Cars and snow (Madison, Wausau, Fitchburg: apartment, to rent, buying a house)

[msmash]

We are planning on moving to Wausau in a year. I have always lived in Texas, and we do not have snow. I always hear from people how your cars will be rusted when you move up north, but our friends in Wausau do not seem to have problems. I was wondering if anyone could offer some advice on how to protect your car from rust. (as much as possible)

[geekduo]

I grew up in Wisconsin and have had various cars. The reason for the rust is mainly because of the salt and sometimes other chemicals that are put on the roads to keep them free of ice. The best way to combat it is to drive thru a good carwash when the temperatures are above freezing. Make sure it has an underbody spray that washes all that salt off. There are also rust-proofing treatments that you can have applied to your car at an auto-body shop.
Also, if your not used to cold weather, you'll want to make sure you buy a house with an attatched garage. Otherwise, you'll be doing a lot of windshield scraping to clear it of frost in the mornings and brushing off snow as well. No fun when your in a hurry or it's really cold.

[msmash]

Thank you
It will be really weird not just jumping in my car and taking off in the winter! BUT, it will be so nice not dealing with the traffic here. It is horrible.

[adam76]

I have an eight year old car without a spot of rust on it. Taking advantage of warmer winter days to get a good under body wash will go a long way. I second the other poster's suggestion of an attached garage. Carrying groceries from the car to the house through snow drifts and cold wind is no fun at all. If you have to park your car outside, some RainX on the windows will make the ice scraping a little easier.

[43north87west]

Lots of factors involved, most of them are care related.

Start with a car that isn't known for corrosion problems.

Clean the car well at least once a week if not more.

Park indoors and preferably in heated parking or a heated garage.

Wash the car THOROUGHLY (that means the insides and undersides of the doors, rocker panels, underbody flush, and ANY surface on the underside or the top of the car where dirt can hang out and attract salt and moisture). At minimum use an automatic car wash with underside flush, then do the more detailed areas in warmer weather.

Kick off clumps of snow and ice before putting the car in the garage.

Sweep out any chunks of snow, ice, or standing salt water in the garage whenever it accumulates.

Clean the insides of the wheel wells of the car, including areas where sheet metal allows dirt to pile inside of it. Those areas are guaranteed to rust.

Always have a good coat of wax on the car.

Don't let any paint chips go unattended especially during winter. At minimum put wax on them until you can do something else.

Never use carpet floor mats during winter--use plastic floor trays, preferably ones that are custom manufactured for the vehicle. This prevents moisture and salt from accumulating in the floor pans and rusting them from the inside out, plus it greatly reduces, or totally eliminates the need to use the defrost settings on your windows in the cold weather because the moisture in the floor trays will evaporate quickly. Also your car will smell like a car, not a barn.

Stop rust immediately when you first spot it.

During the summer months, it never hurts to touch up missing undercoating, or to use flat black paint to get uncovered spots underneath the car.

These things seem like a lot of work but they aren't a lot of work at all, just part of living in a northern climate.

[msmash]

Thank you

[Steve-o]

Originally Posted by 43north87west

use flat black paint to get uncovered spots underneath the car.

My whole car is flat black.

[miaomimi]

Hi there,

We are relocating to Madison, and is planning to rent before buying a house. We are 30+ couple with a 1 year old, looking for a place between UW campus, where i work, and Verona, where my hubby work. After searching online, we found an apartment in the area surrounded by Raymond Rd and Mckee road, very close Verona Rd,( to be exact, Smithfield Dr at Norfolk Fitchburg). Does anyone knows that area? Any information is highly appreciated, for we couldn't go there before the actual moving, and have to rely on the information gathered here to book the apartment.


Thanks!

[adam76]

We have friends who live in a subdivision near the McKee and Verona intersection. It's a nice area with parks and such for the little one. Typical suburbia!

[jsta_grl22]

Well this much i know. A few years ago I had an older car and when I went to stop at a stoplight I heard a big thud. I drove really slow to the auto place down the street, all the while the car was making terrible noises. The guy told me the whole bottom of the car had fell out, and that it was a "victim of Wisconsin roadways". He said there was really nothing he could do.

Now this car was a 1991 and this happened in 2003 so it was pretty old. But yeah it can happen from the salt.