West Coast vs. East Coast cars? (insurance, vehicle, sedan, convertibles)

[westcoasteastcoastgirl]

I go to college on the east coast, my family lives on the west coast. I am buying my own car this summer. I will be on the west coast all summer, and returning there every summer. My parents will pay for me to drive from the west coast to the east coast. thats not what I'm asking... i just want to know if the cars on the west coast are in better condition then the ones on the east coast. My dad tends to think so, but my mom doesn't. I want to drive across the country with my brother and friend so I'm all for that, but which cars are better? Thanks!!

[Me007gold]

Cars are only going to be in as good of condition as the people that own them. Certain areas of the county have to deal with different factors , like road salt, or salt in the air or extreme amounts of direct sun. If the person that owns the car took care of it, it doesn't matter where it is purchased

[Cheektowaga_Chester]

Rubber wears out in hotter dryer weather. Rust is more common in damp, salted road environment.

People in the midwest are probably a little less likely to buy imported nameplates (even though everything is now pretty much both imported and domestic. Fords are made out of the US and Toyotas are made in Tennessee.)

[BeauCharles]

Generally speaking the finish of California cars "can" be better. Unless you live in the Sierra Nevada they're not exposed to road salt/sand or extremes of temperatures. I went to Iowa with an ancient 1977 Toyota Celica and the people I met there were stunned that it had zero rust. They told me that if that were an Iowa car it would have disintegrated years earlier from the road salt and severe weather. There are tons of old "cream puff" cars on our roads owned by people who really aren't car enthusiasts or collectors - its just they hold up better here.

[flynavyj]

East Coast fear would be potential flood damaged used cars that might show up on the market from hurricanes. Check the Carfax, but that will only cover problems reported to the company, and not damage that was never reported to insurance. And don't purchase a vehicle immediately following a major hurricane/disaster on the East Coast.

You'll likely find a high concentration of convertibles on the West Coast (depending on area) and a high concentration of Diesel Volkswagens on the East Coast...or Subarus...these are immediate stereotypes I'm placing, and in no way representative of what you'll actually find on the market.

[Lux Hauler]

On average there are less rusting problems with west coast cars because they have less salt to deal with. However it is not uncommon for east coasters (mostly north east) to have winter-only vehicles and keep the, what they consider to be, nicer vehicles off the road (read: low mileage, good condition). Even a rust belter who properly washes their vehicle throughout the winter can completely prevent rusting, but it does take effort.

One thing I have noticed is that east coast, particularly north east, cars tend to have very good rubber and paint (where not rusted) throughout the life of the vehicle. Just less weathered in general, again assuming there is no rust. Less UV and an optimal humidex contribute to that.

[hoffdano]

If all else is equal, cars from warm non coastal climates should be preferable to cars driven in snowy areas with salt or coastal areas.

But it matters more how the cars were taken care of by the previous owner (or owners). The older a car, the more likely road salt will cause rust. Today's vehicles have much better rust protection than they used to, but it is still an issue to pay attention to. Rubber does deteriorate more in heat, but I think the difference is not great. I drive a 16 year old Acura, kept in a carport, not a garage, and most of the rubber parts except tires are original and in good shape.

[don1945]

Generally, yes, the cars on the West coast are in better condition body wise than the ones back East. They may tend to have more miles on them because in places like California people think nothing of going on an hour or more trip to go to work or anywhere. But those are highway miles.

We lived in So Cal for a while and were amazed at how clean the older cars were compared to Pa. When we moved back to Pa we took a mint 1970 Caddy Sedan DeVille back with us and we would come out of a store and see a crowd standing around it. People in Pa had never seen a car that old that clean and rustfree.

Don

[Checkered24]

There is all kinds of weather conditions on the east and west coasts. We are talking Southern Cal to Seattle, Miami to northern Maine.

To give a decent answer, more specifics on particular city, area, or region would be needed.