Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Why does everyone look for the ulterior motive when the basic one is that car magazines/columns don't recommended it because they feel it's a waste of money. Just like most places don't recommend buying an extended warranty, but every time you check out, the cashier always asks if you want to buy the extended warranty.
No, those two things aren't comparable at all. An extended warranty is usually a single large up-front cost. Rust proofing is a recurring annual fee and isn't much money, about the cost of a couple of oil changes. To benefit from the extended warranty, you are essentially banking on the product failing. Rust proofing is preventative maintenance, like changing your coolant and various fluids. And yes, some idiots run their vehicles for hundreds of thousands of miles on their factory fluids too, does that mean that it is a stupid idea to change them if you want to own a vehicle long-term?
With respect to the magazines, how about a car rag doing their research on vehicles operated in Ontario and the states near Ontario when they want to talk about rust prevention? This is where much of the experience in this thread is coming from and I don't think that's a coincidence. I could write a column about the uselessness of bug-guts specific windshield washer fluid from my home in Arizona, but you know the guy living in the tropics hitting bugs the size of small birds might think my ramblings probably weren't all that complete in terms of research performed. That's how a lot of us feel about rust proofing. You can ramble on about how you and some magazine
THINK it isn't worthwhile, but until you come up here and live it, your
OPINION really means about as much as we've paid for it here.
See, the fun part about this is that those of us arguing the merits of the product actually have experience with it. And with vehicles both treated and non. We have observed the differences on a myriad of different brands and models across a wide array of model years and have drawn our conclusions with respect to the effectiveness of the products based on that. You telling us that it "isn't worth it" because you say so and because you've got a magazine article to back your opinion means squat in comparison to that experience.