Does a car rust quicker, garaged

That hasn't been my experience, across 30-some rusty beaters. First to go is the wrap-around weld on the door and hatch edges (especially on fords), followed closely by the wheel arches where salt-laden crud and sand gets jammed against the inside of the steel, after sneaking past the fender liner. Certain AMCs and Chryslers from a few years ago had a big problem with the front fenders- there was an actual ledge in there where salt-laden sand would be packed against the inside of the top of the fender, and stay there till you cleaned it out by hand. With due respect to Japanese cars, which I own one of and basically love, I don't see many older ones around here that aren't totally bananna-spotted with rust. Guess they don't salt back home in Japan, so the engineers didn't spec coated steel or whatever. Now that many/most are made here in NA, maybe that has changed.

I'v had some luck, in years I wasn't too lazy, with saturating the door edges and under the hood with cheap spray wax mixed with hot water. Sorta like the shipping wax the manufacturers used to use. Gotta do this in the fall before the weather turns, however, and it is pretty easy to forget in the rush of real life.

But having said all that- I still get the cars bottom-washed whenever there is a thaw, if it lasts long enough for the lines to die down. And now that I have a garage (non-heated, but house leakage probably keeps it barely below freezing at worst), not scraping the glass in the mornings is worth the increased rust of the temp cycling to me. Neither of my current heaps is anywhere near collectible, and I drive the rusty one when the roads are white. I doubt it makes a significant difference- if sun comes out on a snowy day, greenhouse effect gets my car hot enough to melt off all the snow anyway. Very annoying to come out at 1700, and the doors are frozen from refrozen meltoff. (Also been too lazy to silicone the weatherstrip the last few years...)

aem sends...

Reply to
ameijers
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Chuckle. Which side of salt line do YOU live on? Yes, they are a lot better than they used to be, but I still see a lot of speckles on 3-5 year old rides around here. See my other post for details.

And no, I don't lose sleep over it- rust never sleeps, and is just a cost of doing business here in the frozen north. One of many reasons I don't buy new, so the relative cost of the rust to me is much lower. About once a year, I give the brown spots a quick'n'dirty with the wire wheel and spray can, and at most a little Bondo on the wheel arches. It gets bad enough to make the car unsafe, I just replace the car.

aem sends...

Reply to
ameijers

I live in the midwest (MO) so we do see plenty of snow and salt on the roads though I'm sure not as much as more northern areas.

Perfect example is my mother-in-law's car which we just inherited. This is a 94 Mecury Topaz that was washed every time nature rained on it, was never garaged or even under a car-port and a few years ago went through a severe hail storm that beat the living crap out of it. The car looks (and drives) like hell, but I would be hard-pressed to find any rust on it.

If I had to worry about rust in only 3 to 5 years I suppose I would opt for a car with plastic body panels.

Reply to
Rick Brandt

One of my cars is going on 16 years. No visible rust but there are some spots underneath on the chassis starting to go. I'm debating on whether or not to replace the original exhaust though as it is starting to rust out. I'm getting rid of the car in about 5 months. At that time it will have about no re-sale value to speak of so I'm trying to "use it up" this winter and then give it away. Engine is as good as new performance wise after

145,000 miles.

My other car is an '01 and has no signs of rust either. I'll probably keep that one another 10 years or so also.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

You don't need to be in the salted road areas to have rust. Some of the worst undercarriage rust occurs where a vehicle is parked on grass or dirt. Those brake lines go pretty quick. Air moving under a car to dry it out helps in summer and winter.

Reply to
Al Bundy

The answer is definitly yes. Case in point. 1999 Isuzu Trooper, always garaged. 35,000 miles, four months over warranty, exhaust from cat back, warranty denied, $1200 for Isuzu parts on line. 51,000 miles, fuel tank-fuel pump-sending unit, all rusted beyond repair. $1450 to repair at closest garage.No Isuzu dealers in sight, they dropped the line. Closest dealer offered to check the leak for $100 but assured me there would be no warranty as did Isuzu corporate.. I think no more Jap cars. Three new Maximas, one new Toyota, probably five other new cars but never a money pit like this.

Ron

Reply to
n877

Well, your scenario #2 there is what I said.

Doesn't matter where they are made. AFAIK, starting in the early 90's all the major Japanese makers "got with the program" for corrosion protection. I know my '92 Prelude did quite well...

Reply to
dizzy

This is VERY true. It is the heating, sweating and melting in a garge for engine heat that greatly increases rusting. My wifes 200 cherokee has never been garge kept and it does not have any rust on it or under it yet and we live in the salt belt too. I found out by accident about

30 years ago. WHen my parents moved to the country they did not have a garage for several years (out buildings but no close garage) and they left their cars out. Prior to moving there by dad's car would start showing rust after about 2 years from new when being garage kept but when kept out side it was still pretty much rust free after 5 years and 170K miles and it was not form improved factory protection either.
Reply to
TheSnoMan

I believe it. I live near there, and they salt like it's going out of style. Really amazing, and all the vehicles rust out rapidly.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

I don't know but if you look at it long enough I think the process slows down considerably.

Reply to
sleepdog

Indeed. Cars do rust "quicker" if they're not maintained. Ie washed etc.

Reply to
Gary L. Burnore

Here in Montreal'surbs we get even more salt than you do...

CW says keep the car away from heated garages. There may be an electrical effect if the garage floor is bare concrete (which does conduct) and this might affect rusting. Might not.

I kept one Accord in an appartment garage many years ago and it did not have any effect that I could tell ... there was a little rust after 8 years. I did wash the car every couple weeks, however and that surely helped (though not underneath). I sometimes put my car in my garage in the winter, but I've blocked off the heat so the temp is usually just below freezing.

The best is an unheated garage. That keeps the snow off. If it's really cold, use a block heater for an hour before you use the car in the morning and it heats up pretty quick afterwards.

White cars seem to rust quickest. I believe it's because moisture behind the panels stays longer whereas darker colours heat up in the sun and evaporate the moisture quicker.

Cheers, Alan

Reply to
Alan Browne

I live on Long Island, NY.

We use a nice mix of 30% salt and the rest sand.

Yeah our cars rust nicely and all turn white when we drive in the winter (hint, its not the snow that makes the cars white)

I have a 92 sentra that has always been garaged. What I found is that between the cars I own (altima and infiniti) the 92 sentra which was always garaged DOES show very little rust on it. The other cars are newer and do have more corrosion on the undercarage.

Just my 2 cents.

Tom

Reply to
BocesLib

The speed of corrosion is increased with temperature. The theory is you drive in salty roads and then when garaged the vehicle is subjected to above freezing temperatures and allows more corrosion. When salt spray tests are performed the temperatures are elevated to promote corrosion to speed up testing. I do not know if being garaged will in fact be worse but I guess it could. The fact is a warmer vehicle vs. a colder vehicle with the same corrosion environment will corrode faster where it can.

Reply to
TF

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