Aron9000

Living in the south does have its perks. Even old cars with a bunch of miles, if the body and interior are nice, they're worth hanging onto and fixing mechanical problems, even dropping in new engines(especially in older trucks, they really hold their value). Even my old beat to pieces 1993 Toyota truck didn't have a lick of rust on it, despite it looking like it went through a zombie apocalypse.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

RXGS

iTrader: (2)

Unlimited car washes and fluid film has been my answer to fighting salt and rust. Sure the automated wash can leave scratches, but picking between scratches that can be removed, and rust that can’t, I pick potential for scratches. I go a bit overboard and get it washed nearly every day, if I’m driving, but the results speak for themselves.

My 2004 that was bought in 2011-12, but rarely driven in winter by the first owner, is absolutely spotless underneath and on the body after 6-7 winters. Fortunately the car is now in Richmond Virginia with my brother where, at least compared to Buffalo, the conditions are much better. So hopefully washes once a week are sufficient. This also worked for our LX470 which after 10 years and 170k miles in western New York had only had very slight surface rust, pretty impressive considering how bad some of the frames look up here.

Aron9000

No it was previously owned by a mentally unstable woman who drove it in a ditch and for some reason decided to paint it with flat black house paint. You could see the brush marks in the paint. When I bought it it, it had one working headlight and the hood was held on by bailing wire. The front bumper was held on with a piece of electrical cord, with the plug end dangling down. Clutch was bad and it would randomly pop out of 3rd gear(that issue was clutch related come to find out). But hell it had low miles(150k when I bought it), ran like a new truck and drove straight down the road, zero rust,, had new tires, new battery, price was right, so it was worth saving/fixing up.

Johnhav430

haha in another life, I don't care about % etc., or getting the best deal. I like my $20/mo. on my car, but I do say hey, no less than 6 people had to do something for a single wash on my wife's car, so you can't just not tip, they're people and it's their job, and it's really tough at 10F-20F. But I didn't get the best price thanks to the tip lol

Ooooh, 5% with Samsung pay? I'm all over that! In another life, I don't care. I learned this from my mom, she always wanted the best deal, best rate, best terms, my dad would think he got a good deal on a car, and my mom would reject it at the dealer and want more off, etc.

Haircuts I'm wishy washy, it's $5 tip whether the haircut was $8 for my son, or $14 for me, just seems to be the right amount based on the time spent (no fancy haircuts for us!)...

Again I was always puzzled about the ocean air, just as I used to be puzzled with the automatic tranny flush vs. drain/fill.....so I thought that someone on the other forum did a good job in explaining from FLA, that if salt water splashes a vehicle routinely (heard it's same for homes on the ocean, lampposts, etc.), it's really bad, but the rust is on the exterior and not the undercarriage, so it's not hidden and you know about it...

I guess the consensus is it's darn near impossible to get it all off even with washing....so we're at a disadvantage in the northeast...

SW17LS

Difference is I put $5 in the tip bucket for a $27 carwash, and I pay $70 for a haircut and tip $20. All the guys at the carwash know me, they spray my cars off extra well before they go through the wash, do an extra good job at the end. Give my son lollipops when I bring him (he LOVES the carwash). People are so rude, don't even acknowledge the guys vacuuming up their filth and working hard in the cold and heat with a hello or a kind word, and just walk by the tip stand at the end. People who go places with me are always in awe of how everybody seems to know me and are happy to see me. Its not rocket science, I'm friendly, I talk to people around me regardless of whether they're sweeping floors or the owner of the establishment, and I tip well. My barber is a guy I've known for years and we're buddies, he always goes the extra mile too. We stay at the same hotel at the beach every year, have been for years and years. The bellmen and all fall all over themselves when we get out of the car, remember us from year to year. Anything we need when they see us in the lobby is taken care of immediately. Well worth an extra $20 bill when they haul all our crap around.

I'm a very good tipper for people who do a good job for me. Last night I was out to dinner with my partner and ran into a waiter my wife and I used to have at a restaurant we went to for years that closed and I hadn't seen him in about 2 years. We walked in and he throws up his hands and goes "Steve!" Asked me about my kids and all, we got free appetizers and at the end he got an awesome tip and a promise I'd bring my wife by and we'd see him soon.

Being gregarious and generous will have a HUGE impact on your life. IMHO its not about spending as little money as you can, its about the value you get for what you spend. Yeah tipping well and such costs me more dollars, but the value I get back overall is well, well worth it.

UDel

Of course they are treating you and your kids nice, you are paying over $30 or a car wash and over $70 for a hair cut. They don't have a Hair Cuttery or Cost Cutters in MD?

SW17LS

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

No......................

And at least sand doesn't make your car rot in 5 years.

I've seen many older cars in states that use sand instead of salt and I did not see any "extensive damage" vs. salt use. I do PPI for a living so we look at cars under a microscope.

If you're a tailgater, yes sand can pit the nose of your car and all the lower "wear" areas. That's an easy problem to fix, just don't tailgate and get PPF installed when you get your car.

Salt on the other hand, unless you're spending countless hours prepping your undercarriage and all metal components, will destroy everything underneath, will corrode your wheels, engine bay, body panels, etc.

Salt is MUCH worse than sand.

mmarshall

Sand and abrasives, when kicked up by tires, in fact, can do damage to paint, trim, and glass. That's not the same as metal rusting from salt, but, nevertheless, is annoying, ugly, and can lower the value of a car.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

PPF.

Need I say more?

We wrap full cars almost every week. Problem solved.

Tell me how the average person is going to stop salt from destroying their car?

LeX2K

Here they mix sand and gravel with salt isn't that lovely?

mmarshall

Its effect can't necessarily be 100% eliminated, but taking the steps I outlined earlier (and that I have found, from experience, works), will go a long way.

SW17LS

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

FL cars do have a ton of rust, but it's mainly going to be near the coastal areas and on stuff like undercarriage, engine hardware, etc.

You most likely will not see body rust on any FL car, it just doesn't happen.

I spent months looking for my LS this past fall and the main criteria was it had to be the right color and it had to be 100% rust free.

After contacting several dealerships and private sellers in FL, it became clear that FL cars are not as rust free as I'd liked. They all had plenty of rust in the areas I mentioned, so this shifted my focus on looking at TX cars and more western cars.

Even some of the Socal cars I looked at had surface rust underneath, and of course the ones that did lived right off the coast.

Ended up buying one that spent its entire life in Covina CA which is about an hour east of LA and it had zero rust anywhere. You will literally go to your Lexus dealer here in Chicago and look at some brand new cars on the lot that have more corrosion and rust than this car does.

Nothing is worse than getting a salt belt car though. Road salt is ten times worse than any salt air you'll see in places like FL, hence why you won't see body rust on FL cars or if you do, it's extremely rare.