[Finchs]

I found a 4 year old Buick that we are thinking of buying, but I see on Carfax that it lived for it's first 3 years in NY, up near Canadian border. I have heard that salt used on roads up there causes the underbody of cars to rust out...is this really a problem? Or is it a non-issue? Would a mechanic at Pep Boys be able to detect if a problem exists or will I have to wait years for it to show?

[dewilson58]

mechanic will not see stored salt in all areas of the underbody.

i would have a concern (coming from the midwest)

[villagetinker]

Yes salt can cause problems (spent 60 years in PA), your problem would be any corrosion that was started up North will continue here with the higher humidity especially if the car in left outside. If the car was properly factory sealed (undercoated) the damage should be minimal, but not sure you will be able to confirm this without removing body panels to look inside doors, etc.

[Topspinmo]

Watch this guy, he has to repair rust belt vehicle’s

Rust Belt Mechanics Nightmare ������ - Subaru Rear Wheel Bearing - YouTube

I lived in-rust belt, if and big if the owner religiously washed car after the salty encounter rust could be kept to minimum and it would take years to show signs of decay. But, ask yourself how many people do that? (100 men will test today, but only 3 will……)

[Michael G.]

Originally Posted by Finchs

I have heard that salt used on roads up there causes the underbody of cars to rust out...is this really a problem?

Yes, salt eats away at cars, you heard right and it's a problem

[tophcfa]

Both road salt (rust) and pot hole (damaged suspension, especially the front end). Unless getting a substantial discount to reflect greater risk, avoid. I laugh and shake my head when I hear people around the Villages complain about potholes. I have never seen anything resembling a real pothole down here. When you hit a real pothole, your vehicle gets tower to someone who specializes in front end service. They are like land mines hiding in the roads from February through April.

[MrFlorida]

Yes, road salt causes a lot of rust under the car, I would look elsewhere.

[manaboutown]

The heavily salted streets of early 1970s Rochester, NY ruined my 1967 Camaro I had brought up pristine from Virginia in less than three years. I would not touch a used car coming from anywhere roads are salted. The locals knew to drive beaters during the winter and not their nice cars.

[thelegges]

All of our cars come from MI, where we lived. Our road didn’t get plowed for weeks, but once you hit the main road all roads were salted.

We keep our cars about 6 years, . With the exception of the 2001 Grand Cherokee that has back wheel well hit it in accident has rust.
2006 Range Rover no visible rust, and 2011 Range Rover no visible rust. These were our go to work and snow fun.

The 2000 Ford that was equipped with plow and salt bin, is showing rust around wheel wells.

[banjobob]

It really is a problem , as a wholesale auto buyer buying cars from Michigan auto auctions for years all were rusted underneath not rusted through but rust had started and will continue in hidden pockets in the body panels. My advice if you plan on keeping over 3 years look elsewhere.

[Mac1996]

Being from Iowa and knowing what salt does to cars, no way would I buy it.Pay a little more for one that’s from the south.

[JoelJohnson]

I lived in MA and had a 2008 Subaru Forester. When I sold it in 2015, with 150,000 miles on it, you couldn't find any rust on it! I had many Subaru's before that, but it was a first for me!
We brought a 2008 Honda CRV, with 95,000 miles on it, down here and the same thing, no rust. So maybe they are making cars better these days.

[La lamy]

It really depends. Up north I used to be able to walk to work, so my car was in a garage the whole time, out only for shopping which was always done when roads were dry. I'm sure my car was a huge exception from most, but you'd probably be able to tell how corroded it was if you or someone else looked under it.

[Linda2323]

I will suggest you not buy the car. After living in New York I can tell you that they get a lot of snow upstate. There is a lot of salt on the roads. There may be a little bit of rot on the car but in the future there will be more. A lot of times it is not seen until its to late.

Linda2323
Westbury, N. Y.
Virginia Beach, VA
Powhatan, VA
Boydton, VA

[Rzepecki]

Originally Posted by thelegges

All of our cars come from MI, where we lived. Our road didn’t get plowed for weeks, but once you hit the main road all roads were salted.

We keep our cars about 6 years, . With the exception of the 2001 Grand Cherokee that has back wheel well hit it in accident has rust.
2006 Range Rover no visible rust, and 2011 Range Rover no visible rust. These were our go to work and snow fun.

The 2000 Ford that was equipped with plow and salt bin, is showing rust around wheel wells.

We also came from Michigan. Unless you keep your car 10 years or more, don’t expect to see any rust. Undercoating hasn’t been necessary for years because the auto companies treat the metal with a rust inhibitor.