windrush:
I exhibit old machinery at Steam Fairs etc and at SOME of the event’s the vintage tractor’s get checked for red fuel by C&E. Apparently if they are moving at a show it is classed as a public place and white diesel is required, for Ploughing Matches red is fine as public are not allowed near working machinery. Also they don’t always dip the tank, just hold a device over the exhaust which shows what fuel is being burnt.
Pete.
I don’t for a second doubt what you’re saying,but (there always has to be a ‘but’ ) wasn’t it the case that a farm vehicle could be driven on a public road using whatever fuel,and without road tax as long as it was below a set number of miles per year? IIRC,this was certainly less than 10 miles-can’t remember the exact amount.When did HMRC change this to increase their coffers?
daleyboy:
Currently it costs me £145 to fill my car up with petrol. And for that I get around 300 miles round town or 400 on a long runî˜
Dakota:
I sold my previous car a VW Passat 1.8T with what was going to be band K road tax at £245 and bought a VW Polo 1.4TDI with £35 a year road tax and a mpg of 65+ in October 2009. I cant see me selling it for a long time, its very cheap motoring. On £20 I can do over 200 miles and thats not 200 miles of motorway driving and I still have 30 miles in the red
I have an 11 year old Citroen HDi. It costs over £70 to fill it but I get 750 miles to the tank using it everyday, On my last trek down to my daughters, all motorway, I got over 900 miles. I don’t even look at the price of petrol now, just diesel.
ady1:
my daughter wants to change her car,shes after a fiesta zetec-s,she wants the 1.6 petrol at £6998 as its lime green with a black chequred roof,
tax 85.25 -6 moths
30 mpg ish
mates selling a zetec-s 1.6 tdci for £4,000,silver
tax-£30 per year
60 mpg ish
ive tried to explain how much cheaper a diesel would cost to run,but lime green seems to be winning over silver,lovely to be young and no worries about money,theres always dad if im short
Ah the wonders of the fairer ■■■! Facts and figures and common sense matter not, but the colour . . . means everything.
Until the injector pump seizes up. Diesel, both red and white, contains lubricants to stop that happening.
Yep.
I didn’t realise you could get any other colour when I started out, we had three tanks in the yard, they were all the same colour. In Hull right opposite King George Dock entrance was a small filling station. They made their money not selling fuel, but by storing tractor units that HMCE had seized
I learned a trick from the boss at Fransens. Buy the belly red in Belgium from a small haulier just off the E40, tap sealed open…
Living in a country area, the revenue were often about at local livestock markets with the hydrometer and syphon tube. I have seen several rich farmers walking home
many years ago, a mate of mine asked if i knew where to get red diesel. he had a customised transit 4x4 ex water board van.
so we went to get him a 45 gallon drum at £75. i told him how to get rid of the dye. but he only left it two weeks, which isn’t long enough for the process to work.
he filled the van to the neck, then off he went to work. he only got about half a mile and got pulled by customs. bloody unlucky, we had never seen them round our way before.
they checked the fuel, and told him it was 5% red, then gave him a £200 fine. well he didn’t have enough on him, so he and the customs man went in the van to the bank, then to his mums, then to mine. eventually he had enough to pay the fine. well not exactly a fine, he was paying the duty.
he told the customs man that he still had about 30 gallons at home. the customs man was dead on, he said “use this receipt, it proves you have paid the duty, and if i was you, i’d get another 45 gallon drum.”
so that’s what my mate did.
that wouldn’t happen nowadays. you just get your vehicle impounded straight away.
Getting too expensive to run any vehicle the way things are going, cheapest diesel around here is £1.37p but I have seen seen it at £1.51p nearby. Cost £125 to top up my Land Rover Discovery, and with road tax at £245 per year its time to reconsider it’s future. I’ve noticed more fuel testing vans in the last week than I’ve seen in the past year, not a good move to use red diesel.
A good friend has tried both red and heating oil in his ■■■■■■. Red made the engine run hotter, heating oil gave lower power. They both smoked more than regular diesel. Apparently, heating oil has less lubricants in it.
Also, if you buy more than 100 litres of red you have to declare name, address and its use to the fuel station. Bit like shooting yourself in the foot!
But, on market day, the fuel checkers sit alongside the A485 testing anyone they feel like!
Cheers
paul
tortoise:
I came off the Irish ferry one night last year at Fishguard in a truck. It was about 1am and they were stopping trucks and dipping tanks!!.
Only the Irish could be stupid enough for their government not to make it legal for all Irish registered trucks to use Red Diesel and to therefore be given Irish immunity when Transiting other countries with Irish fuel in the tanks.It would do wonders for paying off their deficit.
) wasn’t it the case that a farm vehicle could be driven on a public road using whatever fuel,and without road tax as long as it was below a set number of miles per year? IIRC,this was certainly less than 10 miles-can’t remember the exact amount.When did HMRC change this to increase their coffers?
