Hey whats up guys, been reading this forum for a long time and finally decided to buy a brand new fit.. woot!

I have a question that been (partially) addressed here and there over, but I have more questions..

I live in Quebec where the winters are long and cold, and the city uses lots of salt on the roads, so rust is a big concern for me.

The dealership offered rustproofing from this company: Corromaster Inc.

Here is a short description (I copy/pasted this from an email he sent me):

It's not cheap, they ask $480+tx ..

I spent a lot of time on the internet reading about the different rustproofing methods, and would love your opinion on this:

1. Is rustproofing even necessary? I don't have the car manual with me, but I read on another forum that many of the modern cars say in their manual NOT to rustproof the car. I read a lot of people say that as long as I clean/wax the car on regular basis I won't have a rust problem.

2. Would you go with the silicon based rustproofing the dealer is offering? I like the idea that no holes are being drilled into the chassis..

Many thanks!!!
Toast

 

Sounds like a nice gimmick to me! Almost as bad as there extended warrantys. I havent seen one fit with ANY rust on it yet, so I think you should be good. I think it was mostly the 80's and 90s hondas that tend to rust in the quarters

 

I'm not sure if I'd call it a gimmick, but I would be interested to see the long term results after 20 years or so.

That being said, a car in NJ will be very different than a car say....from CA. I lived in NJ for 32 years and just recently moved to CA. In NJ, I drove my car everywhere in all weather conditions (snow, rain, salt, etc). After the car came to CA, I had it on a lift to do some exhaust work. Some surface corrosion on the suspension components and other pieces. Nothing to concern myself over.

However, my friends in CA were absolutely SHOCKED at this. You could probably eat off the underbody of their car. It was a dramatic difference.

I was able to dig up pics of my 2007 S2000 as well. This car was also purchased brand new in NJ and the new owner drove the car to CA.

Would the rust proofing prevent this? In fact, I wouldn't even say this is that bad. Surface corrosion isn't really a big deal.

~50K miles in NJ. Keep in mind the exterior of the car was immaculate and washed/waxed regularly.




Cleaned and powdercoated. My CA friends' cars looked like this, and they NEVER cleaned the underbody.

 

I prefer the rust prevention used here (stay home when it snows).

I'd take the word of the guy from NJ. They have some nasty weather there, lots of slush and salt.

edit: forgot to mention, recently helped my son buy a car. His criteria was it be less than $5,000. We looked at a lot of 10 year old cars most with 150K plus miles, many that had been wholesaled out of NJ, OH, MD. These showed signs of being exposed to salt: aluminum oxide on bare aluminum parts. Some iron oxide on bolt ends. Sheet metal was fine on all of them, top and bottom. Given a choice I'd rather buy a southern car, but the rust protection on the Honda's and Mazdas we looked at was more than adequate from the factory.

I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Are you saying that American cars (as opposed to Japanese cars) are more naturally rustproofed or do you mean that you rather buy a car that was used in the south?

When you say "don't worry about it", you mean I shouldn't buy the protection?

Many thanks

 

A car from the south not subjected to salt on the roads.

I think you better rely on people's opinions from up there, but I'd lean towards just Honda's factory protection. Look around, how many rusty Hondas do you see from the last 10 years? More than that all bets are off.

 

I don't see a lot of rusted Hondas, but then again, I didn't ask every car owner if they apply rustproofing each year, which is a very popular practice where I'm from.

So I can't tell for sure if the cars look good because they're well built, or because they had the treatment applied.. every person I asked around the office rustproof their car in one way or another.. I was hoping the Fit is a super car that doesn't need it

 

Reading the chatter on the internet, the responses on rustproofing modern cars range from "it's a complete rip-off," to "if you live in Canada you better do it."

I think like most dealer add-ons it's overpriced and you're better off dealing with it aftermarket. It's not something Honda recommends. So if you feel you should, shop around; don't get hooked by the dealer.

Some chatter from yahoo CA.

This sounds an awful lot like an advertisement.

Here's what consumer reports says:
The argument that Canada gets worse weather doesn't add up. Colder weather can actually help prevent rust. It's liquid water/salt that eats up cars. And much of the US gets as awful weather as Canada in the winter.

 

I had mine done by dealer when I bought it. Should have just had it done elsewhere and saved a bit.

 

You know your car has a corrosion warranty....Also rustproofing is a scam. There is no stopping oxidation. That being said a new car will last a long time without rusting.

 

can anyone that has the manual check what it says regarding rustproofing?

 

the factory warranty is 5 years, no distance limit. This pertains to rust through and not surface rust, I think.

Honda's owner manual (here it the states at least) makes no mention of rust outside of the warranty.

Checking Honda's websites, both here and Canada they make no mention of either factory rustproofing techniques or aftermarket remedies. I don't think it's a big selling point. 20 years ago it was. Before the 90s cars were terrible. Since then all manufacturers are taking adequate steps to protect from rust.

I lived in Ontario in the 70s. Believe me, I know how ugly it is, but that was on rust-buckets built in the 60s and 70s. Inspection this spring when I was shopping for used cars from up north where they are subjected to salt really didn't show any concerns. All painted surfaces (with one exception) were not rusted. All unpainted (aluminum etc) showed signs of surface rust, but nothing alarming. And this is on 10-15 year old cars. One car I looked at (a 2001 Honda Civic) had rust in the sunroof well, but it hadn't rusted through. Still I was surprised to see this. I doubt any aftermarket treatment would hit that area (but then Fits don't have sunroofs).

If I lived up there I'd might get the aftermarket deal that protects for a couple years for a couple hundred dollars. Something that isn't thick so there is no chance plugging drain holes and making the likelihood of rust worse. And then go in for re-treatment if I thought it was worth it. I lean towards aftermarket rustproofing as being a scam.

 

Well I have the benefit of any sound proofing that rust proofing provides.

I have driven those old rust buckets.

I agree though cars are more rust free. I had a 88 Plymouth Sundance for 8 yrs and a 96 Dodge Stratus for another 8 with no rust proofing and no rust. They do benefit though from frequent washing.

 

I heard only dark colored cars need rustproofing so you should be fine.

 

 

I think this wraps it up very nicely

CAA-Québec - Rustproofing treatment for the winter: making an informed choice

 

So what are you going to do?

 

I drove my 1995 Infiniti for 15 years, no rust. Near NYC in a town that salts the hell out of the roads when it snows (which isn't as often as in Canada). But I also parked my car 2 hours a day within 20 feet of the ocean about 200-300 days a year.

$500 is a lot of money to spend on 'rustproofing' a sub $20k car that might be sold, stolen, wrecked or otherwise not be your car in a decade... when most cars don't seem to rust these days.

And you can always take your car to a car wash a couple of times each winter to wash the salt off.

 

Also, avoid heated garages, be selective with the car washes as some can push salty water deeper into the under carriage.

All this said, what sort of life expectancy are you looking for with this car? 10 years? 15? More? It's an econobox. It's not like these will be a rare collectible. I wouldn't worry about it personally; in a decade or so I'll be ready for something new.

 

I had to! The OP put his color in the title...