Dear Mabs
Like most motorists, I joined the mad scramble to fill up my tank just before fuel went up. As I was sitting in my car, waiting for my turn I remembered a story that has been doing rounds about fuel station owners mixing diesel with paraffin so they can better their profit margins. In the past couple of weeks, a lot of people have been calling into radio stations to share their experiences from this appalling practice. This got me thinking of what happens when the wrong fuel is poured into a car. Can it cause any damage to your car? Also, can you claim against a service station to fix the damage done to your car?
Mabs Answers:
I got furious when I heard of this mixing of diesel with paraffin, it is an appalling practice indeed. The damage that can be caused by such greed is incredible. Imagine all the cars that come to a filling station and now have to prove where the damage to their vehicles comes from. I hope the arm of the law catches up to these rogue service station owners and makes an example out of them. Apart from this hideous practice, genuine mistakes happen sometimes.

How to recognise the wrong fuel in your car
In case the attendant has not recognised the mistake, here’s what you should look out for. If your car starts shaking, jumping, and making unusual noises as you drive off the service station, you should be concerned. According to AA, when you have put in wrong fuel in your tank you act immediately.

Extensive damage can occur to your car during the short period of driving off from the filling station. Damage ranges from needing to replace a fuel filter, draining engine oil, and replacing the oil filter up to having to rebuild the engine, particularly in diesel vehicles. AA further advises that you stop immediately and not attempt to restart the car. Call your insurance or experts such as AA to completely drain the fuel and replace it with the correct one.

You need to inform the service station of what happened while trying to determine what damage has been caused. There have been instances where fuel station owners have come to the party and compensated motorists who found themselves in this predicament. However, there are also rogue ones who will make it your problem or blame the attendant. To avoid this from happening, pay attention when you get to the fuel station and ensure that you are always aware of which fuel goes into your tank and also how much it costs. Times are tough and being passive is not useful.

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