Cheap diesel-does this sound right to you?

[Lin]

I just spoke to a guy that is selling diesel for close to a dollar under market here.  He says his brother drives a semi back and forth to Mexico daily and brings in an extra 120 gallons a day.  However, he says that all diesel from Mexico is red.  Anyone familiar with this?

[cody]

I think I'd be pretty careful mainly cause of the taxes, if it's bootleg diesel there could be some pretty stiff fines if caught.

[PP]

It's dyed RED because it is for agricultural use only-it's tax evasion if you get caught using it on a US Highway. FWIW

[quantum500]

I'm not advocating tax evasion but....how many private coaches do you know of that have had the tanks dipped?

[luvrbus]

Highway fuel in Mexico is red not clear even the low sulfur fuel we ship over from here in the USA,fwiw Texas requires you pay taxes on it if bringing into the state in a tank and AZ is going to start, but you can bring back all you can hold in the fuel tanks on your vehicle for no taxes just no tanks in the back of a pickup.Keep you receipt when filling up there and it won't be a problem here in the US.They stick my tank they will find 250 gals of red fuel from Mexico but I have a receipt for it .The Mexicans are the ones getting upset about Americans buying the cheap fuel but like anything else over there 20 bucks and go on your way

[Sean]

I've purchased perhaps a thousand gallons of diesel in Mexico over the last two years, and none of it was red.  So I haven't a clue where that rumor has started.  Why would Pemex go to the trouble to put dye in road fuel?

If some guy is selling red diesel out of a can, it's off-road fuel, plain and simple.  And using it for road purposes is criminal.  By contrast, bringing Mexican road fuel into the country, subject to your personal exemption, is not.

FWIW.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com

[luvrbus]

Buy it now Sean it will be red

[TomC]

Sean just bought Mexican Diesel within the past few days-so I think he knows that it isn't red.  Good Luck, TomC

[niles500]

Long way to go (Fl to Mexico) for a tank !!!!!!

[makemineatwostroke]

TomC: we just delivered 3 loads of heavy eletrical equipment 93 tons each to Hidalgo del Parral in Mexico and if Sean bought clear fuel in Mexico in the last few days he bought untaxed fuel. None we bought there was clear, you work for ShakyLiner look at one of the Mexcians trucks that come in for service and see what color the fuel is   RED    FWIW    have a great evening

[Lin]

I don't know if anything has changed recently, but it seems from web postings that Mexican fuel near California is red.  Is it possible they do not dye it in some other areas?

[makemineatwostroke]

Lin; it is red everywhere in Mexico now for highway use we paid Mexican taxes on 385 gals of clear fuel that was in our trucks when we entered Mexico 

good night all

[JackConrad]

I'm not advocating tax evasion but....how many private coaches do you know of that have had the tanks dipped?

   You do not have to be stopped and have your tank dipped. If you developed a fuel leak or are involved in an accident that causes a fuel leak, you are still caught and still guilty.
   Since we purchased our bus in Oct./99 we have used 6418.9 gallons of diesel. With a road tax of approx. .50, that means we would have save $3209.45.  That is over a period of almost 9 years (356.60/year). One fine would be more than that.  For us not worth it.  YMMV, Jack

[makemineatwostroke]

wonder what the tax man would do if somebody had the European fuel in their tanks some of it is yellow or brown,Venezuela fuel is purple for highway use and for FWIW you can use red fuel here as long as the road tax has been paid and you can prove it, Our supplier put 9000 gals of red fuel in our tanks by mistake a year ago and it caused us no problems because we paid the road tax

[Sean]

... if Sean bought clear fuel in Mexico in the last few days he bought untaxed fuel. None we bought there was clear ...

Umm, Mexican diesel is subsidized by the government, so it is actually ALL untaxed.  There are some minor exceptions; Sonora and Baja, for example, have 10% state taxes, and it is possible that some stations there are selling dyed fuel.

As Tom points out, I just purchased 300 gallons in Tamaulipas within the past month.  It is not dyed, and it came from a standard road fuel dispenser on the truck islands at a Pemex.  I've also purchased fuel in Chihuahua (the state where Hidalgo del Parral is located) within the past few months, and it was not dyed either.

The Mexican fuel distribution system, which is nationalized, does not have the concept of different tax structures for on and off road use.  So there is absolutely no need for dye, nor can I imagine in my wildest dreams the Mexicans wanting to spend the money to dye fuel or to keep track of separate fuels.

All that being said, understand that Mexico does import refined fuel from the US, particularly in border regions.  Yes, Mexico is one of the world's largest oil exporters, and the US does import both crude and refined oil from them, but the system of refining and delivering motor fuels is complex (I've posted about this before, when the idea to "boycott" certain fuel brands comes up periodically), and so fuel crosses the border in both directions.

I would definitely not put it past regulators in some states to mandate that US diesel being shipped to Mexico be dyed, to ensure it does not get sold surreptitiously in-country as motor fuel.  And the Mexicans wouldn't care about the dye, since there is no concept there of any difference.

So I am not denying that you've purchased diesel in Mexico that happens to be dyed.  But the sweeping statement made earlier that "Highway fuel in Mexico is red not clear" is simply not universally true, and, in fact, most diesel in Mexico is undyed.

-Sean
http://ourodyssey.blogspot.com