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I know Missouri salts the hell out of the roads when we get snow/ice. I've seen vehicles from the 2000's already starting to rust. I've looked at pickups from the 90's that I thought I would fall through the floor if I sat in them.
I would like to find a direct replacment for my 1992 Buick Roadmaster Wagon with out the rust that is disolving the frame. It is no longer worth welding in more metal.
Anyone have any ideas where these cars were popular and relativly rust free?
Thanks, GregW
Searchtempest.com is a site that does a nationwide craigslist search. Using that site and searching for that car over time you can see where they are most popular.
Actually doesn't it depend on where in Florida you buy?
I owned a Florida car once. It was a 1984 Buick Regal. This was in Dec 2005 when I bought it. I did a research on the car's history and found the car had spent it's whole life in St. Petersburg, FL until it was transported up north to North Carolina. The car did not have any rot on it whatsoever....clean solid metal. It did have crazed faded paint and a faded interior. Maybe it was garage kept? Who knows.
But my uncle did own a 1976 Nova back in 1996 when I had my 1975 Nova and claimed he was jealous because his car had rot on it, but it was also a beach car.
And why not buy a car from the east coat? I lived in North Carolina for 8 years and noticed most of the cars there were very solid.
In fact if i ever saw any cars that had extensive body rot, they were usually from Wisconsin or Michigan or Indiana or even Ohio.
Since we're concerned about rust, it's a good bet we're looking for 20+ years old cars with inadequate rust protection of the era(s). It's the main factor in search for a solid car. By solid I mean 100% rust free, period. With cars that old, it's a very good chance it has spent some extended time sitting ignored at least once. Not good, as neglect can cause rot in a hurry.
If it's a Florida car, I generally avoid it because 1) I can almost guarantee a Florida car has been at a beach at least once due to proximity. 2) The acid rains do cause havoc, especially on roofs. 3) The heat cooks paint, thins it out to nothing, then eat the bare metal.
It seems we have a different definition for east coast. NC is the south to me. Southern states is another good area. East coast = mid-atlantic states & New England.
The older the car, the drier the climiate you should go. I'd have no problems buying a '90 in Georgia, but a '90 in Ohio? Fuggetaboutit!
The older the car, the drier the climiate you should go. I'd have no problems buying a '90 in Georgia, but a '90 in Ohio? Fuggetaboutit!
Agree... as you can see in the pics I posted of my Caprice and Century, both made in 1990, and my moms 88 Mercedes (which was a GA/SC car), that the undersides are as solid as they can be... both are local (northeast Tennessee) cars.
I had a 1994 Lumina in 2002 that came from NE Ohio... the underside was so rusty. I didnt know when I bought it, but soon found out later. I said I would never buy another car from northern Ohio again!
Michigan uses lots of salt. Interesting, my daughter got a 97 Neon (Detroit area), has nice solid body, no undercarriage rust. I'm going to make sure it's washed well every winter. Cars normally rust on the bottoms here.
The trade off, in southern CA, my grandparents lived in Fontana, the old cars have nice solid bodies, but the sun and heat fades the paint, and cracks the vinyl.
Texas cars are prone to rusting in some gulf coast localities, that get natural salt spray on the roads near the shoreline. Particularly Port Isabel and Port Lavaca are notorious, but probably elsewhere, too.
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