RVers who travel in the Southwest within striking distance of Mexico can take advantage of diesel prices less than half what it sells for in the USA. Right now, a gallon of diesel in a Mexican border town costs about $2. Unleaded fuel is slightly higher, but still less than $3.
Here’s a report by RVtravel.com blogger Jim Twamley:
The Mexican diesel fuel is not the low sulfur type sold in the United States, but it actually delivers more miles per gallon. I’ve been going into Mexico the last few months, visiting Los Algadones near Yuma, Arizona; Acuna near Del Rio, Texas; and New Progresso near Brownsville, Texas. Fuel normally costs more in these border towns than the interior of Mexico but diesel is still half the cost of fuel in the United States.
Mexican diesel is good. But gasoline is a different story: it’s not the same quality as in the United States.
While staying at the Happy Hollow RV park just outside the border to Los Algadones I ran into some RVers who were crossing the border to fill their diesel tanks, plus as many extra plastic fuel containers as they could pack along. They were preparing to return home and wanted to grab as much of this cheap fuel as possible. Who can blame them with the cost of diesel in the United States spiraling past $4 a gallon?
This entry was posted on Friday, April 25th, 2008 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Mexico, diesel fuel, fuel economy, fuel prices, gas prices. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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Where is the station located in Los Algondones. Can you bring back 5 gallon plastic diesel cans with diesel?
While I appreciate Jim’s comment about cheaper diesel in Mexico, I’d like to correct him on a couple of factual errors. I don’t mean to take away from Jim’s post, only to add to it. Why should my information be correct? I’ve written about living in and driving in Mexico for more than 20 years. I live on the border and drive the interior frequently.
This is from my web page: In the Northern border regions of Mexico (Tamaulipas, Chihuahua, Sonora) fuel costs quite a bit less than in the interior of Mexico. The southern border, Chetumal, Q. Roo seems to be the least expensive. Metropolitan areas like Mexico City, Cuatla, Cuernavaca, Iguala, Pachuca, Queretaro, Toluca, Tula and the whole Valley of Mexico have the second-least expensive fuel costs in Mexico. To further complicate the cost of fuel situation, states with a 10% tax (Sonora, Baja California, Baja California Sur and Quintana Roo) have a slightly different pricing structure.
Unleaded and Super Unleaded (Premium) gasoline is absolutely exactly the same as US gas, since it is frequently exported to the United States. I have been using it for more than 20 years in several vehicles with no problems.
Fuel prices change monthly in Mexico, at the first of the month. I have a calculator at http://www.mexicomike.com/fuel_in_mexico/mexico_gas_diesel_prices.html
Anyone thinking of crossing the border to buy gas should be prepared for an hour or more wait, idling in line, at most crossings and must also have proof of citizenship, i.e. a passport or birth certificate and a state-issued photo id (driver’s license). Plus, you may be subjected to a US customs search. And you MUST have Mexican vehicle insurance even to cross the border (something most US insurance agents don’t know – US liability insurance is not recognized by Mexico). – “Mexico” Mike
[…] OUR southern boarder. Mexican Truckers are paying $2.07 for diesel fuel in Mexico as of May 2008. http://www.rvnewsservice.com/yes-2-a-gallon-diesel-fuel-is-available/ Please join America’s truckers, pass this […]