should I undercoat my Brand new '13 Honda Fit

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Originally Posted By: nitehawk55
Oiling does work and the way to go if you plan on keeping the vehicle long term or just to hold it's value better because the body is in above average condition .

Worst thing done is putting a car in the garage every night when snow and ice on it keeping the car warm , that's when the salt really goes to work rusting it ! If the car stays out in below freezing temps the salt stays somewhat neutral .


Good point a lot of people don't realize that.
 
So, do oil-based undercoating sprays damage rubber parts? Can't many rubber parts be damaged by certain petroleum products?
 
Originally Posted By: stephen9666
So, do oil-based undercoating sprays damage rubber parts? Can't many rubber parts be damaged by certain petroleum products?


I have seen some door rubbers become soft from getting oil on them , other than that nothing I have seen . I think newer oil coatings don't attack rubber so much . Years ago guys used to put used motor oil on which was real bad stuff .

Some complain of the oil that collects on the car body but in the spring a rag with some varsol or mineral spirits cleans it up fast . I also wipe any excess oil off my door rubbers .
 
The people at CarWell only drill holes several feet off the ground in doors and behind tail lights and tailgate (pickup). These holes are bound to get a lot of CarWell sprayed on them.

CarWell also has told me spring is a better time than fall to spray on CarWell.
 
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Originally Posted By: Rolla07


I agree 100%. I wouldnt bother, my dads legacy 1998 just started to rust...its almost 16 years old..waxed once a yr with nu finish..and subie's were known to rust..

My 07 corolla is still impecable. Run it through a car wash regularly during winter and dont waste your money. I have a 120k miles on it..not a spec of rust. I see plenty of Mazda's that are rusted however. Keep it clean and dont worry about it. It will only start rusting after 14-15 years (if maintained reasonably) Think how much you will have spent rust proofing it yearly...by the time ur car starts to rust you will likely have either dumped it or be looking for something new.


Your corolla is impeccable you say? Did you look underneath? I guess not.

Lots of cars don't show rust on the outside until 10-15 year mark, but they will be rusty underneath and inside door panels. Anybody that ever had to wrench on an old rusty car will know how much work and aggravation a broken, due to rust, fastener or component can add to the work.


No rust underneath. I think it depends on the car. I have never had to do anything but change oil and a wheel bearing..
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
The people at CarWell only drill holes several feet off the ground in doors and behind tail lights and tailgate (pickup). These holes are bound to get a lot of CarWell sprayed on them.

I would not rely on pure chance that some oil will be oversprayed on the drilled holes. It's asking for trouble down the road because the techs are rushing and may miss some. I know that Krown actually applies grease to the holes right before they plug them off and I watched them do it to every hole they drilled. I pulled several plugs in the past and the grease is still there and no rust on the drilled metal.

If holes are drilled, make sure they are treated properly with heavy grease instead of relying on the tech to overspray them. You can also easily do it yourself afterwards.
 
I would. I took these pictures the other weekend, when I decided to finally spray some FF on this car. Just photos of the rear suspension; I could not figure out how to get under the front real well.

This has seen the winter of '11-12 and '12-13 and 55kmiles. We generally don't wash cars in winter either, nor garage them. Scary amount of rust for a 2 year old car if you ask me (14 months of ownership this month).

Rear jack point:
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Rear area:
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zoom on that rear crossmember:
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Rear suspension doesn't look too bad:
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until you look closer:
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Bracket above exhaust:
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I have to say, if FF doesn't stop this trend in its tracks, it will likely be the last Toyota I buy.
 
Here's my 2005 Caravan. This is rust started from the inside, but there is a documented problem on the forums about factory problem that exacerbated this.
7bk.JPG


You guys are a hoot. Listen to me (this time).
grin.gif


The reason for the huge disparity of opinions is due to all the variables:

- Certain car models, brands, production runs are just better or worse for factory rust prevention. I have been observing local cars carefully the past few years. There are 2 2002 Honda CRVs at my work that are pristine while others are rusty.

- Conditions vary tremendously across the nation. I laugh when people suggest washing the vehicle after each snow. In my area, we can have weeks of getting 1 inch of snow every 3 -4 days.......wet salty roads every every 3 -4 days. Washing might result in a clean car 2 days out of the week.

So, lets agree that it's a toss up regarding the need for rust proofing. I see lots of 8 year old cars in my area with significant rust as well as 12 year old cars that are pristine. Its not about washing the car 2 times a week in the winter.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
The people at CarWell only drill holes several feet off the ground in doors and behind tail lights and tailgate (pickup). These holes are bound to get a lot of CarWell sprayed on them.

CarWell also has told me spring is a better time than fall to spray on CarWell.


Yes spring is best if you use dripless as the warm weather allows it to creep plus the oil application neutralises any salt residue .
 
Originally Posted By: doitmyself
Originally Posted By: Rolla07
http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/2013/03/should-you-rust-proof-your-new-car.html


" “after-market rust proofing is a waste of money regardless of who’s applying it,” says Quincy. “Factory rust proofing is all you need.”

My picture above proves otherwise. Form your own conclusion based on who you choose to believe.


The bottom of the 95 Caprice Classic I bought from my FIL proved the same thing your pics showed. I have no idea who Quincy, nor do I care, but I respectfully disagree with him. I base that on close to 4 decades of car ownership and living on Long Island, and spending a lot of winters in PA and Upstate NY. If I lived in Vegas I'd probably agree.
 
Even if I bought a brand new [insert the most factory rusproofed car here], I would still undercoat/rustproof without a question! Canadian cities must have the most extreme salt regime in the world.

But be careful who you go to to get it done. Our 04 G6 is rusting around the wheel well and along the the length of the bottom seam, and it was rustproofed before we picked it up (not sure by whom). Seems incorrectly done because the drainage holes in the rear doors are clogged with rustproofing and they fill with water after a rain.. drain holes need to get pokes out. Rustproofing is meant to seal water/salt/oxygen OUT, but if done incorrectly, can trap all that underneath!
 
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Originally Posted By: FXjohn
Originally Posted By: Wolf359


My car is a 2001 and has minimal rust on it. I also mentioned doing an undercarriage wash after a snow storm which is different than getting it washed weekly. Cars do get better as newer models come out so rustproofing a car 20 years ago and rustproofing a new one are two different things. We used to change the oil every 3k too....


salt works the same way it did 20 years ago. automakers are not continually making cars less prone.


Exactly. Plus it's not like sheet metal quality is improving with more and more recycled steel going into each brand new car.
It's rather funny seeing folks that either live in a fairly warm climate with few snowstorms or people that just don't bother looking at cars underside tell the rest of us how we are all wrong even though most people in this thread have first hand experience what rust can do to a car and therefore choose to do something about it.

If you do t like it, don't do it, but don't spread misinformation that today's cars don't need it or that rustproofing doesn't work.


Salt might be the same, but galvanized metal gets better and the process the auto makers use get better. Actually US cars were ahead of Japanese cars at one point which is why you used to see a lot of foreign cars rust out, but most of them have pretty much caught up. Remember, you're talking about the rusting of a car that's 5-10 years old. Rustproofing has gone away like muffler shops, they just don't rust out like they used to. Oh and I live in MA which has a cold climate and I'm a few miles from the ocean. Never did any rustproofing on a 12 year old car and it has minimal rust. Certainly not worth paying for rust proofing to prevent what little rust there is. There are better ways to waste money. The people here advocating for rustproofing are also at the other extreme, most people don't do it. That's why there isn't a rustproofing shop at every corner. And most auto advice columns will tell you to skip it.
 
Galvanized metal is probably the majority the worries; but us Toyota owners know that frames aren't stamped out of sheetmetal...

I looked in the parking lot the other day, and noticed a 3-6 month old Silverado with the paint/undercoating/whatever on the frame coming off in chunks. I'm guessing it'll take years for it to compromise the strength; furthermore I know the owner will trade out of it in 3-5 years. At the same time, I know he tows a travel trailer with this truck.

In my pics you can see the suspension components taking a beating. Likely will give no grief--at least not until you attempt an alignment. Or do any work, really.
 
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Originally Posted By: FXjohn
Originally Posted By: Wolf359


My car is a 2001 and has minimal rust on it. I also mentioned doing an undercarriage wash after a snow storm which is different than getting it washed weekly. Cars do get better as newer models come out so rustproofing a car 20 years ago and rustproofing a new one are two different things. We used to change the oil every 3k too....


salt works the same way it did 20 years ago. automakers are not continually making cars less prone.


no rust is much better than minimal rust

Exactly. Plus it's not like sheet metal quality is improving with more and more recycled steel going into each brand new car.
It's rather funny seeing folks that either live in a fairly warm climate with few snowstorms or people that just don't bother looking at cars underside tell the rest of us how we are all wrong even though most people in this thread have first hand experience what rust can do to a car and therefore choose to do something about it.

If you do t like it, don't do it, but don't spread misinformation that today's cars don't need it or that rustproofing doesn't work.


Salt might be the same, but galvanized metal gets better and the process the auto makers use get better. Actually US cars were ahead of Japanese cars at one point which is why you used to see a lot of foreign cars rust out, but most of them have pretty much caught up. Remember, you're talking about the rusting of a car that's 5-10 years old. Rustproofing has gone away like muffler shops, they just don't rust out like they used to. Oh and I live in MA which has a cold climate and I'm a few miles from the ocean. Never did any rustproofing on a 12 year old car and it has minimal rust. Certainly not worth paying for rust proofing to prevent what little rust there is. There are better ways to waste money. The people here advocating for rustproofing are also at the other extreme, most people don't do it. That's why there isn't a rustproofing shop at every corner. And most auto advice columns will tell you to skip it.
 
Originally Posted By: Wolf359


Salt might be the same, but galvanized metal gets better and the process the auto makers use get better. Actually US cars were ahead of Japanese cars at one point which is why you used to see a lot of foreign cars rust out, but most of them have pretty much caught up. Remember, you're talking about the rusting of a car that's 5-10 years old. Rustproofing has gone away like muffler shops, they just don't rust out like they used to. Oh and I live in MA which has a cold climate and I'm a few miles from the ocean. Never did any rustproofing on a 12 year old car and it has minimal rust. Certainly not worth paying for rust proofing to prevent what little rust there is. There are better ways to waste money. The people here advocating for rustproofing are also at the other extreme, most people don't do it. That's why there isn't a rustproofing shop at every corner. And most auto advice columns will tell you to skip it.


I suggest looking at supton's pictures of his Toyota that is only two years old.

Also, in Canada, there are a HUGE number of Krown and Rust Check facilities. Pretty much every town, no matter how small, has at least one facility that does rust proofing, usually more than one.

The city I live in uses the local Krown to do all their work vehicles, dump trucks, salt trucks.....etc.
 
Yup, there is no shortage of rustproofing places in GTA as well. And as new vehicles become more expensive and peoples earnings remain stagnant, they will want to keep their cars longer and they will turn to rustproofing.

It's easy for car rags to not recommend such services because they are not interested in long term ownership or the second or third owner experience. Also a lot of folks in US live down south where salt and snow is not a concern, so it's not applicable to them.
 
The CarWell place in Dolgerville NY spends much of the summer rustproofing school buses from the surrounding counties. One would assume the people heading up fleet maint. for the school bus companies have determined it saves money over the long run.
 
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