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Rust-resistant VWs - when do they start?

I'm still driving my trusty '86 GTI, with a mere 138,000km on the odometer. Nevertheless, 19 years of Canadian winter driving and salted roads have eaten away at wheel wells, and the bottoms of both doors. Presumably, over the past 2 decades, VW engineers have improved coatings, selected better materials, or otherwise made their cars more rust-resistant. (I think I've read that galvanized steel is used for many body panels now.)

What specific changes have been made to VWs to make them more rust-resistant? More importantly, is there a particular year which saw the introduction of particularly significant anti-rusting improvements, and cars after that year will be longer lasting? Or, am I being misled - they are as prone to rust as they have always been, all other things being equal?

Reply to
WT
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I had a 20 year old GTI that had no significant rust but it only had

300,000 miles. I am always amazed that I see no old cars when I drive to rust belt areas. We have plenty of mosquito foggers (old cars burning oil because they are not emission tested) in the south where we do not use salt on the road. Just on our food.

If and when the galvanized gets nicked it will start to rust. It may take longer though. I have seen good looking winter cars but you have to wash. When I went to high school in Cleveland, Ohio we used Dodge vans for the smaller bus routes. 3 vans. One driver would wash her van at least once a week in the winter. That van looked so much nicer after 3 years because she washed off the salt. This was back in

1975-1978 when they did not use galvanized in tha van. >
Reply to
Jim Behning

I live in the rust belt (Ohio), but my '95 Buick is rust free. I bought it new and take it to a do-it-yourself car wash in the winter (the ones with the hand-held high pressure hoses) and then spray under the wheel wells and under the front and back bumpers. This washes the salt off, and does a much better job than the automatic car washes (much cheaper too).

Reply to
Papa

No specific year as it has been a slow matter with many small improvements together making a great difference.

They have changed materials used a lot of galvanizing sealed up some areas and better drained and vented others. Paints and other coatings have been improved as have the application of same.

Reply to
Joseph Meehan

Depends on where in the South. People come up to my area for used pickup trucks and such from the coast because of the year round salt on everything down at the coast. Being a couple hundred miles inland and in the South is the key to avoiding that type of wear on a car. I think last year it snowed once here and that was melted off the roads before noon, so the roads are never salted, we do get sand when it ices on the bridges.

fundamentalism, fundamentally wrong.

Reply to
Rico

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