Cars that don't rust
Discussion
I used to have a 944 turbo which had a galvanised steel body. I owned it from 11-14 years of age and it didn't have any rust. So I would say galvanising is definatley a factor. As of course is the use of aluminium on modern cars.
Come to think of it, I also had a Chimaera and that didn't have any body rust either - but then they are mad of fibre glass
Come to think of it, I also had a Chimaera and that didn't have any body rust either - but then they are mad of fibre glass
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.
One car that just won't rust at all is the B3/B4 model Audi series in coupe/cab/80/90/avant form. The only part of the car that rots is the easily replacable very cheap front wings!
205s tend to rust around the rear beam area (another problem with the cars) and 944s and derivatives rot in the sills.
One car that just won't rust at all is the B3/B4 model Audi series in coupe/cab/80/90/avant form. The only part of the car that rots is the easily replacable very cheap front wings!
CampDavid said:
Oddly the Fuiat Punto has always been superbly rust proofed. The Merc E class from 1996-2004 less so. Rare to see a rusty XJ8 Jag too, compared to the old series three
Back in the mid eighties there used to be 2 car brands that had no corrosion warranties; Jaguar and Mercedes.Jaguar, becuase they couldn't afford to offer it
Mercedes, because they didn't need to.
How times change, the X300's onward were all galvanised and now X350's are all aluminium (which actually can still corrode, just not rust), and the only cars I ever spot with rust now are 5 years old Merc's!!
MK1 Clio's are galvanised and don't seem to rust - not sure about the newer ones?. Same for the Citroen ZX, but the subframe wasn't galvanised and rusted like mad.
My '93 Gen5 Celica is spotless underneath - no rust at all, that and bombproof reliability is why you still see so many about. Same goes for MK2 MR2's. They are properly undersealed and don't need galvanising.
My '93 Gen5 Celica is spotless underneath - no rust at all, that and bombproof reliability is why you still see so many about. Same goes for MK2 MR2's. They are properly undersealed and don't need galvanising.
Edited by Dr Doofenshmirtz on Wednesday 15th September 10:35
Glanvanising makes a hell of a difference, I think that's why Ford got the reputation of:
Fix
Or
Repair
Daily
I know the more modern cars are much better now, it just took them longer to sort out than the VAG companies. Older Ford's, Vauxhall's etc just tend to rust away.
But even Bentley's suffered because they dipped they're wings which meant there was little or no paint in the wing itself and they rotted from the inside out with a little condensation. They now use a protective aluminium coating to prevent this.
Fix
Or
Repair
Daily
I know the more modern cars are much better now, it just took them longer to sort out than the VAG companies. Older Ford's, Vauxhall's etc just tend to rust away.
But even Bentley's suffered because they dipped they're wings which meant there was little or no paint in the wing itself and they rotted from the inside out with a little condensation. They now use a protective aluminium coating to prevent this.
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.
late 80's VW's seem quite good on rust but I think when cars get to that age, it's asking a lot for them to be 100%.
Maybe a Delorean?
My Citroen Xantia, despite being made of steel thinner than the wall of a drinks tin and badly painted, resolutely refused to rust. This was down to galvanised metal parts and some panels being of composite material.
My Volvo 740 was also rustproof. I painted the inner rear wheel arch lips with underseal (looked crappy from underneath but invisible from any other angle) and it refused to corrode anywhere.
I hear Reliant Scimitars are quite good at surviving too.
My Volvo 740 was also rustproof. I painted the inner rear wheel arch lips with underseal (looked crappy from underneath but invisible from any other angle) and it refused to corrode anywhere.
I hear Reliant Scimitars are quite good at surviving too.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff