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Rust-resistant VWs - when do they start?
Volkswagen Golf, Jetta, Corrado, Vanagon, new models, etc. (rec.autos.makers.vw.watercooled)
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#1
 
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Rust-resistant VWs - when do they start? -
10-31-2006
, 10:38 PM
#2
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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? |
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.
Quote:
#3
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On Tue, 31 Oct 2006 21:38:58 -0600, "WT" <waltert (AT) mts (DOT) net> wrote: 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? 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. |
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).
#4
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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? |
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.
--
Joseph E. Meehan
#5
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On Tue, 31 Oct 2006 21:38:58 -0600, "WT" <waltert (AT) mts (DOT) net> wrote: 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? 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. |
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.
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