Good example of a "clean" car in the rustbelt

[KrisZ]

I've seen many people on here claim how their cars are just fine without rustproofing and that car washing is all that's really needed.
Well, here is a good example of what's underneath that counts, not the shiny paint, which usually stays in pretty good shape all the way to the crusher in the northern states and Canada. Scroll to about 7 minutes to see the amount of rust and structural damage on a car that looks very clean on the outside.

If this car was rustproofed with oil at least few times, it could've served well for another 5 years or so for sure.

I've seen many examples like this one when I was shopping for a used car several years ago.

 

[jetmech1]

Stage 4 chassis cancer......Too bad

 

[slacktide_bitog]

And there is a Krown not too far away from where that shop is located. Couldn't even be bothered to Krown it a few times

Also, South Main posted an update saying the customer got a full refund.

 

[daves87rs]

Here in MI between the roads and weather/salt-they eat cars alive here. I've seen rust proofed cars look sad being in the state...

Winters here are better of just having a winter beater, plain and simple.

It's going to be the Cobalt's job once we get a new car......

 

[philipp10]

You cannot judge if rustproofing would of helped. It's a 15 year old car.....in the salt belt they rust. Period.

 

[fixitup219]

i use new vegi shortening aka crisco on the stove to heat and spray with a 2gall wally world weed sprayer pump handle ....
costs $5 to 7 bux a gall i do it in the fall and in the spring,,,,
i also use yamalube chain spray as it leaves a crazy film that beats every thing i have seen ...
i also removed many key bolts while servicing and dipped them in a tub of axle grease and reinstalled

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted by philipp10
You cannot judge if rustproofing would of helped. It's a 15 year old car.....in the salt belt they rust. Period.


Sure I do, I drive a first gen Mazda 3 that is rust free with the exception of two small spots. If that Subaru was rust proofed semi regularly since brand new, it would look much, much better, guaranteed.

 

[andyd]

how much does your twice a yr rust treatment cost X 30 ? Will you ever recoup this?

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted by andyd
how much does your twice a yr rust treatment cost X 30 ? Will you ever recoup this?


The treatment is once a year and once you have a good layer built up, usually after 4 treatments or so, you can comfortably skip a year, unless you drive a ton.

I will take Krown as an example, it cost me around $100 per treatment, so that would be $1500 over 15 years. If I did it every year. (I don't and I started DIY rustproofing in 2011 I think)

Regarding recouping the cost, personally I believe the cost will never be recouped directly. Not a lot of people looking to buy a used vehicle pay attention to the underside or whether the vehicle was rust proofed. If you get lucky and get a buyer that knows oil treatment, yeah he/she will probably pay a bit extra, but I doubt it would be enough to pay for the cost of rustproofing.

But there is an indirect cost that you will avoid when the car does not suffer from corrosion. Like that EVAP leak in the video, that would've been an non issue since Krown would treat that area. The rockers would not look like Swiss cheese, so that vehicle would've been able to be on the road for few more years. Things like bushings, links all hold up better because water and salt doesn't penetrate them as easily. My Mazda 3 still has all original bushings and I changed the end links because I was trying to eliminate a clunk that turns out is from the upper strut mount bearings. The end links turned out to be fine but since I bought new ones I changed them anyways. I have yet to break a bolt on my Mazda 3, now that I've said it I probably will break one

I DIY a lot on my vehicles, so perhaps the positives of rustproofing are more evident to me than to someone that simply goes to a mechanic or dealership.

 

[2heeldrive]

South Main Auto is my favorite YouTube'r. Mr. O, (a.k.a. Dr. O) is a big fan of "Fluid Film" for rust proofing. I am amazed at the rusty cars he sees. We just don't see that much rust in Kansas.

 

[khittner]

I'm sold on the value of Krown; all four in my fleet get it every year. It changes the economics of vehicle ownership and operation in the salt/rust belt for folks who keep their cars for a long time. Most body shops won't do rust repairs to begin with, but it doesn't take much metal and paint work to exceed the costs of annual Krown resprays. If you want a nice-looking, structurally sound car for a long time, it's well worth doing. If you're going to trade it in before the first brake job or third set of tires, then probably not.

 

[BrocLuno]

It's all about whether you want to make payments or not ... If you like the vehicle and are done with payments, I'd be all over rustproofing, and having a beater for bad storms, etc

 

[Patman]

My son fell victim to something like this with his 2002 WRX that he just bought a few weeks ago. I wasn't involved in the purchase (he lives an hour away and went with his cousin to look at the car) and he didn't get a mechanic to look at it first. The seller told him the car had passed safety just 6 months prior, so he felt he was ok, even though he was buying the car as is. The exterior didn't have much rust, but underneath was a disaster and it would not pass safety. He just got the car back from the shop and it cost him $4300 to safety it (it needed tires and brakes too) I believe they had to replace the subframe(s) assembly(s)? It was a tough lesson for a 16 year old for his first car, but at least the car is safe now, they had his car for at least 2 weeks and went over it very closely to make sure it was good.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted by Patman
My son fell victim to something like this with his 2002 WRX that he just bought a few weeks ago. I wasn't involved in the purchase (he lives an hour away and went with his cousin to look at the car) and he didn't get a mechanic to look at it first. The seller told him the car had passed safety just 6 months prior, so he felt he was ok, even though he was buying the car as is. The exterior didn't have much rust, but underneath was a disaster and it would not pass safety. He just got the car back from the shop and it cost him $4300 to safety it (it needed tires and brakes too) I believe they had to replace the subframe(s) assembly(s)? It was a tough lesson for a 16 year old for his first car, but at least the car is safe now, they had his car for at least 2 weeks and went over it very closely to make sure it was good.


That's very unfortunate and I have seen this happen many times especially with young people and desirable cars, like Honda Civics, the WRX etc. There are many people that will ask top dollar for these cars, when in fact they are almost ready for the junk yard. Tough lesson for sure, but I'm glad your son got it fixed and can enjoy his very firs own car

Perhaps steer him to the nearest Krown place before winter starts. It should significantly slow down the existing rust and make the repairs last longer.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted by andyd
how much does your twice a yr rust treatment cost X 30 ? Will you ever recoup this?

Cars don't rust here, but if it costs $100 a year and you have a $20,000 car that will only last 10 years, that's $2,000 a year for a car.

If rust proofing keeps you from having to do the brake lines within those 10 years, it's already paid for.

If rust proofing keeps the car from rotting out and passing safety inspection for 15 years, it's already paid for.

If rust proofing keeps you from breaking every bolt under the car when working on it, it's already worth it.

 

[JTK]

Coming from a family who's owned lots of Subarus over a ~30yr period, it is odd to see the exterior of this Forester so clean compared to the underside. I have never seen one with that much floor and unibody being gone and the rest looking so good. They usually go more proportionally. It is a 16yr/old, rust belt Subaru. Something that is ALWAYS going to be a horrible risk. A used purchase I would never recommend to someone.

On the Krown topic. I know it's been talked about here, but if you intend to be a long term owner of the vehicle and you plan on doing yearly re-sprays, Ziebart is the way to go. The ~$600 upfront cost is tough to swallow, but the yearly re-sprays are free provided you don't go beyond a year.

 

[irv]

Originally Posted by Patman
My son fell victim to something like this with his 2002 WRX that he just bought a few weeks ago. I wasn't involved in the purchase (he lives an hour away and went with his cousin to look at the car) and he didn't get a mechanic to look at it first. The seller told him the car had passed safety just 6 months prior, so he felt he was ok, even though he was buying the car as is. The exterior didn't have much rust, but underneath was a disaster and it would not pass safety. He just got the car back from the shop and it cost him $4300 to safety it (it needed tires and brakes too) I believe they had to replace the subframe(s) assembly(s)? It was a tough lesson for a 16 year old for his first car, but at least the car is safe now, they had his car for at least 2 weeks and went over it very closely to make sure it was good.


I just spent $650 dollars on my son's certified/safetied 08 Malibu!

It had the notorious Malibu front end clunk that I thought would be an easy fix but $650 later with new A arms and bushings and a front end alignment most is good now. It was noted that maybe a new PS rack would be needed as well and I am to keep an eye on it.

As far as rust proofing goes, I always say to myself, where can you get a $150 paint and body job. No matter what, having your vehicle rust proofed is many well spent, imo, especially for us CDN's and those just south of us in the snowbelt states.

 

[fixitup219]

oh i brushed my brake lines with axle grease the first year i got my car

 

[fixitup219]

nothing beats yamalube chain lube (fluid film is a joke)
crisco is cheap even free if its waste vegetable shortening from a fat fryer
or your own drain waste motor oil or ATF or veggie oil

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted by irv

I just spent $650 dollars on my son's certified/safetied 08 Malibu!

It had the notorious Malibu front end clunk that I thought would be an easy fix but $650 later with new A arms and bushings and a front end alignment most is good now. It was noted that maybe a new PS rack would be needed as well and I am to keep an eye on it.

As far as rust proofing goes, I always say to myself, where can you get a $150 paint and body job. No matter what, having your vehicle rust proofed is many well spent, imo, especially for us CDN's and those just south of us in the snowbelt states.


Fingers crossed that both of our sons have good luck with their new (to them) cars! And no speeding tickets/accidents too!

I have been pretty lucky with my little Honda, I never had it rust proofed but it's in really good shape underneath, no sign of trouble. The mechanic I use at my nearby Honda dealer is a high school friend of mine and when he had the car up on the hoist last year he commented on how good it looked still. I guess Honda has made great strides in that regard, I remember when Civics used to rot out very quickly up here. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with my Civic, part of me almost wants it to rot out so I'd have an excuse to replace it with something newer, but a bigger part of me wants to see this sucker keep on going and continue to be the reliable workhorse that it's been for the past 7 years for me.