Rust protection on cars

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

AS you guys know, I'm moving up to MI - but I'm kinda worried about rust buildup on my new SUV - remember I've been living in FL for a long time now.

For those who know - does undercoating really work? Also, I found an electronic rust control unit - http://www.ruststopnorthamerica.com/ruststop-rs2000-kit.htm . Does this work?

Any advice will be appreciated -

[flaming_june 2]

yes undercoating really do work.

and i have never heard of this electronic process so i cant say

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

What's the standard price for undercoating? I can't seem to find any quotes, and I can't imagine many stores here doing it.

[CHIEF22 0]

Isn't that a fairly new vehicle you just got? Anything in the 90's should have good factory undercoating. You don't see many vehicles rusting out like they did in the 70's and early 80's. My 98 is still fine(7 Maine winters) with the factory protection. Find a decent carwash that has an undercarrige wash and you should be fine.

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

AH, I never knew that they came prepped from the factory. We don't think about those things down here.

[mack 44]

$300 is what it cost to coat mine, I don't know if it makes a difference of its age or that it was a car and not an SUV.

[areed89 3]

JR,

Main thing to do to prevent the rusting is to wash the undercarriage of your SUV frequently. The road salt is a pain but if you keep on top of it you won't see any problems at all.

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

And that would involve what? Just hosing it down with water?

[hip check 0]

You can get your vehicle undercoated/rustproofed from about $100 up. Don't bother doing it yourself, it's messy.

[areed89 3]

And that would involve what? Just hosing it down with water?

I'm sure there will be a handful of low priced car wash places close to where you chose to live. Lots of gas stations will have them too, throw a few bucks in and you don't have to get out of your car. I don't touch a waterhose in the winter anyway, you won't want to either.

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

LOL I'd be damned if I'm going to run my car through one of those...unless you can just get the undercarriage washed.

[areed89 3]

LOL I'd be damned if I'm going to run my car through one of those...unless you can just get the undercarriage washed.

You can, in fact you'll find quite a few in the area that are "production line" hand washing setups, you can just have the machine wash the undercarriage then leave.

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Yeah, that sounds much better. :)

The amount of acid in the soap from those coin-op machines/electronic carwash setups kill your paint job.

We used to own a carwash about 10 yrs ago.

[Drewhunz 3]

You also might want to get an engine block heater as well as a remote starter to have your car nice and toasty for you in January.

[QandA 0]

Remote control starter would be one of the best investments you can make.

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Yeah, I'm definitely looking into the remote start. I'm not too sure about the engine block heater - I don't imagine it gets THAT cold!

[Drewhunz 3]

I had one in my truck when I lived in Nebraska. If you are going to be parked outside for a long amount of time, it would definately help your engine in the long run. I also forgot to mention snow tires, but you should probably ask the locals on that one.

[areed89 3]

I also forgot to mention snow tires

Speaking of snow tires, JR have you ever driven in snow? And does your SUV have 4WD?

Learning to drive in the snow is fun, you'll enjoy that if you haven't before. :D

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Nope, I don't, and it is not 4WD.

[asdfa 0]

for the winter, get a coat on your undercarriage, and when you get a lot of slush and whatnot on your car, take it to the coinop washers and just spray down the bottom (especially the wheel wells) with hot water. the hoses usually have a pressure nozzle that bends so it's you don't really have to bend down much

[all-star 0]

the undercoating in canada through a dealership usually runs at about 700

[roadrunner 12]

I got it done at the dealership it was 650.00cad, they say it good for 10yrs. I don't think that's true. I think the best way is to get it applied every year. A Company in Canada that do that is Krown and its like 120.00 cad, don't know if they're in the States

[Fedorov91 0]

Michigan Winters Suck

[asdfa 0]

I got it done at the dealership it was 650.00cad, they say it good for 10yrs. I don't think that's true. I think the best way is to get it applied every year. A Company in Canada that do that is Krown and its like 120.00 cad, don't know if they're in the States

i think dealerships are the biggest ripoffs when it comes to stuff like that. imo, it's much better to get an undercoat from a specialized company like Krown for about $120 a year. my family's car is only three winters old but we got it coated each year and it's doing fine.

[hockeydude_49 0]

Another thing you're gunna have to get used to is driving on icy roads...