The Snow, Ice and Salt is killing my car!!

[Deez Nuttz]

Originally Posted by johnfrisco

You try to park you hit a mountain of ice that is like running into a brick wall.

I think most of the damaging snow is not in the mounds in the parking lot but on the road after it's been plowed.

Snow by itself is not exactly bad on the car. All it is, is crystalized water. However, salt is, as it accelerates corrosion.

In your case, I'd look into taking a garden hose and hosing down the car every so often. Eventually the salt has tuned the snow on the road to slush, which eventually evaporates, leaving the salt on the asphalt. By that time, there's usually not too many puddles left and so you're probably ok to wash your car without getting it too salty again.

If you still aren't convinced, look into buying a cheap beater that you don't care if it rusts from the salt. Either a fwd car or a 4X4 truck will work well

[marlinfshr]

I live by the ocean and drive my truck on the beach regularly in the summer and fall and since I work on boats my truck is always parked at the marinas where it can get blasted by salt on a windy day. And then in the winter when we do get the occasional snow here I seek it out and drive around because it's not something that happens often. My truck is an '07 Dodge without any rust except for the driveshaft which is pretty rusted and the exhaust which might last another year.

I wax it twice a year and regularly wash it. Nothing special. I try to wash it as soon as possible after driving on the beach but sometimes it's a few days later. When I wash it though, I spend more time rinsing underneath, blasting water up in the wheel wells and under the rockers where salt and dirt tends to collect then I do on the outside.

If I want it to look good I'll just do a regular wash in my driveway with a hose, a bucket of soap and a chamois, but if I want to get all the salt, sand and dirt off it after driving on the beach or on the salted roads during a snow storm I'll go to a car wash and use the power washer and pretty much just give it a good rinse and chamois, giving extra attention underneath.

[jtur88]

Undercoating. In 1978, I bought a new Dodge Colt, and having just come from Canada, I was aware of the ravages of winter driving, so I opted for the dealer's undercoating package. It was miraculous, after seven years, there was not a trace of rust anywhere on it. But even more impressive was the way it muffled road noise. I bought a Toyota Corolla in 1985, and didn't get it undercoated, and there was a huge difference in road quietness between the two cars.

However, the undercoating has to be applied immediately to the new car, and if there is any buildup of road material already built up under the car, undercoating will have little effect on protection -- however, it will still seal the car against road noise.