Cars that don't rust?

[300bhp/ton]

Do they exist?

Well ok, maybe don't rust is too optimistic. But what about aren't seriously affected by rust, or are very easily sorted if they do?

As a patron of older performance and interesting cars, I find it a shame that rust is still a major issue. And it's one of those things you can rarely fix completely and never cheaply.

I'm talking about Porsche 944's, Ford Puma's, BMW e36 328i's and the like - all great cars. But buying one is fraught with rusty examples. Oily bits a fine, you can always replace an engine or gearbox or upgrade suspension components. But once the rot sets in it's a losing battle really.

So what fun/fast cars of this ilk seem somewhat impervious to the rust bug?

[300bhp/ton]

Krikkit said:

Easy enough to beat the rust - take your purchase off the road for a while, strip down and treat all the rust you find, then apply generous coatings of sealant -> Good for another 30 years.

lol, if only it was that easy on some, but it's not. My old XJ-S suffered, it looked tidy but needed to go to the pain shop ever few years to keep it looking that way.

[300bhp/ton]

kambites said:

Doubt my Elise is going to rust.

Good shout actually.

How are the tubs standing up to corrosion in general? They're bonded aluminium aren't they?

[300bhp/ton]

GC8 said:

Properly cared for and not crashed/repaired 944s took twenty years to rust. When they were ten years old they still looked like new.

Its probably unfair to liken them to Ford Pumas which were starting to bubble around the arches at between five and ten years old (at ten some had been scrapped!).

True, although I was meaning if you where looking to buy either today, then rust would be a major thing you'd want to check for on either.

[300bhp/ton]

Dodsy said:

Also some cars like the JAG XJ were alloy bodied.

Don't some of the x308 suffer corrosion and flaky paint though. I remember reading something about it.

[300bhp/ton]

Watchman said:

My Scooby is pretty rust free. The panels are largely aluminium, as is much of the suspension, the engine block, the gearbox casing. It's done 105K miles and is 7 years old with no rust other than surface rust on the inside of the SS exhaust and on the cast diff casing.

lol not sure something as young as 7 years old really counts though give it another 20 then let us know

[300bhp/ton]

Eighteeteewhy said:

Pug 205s are very resistant against rust. Fully galvanised body.

That's one I didn't know about. Thanks