Cars that don't rust

[Ephraim]

wildoliver said:

Both 205 and 944s rust badly I speak as a fan of both!

205s tend to rust around the rear beam area (another problem with the cars) and 944s and derivatives rot in the sills.

According to my friendly local Porsche specialist, although the 944s were all galvanised, the later ones actually have more sill problems than the early (pre-86) ones. Typically mine is later than that, and I spent a fortune defeating the tin worm in the sills.

[plasticpig]

Reliant Scimitar Sabre Turbo; has Plastic bodywork and a galvanized chassis.

[mr_fibuli]

My 12 year old (at the time) Peugeot 309 refused to rust. Even large areas of exposed metal, or lump hammer accident "repairs".

The 2 supposedly galvanised Fords I've had have both rusted at the first hint of light rain. And the warranty is worthless.

[Cipher]

my peugeot 306 has only got a tiny bit of rust above the rear window, not bad for a car thats 13 years old and done more than 151k lol

[Steamer]

Mk2 MR2s seem pretty good.. maybe a few bubbles on the top of the rear arches - although the red paint on the early ones seems to like turning pink!

[Robatr0n]

The Fiat Tipo I appear to be using on a daily basis has absolutely no rust on it whatsoever. It's a 1992/K reg too.

The S2 has no signs of rust and it's an early 1991.

Both cars are galvernised.

[Austin.J]

Can vouch for the audi 80 coupe, mine has no rust bar the front wings.

[CampDavid]

Cipher said:

my peugeot 306 has only got a tiny bit of rust above the rear window, not bad for a car thats 13 years old and done more than 151k lol

Being French the whole car is dipped up to the top of the windows. Meaning the top of the car isn't galvanised. Quality

[eltax91]

Land Rovers and Range Rovers of all vintages.

[Mr GrimNasty]

My Octavia was 'untidy' when I got it years ago, unrepaired, still rust free now (body mostly galvanised I believe). But some people still report the rear hatches rust badly, and all the bits stuck to the car were rusted to hell by its 3rd birthday!

[TonyRPH]

The first generation Audi A4 seems to be quite resistant to rust.

But then again they're also galvanised.

I think it's time another thread was started - "Cars that DO rust" - I can think of a few....

[wooooody]

Gad-Westy said:

PaulHogan said:

No sign of rust on my 12 year old elise

Wait till your headlamp falls off because the bracket has rusted through!

The Elise construction is quite useful though as nearly anything that actually can rust is generally very easy to replace.

Elises do corrode...

[Steamer]

wooooody said:

Elises do corrode...

That looks and sounds like a low rent Spanish TV series!

[UncappedTag]

Reliant Robin

[volumeone]

anything not made in japan

fords rust like crazy

[HAB]

Ephraim said:

According to my friendly local Porsche specialist, although the 944s were all galvanised, the later ones actually have more sill problems than the early (pre-86) ones.

The models with the plastic sill extensions (S2/Turbo)have the potential to rust more than the others. There are drain slots running the length of the sills, and the plastic trim makes it harder to access them to keep them clear. The 968 is even more inaccessible in this respect.

Having said that, both my 944's had zero rust in the sills because the PO's knew about keeping the drain holes clear of debris!

[freakynessless]

CampDavid said:

Cipher said:

my peugeot 306 has only got a tiny bit of rust above the rear window, not bad for a car thats 13 years old and done more than 151k lol

Being French the whole car is dipped up to the top of the windows. Meaning the top of the car isn't galvanised. Quality

Recently sold my 12 year old 134K 306 without any signs of rust at all. Wikipedia (or some such website) says that Peugeot put zinc in the paint which aids rust protection.
Also my old 205 was nearly 16 years old when I sold that, and again, no signs of rust all.
Shame the french arent so efficent with their bloody electrics!

[berni29]

Hi

The modern 1990's version of the Alfa Romeo GTV.

Berni

[alfa pint]

berni29 said:

Hi

The modern 1990's version of the Alfa Romeo GTV.

Berni

Seconded. Galvanised steel all round and what isn't galvanised is plastic. I have only seen one rusty GTV (1994 model), which had a few spots around the rear wheel arch and the petrol filler cap.

Italian cars had such (mainly deserved press) for rusting in the 80s that they took extraordinary and expensive steps in the 90s to irradicate it. Hence the lancia dedra was completely galvanised, as are most of the alfa romeo range and the better fiats.

[piquet]

wooooody said:

Gad-Westy said:

PaulHogan said:

No sign of rust on my 12 year old elise

Wait till your headlamp falls off because the bracket has rusted through!

The Elise construction is quite useful though as nearly anything that actually can rust is generally very easy to replace.

Elises do corrode...

elises get galvanic corrosion at the fronst suspension mounting points, there is no way to repair it, once they've corroded, it needs a new tub which is around 11k with fitting! so dead car

turns out lotus decided that aluminium and steel were good metals to use in combination with non repairable tub