have to stop and wait before turning the key all the way - will ask when I take it in for it's first service), and apparently something warms teh fuel after the car is started, but you have to be sure to get "winterized" fuel if it is going to be severely cold, or keep your vehicle inside. It is rare for us to get down that cold here, so hopefully will be a non-issue. Supposedly in winter the engine will be a lot louder until it warms up. However, the VW people can't emphasize enough that it is NOT good to sit and idle the engine. Much better to get moving and bring engine temperature up as quickly as possible, which I thought was really interesting.
I don't know about bio-diesel. The VW engine runs on ULSD - ultra-low sulfer diesel - which apparenty is a US and Canadian fuel only and apparently THE WORLD WILL END AND I WILL GO TO HELL if I put any other fuel in the tank. :D They say to be careful if the car is being taken out of the US and Canada, because I may not be able to get car food abroad. Also, I have now realized that not every station in the neighborhood has diesel, and have done a little research to find out all the places in the areas I travel. There are plenty that are convenient, but I can't just drive in anywhere.
Apparently diesel fuel packs a lot more punch, so diesel engines are overall 20-30% more fuel efficient than gas engines, and they also have more zip. The internet promises me a very sporty performance from my engine. Also, apparently diesel engines are impossible to kill, with 250k being a typical expectation, and many lasting 300k or more. So that's cool.
Diesel is more smog producing, but has far lower CO2 emmissions, so that is a trade off.
And there ends my current knowledge of diesel. *hugs the internet*