[mastermoe]

I wanted to ask you guys your opinion about rust proofing. The dealer wants to sell me rust proof on the car for $399 and he'd guarantee it for 10 years. Do you think it's worth it?

Thanks,

Moe

 

[cowtown]

I personally would never buy it. I've heard from too many people who have worked in the biz or still do that it's just a big add-on scam. Unless where you are they encrust the streets with salt and you do in fact plan to keep the car for 10 years it's not worth it. Just make sure to wash the wheel wells regularly and take care of the paint as you normally should and you'll be fine. In this day and age newer cars are a lot better for that kind of stuff. In fact if you look in the Mazda manual for warranties they cover perforations for some decent amount of time (5 years I think).

 

[zaimon]

Can't you buy a can of that stuff at Walmart for $2.50?

 

[mastermoe]

In Quebec, there's lots of salt on the road and I've seen 3-4 year old Japanese cars starting to rust already. Obviously it all depends how you take care of your car... but I guess it give you a peace of mind that it's guaranteed for 10 years... hmmm, I'm still contemplating....

 

[Fobby_Monkey]

I got it done on my car. But it's with a lot of other stuff too... like undercoating, paint finishes and interior protection.. all life time gurantees.

 

[mz6zoomzoom]

Most of that stuff is already done, though.

It's pretty pointless, from what I've seen and heard.

 

[dinu01]

I got mine done for about $550-650 - 12 yrs coverage.

Worth it since we're keeping the car.

 

[darian]

I think its worth it if you're keeping your car for a long time. Here in CAlgary, the winters are harsh and long so rust proofing your car may be worth it after all.

On a side note, why is Fobby Monkey's Avatar twice the size over the size limit? Dinu, get on this! j/k!

 

[Fobby_Monkey]

shhh...... shame on you. =p and I was going to let you ride in my 3? haha i don't think so now..

 

[dinu01]

Hmm... I was looking at it - it's the TELUS monkeys, so he has until Monday to fix it

 

[Fobby_Monkey]

what are you talking about?! it's the picture of me and my buddy! geesh...

 

[anamnesis]

Appending to the topic of "useless add-ons", I was also speaking to a dealer about dealer-installed packages and services like rustproofing, and he added that as part of their rust-proofing body undercoating, they also ad a layer of sound-absorbing insulation of some sort that is similar in nature to what they do to high end cars like Cadillac, Lexus, BMW, Mercedes, etc. It ostensibly helps to deaden road noise and isolates the interior from other wind and exterior noise. Anyone ever seen this done or have anything to say about it? I might believe it if I could see it in action, but I can't imagine it's something they do very often.

 

[Fobby_Monkey]

The sound proofing is from the undercoating.. it does not GREATLY reduce road noise, but it does reduce it a bit. Especially when rocks hits the tire well

 

[skru_fase]

the dealer i spoke to in toronto said their rustproofing was priced up to $800 for the 'full package'. at that price they also do some kind of treatment to the interior (not sure if that only applies to leather). to be covered under the warranty you need to bring the car in every so often for them to check the coating for scratches and places that need touch-ups. presumably you need to pay for any of these touch ups. sounds like a bit of a money grab...

 

[Finprof]

I wanted to ask you guys your opinion about rust proofing. The dealer wants to sell me rust proof on the car for $399 and he'd guarantee it for 10 years. Do you think it's worth it?
/quote]

Rust proofing is one of those items that divides Canadians from Americans. Candians get it while Americans don't. One of the reasons for the dichotomy is that in the US the Federal Trade Commission requires dealers selling rustproofing to provide the customer with a disclosure statement saying that it probably doesn't work and could harm the car. No dealer has ever tried to sell me rustproofing on a new car since the 1980's, so I guesss that is when the law was passed. Before 1980 a "rust and dust" package with paint and upholstery protection was pushed by just about every dealer.

 

[zaimon]

Also, most Americans don't live in populations where salt covered roads during the winter are the norm.

I wonder if the rust protection is making a difference for Mazda6 owners and that model's rust problem.

 

[Finprof]

Also, most Americans don't live in populations where salt covered roads during the winter are the norm.quote]

You only say that becuase you live in California. Here in New Jersey there is a lot of salt on the roads right now. It will probably be there until March.

It used to be the case that 80% of Canadians lived South of the 49th parallel - the border between the US and Canada in the prairies. Probably still is.
At that time, more than half of Americans lived North of the latitude of Windsor, Ontario. That has probably changed.

 

[cowtown]

I have heard from more than one person that it's a shill, thus I'll never buy it and because I won't have the car longer than the perforation warranty it's a non issue for me.

 

[zaimon]

You only say that becuase you live in California.

Not quite the truth. But, living in California only makes the image of saltless roads more accessible .

 

[limiter]

In michigan they coat the road with salt every chance they get, and some days they put salt and sand on the road. If you are really lucky they'll salt the road even before it snows with the thinking that when it does snow it will melt right away.

Despite all the crap they throw on the road I have never been offered rust proofing by any dealer and do not know anyone who has been offered rust proofing in the last 20 years.