I would appreciate your opinions please, regarding the best way to prevent my new Nissan Cube, which I will pick up next week, from rusting? I live in a city in Canada and it is with salt, rocks, slush etc. I love our winter…but, it is deadly and sad for cars!!
The dealer wishes to sell me a rustguard and soundguard product for $500…with a 10 year guarntee…and with not having to reapply it at all each year, like the other usual rust treatment centres - where it MUST be applied each year, and which I tend to think may be the way to go…but…they drill in the doors…what should I do?Help?? Thanks.
Whether it’s worth doing, do NOT buy it from the dealer. They will overcharge you by at least 100%. You don’t have to get it immediately. Check with others you know to see if they know of something useful. Your car will come with a pretty substantial corrosion warranty, it may not be worth getting regardless.
Modern cars come with good rust proofing from the factory. After market treatments (and the dealer is selling you an after market product) are never as good as the original and may make your car more prone to rust, but defeating things like small drain holes that may lock moisture inside the car.
I suggest don’t try to improve on what you already have unless you have some special need like working at a steel mill. I can remember doing inspections there and their pickup trucks (they lasted longer than cars) only lasted six months. Living in the snow belt is not what I would call special rust problems.
Today’s cars are designed and built with drainage, ventilation, special coatings, bonding processes in many areas instead of welding, welding that minimizes heat stress to the adjacent areas, and final coatings that are eons ahead of what used to be. Adding aftermarket rustproofing can actually cause rust areas where there would not otherwise be any by violating some of those coatings and “rust control” measures.
The soundguard thing is outright balogna. It’s extremely unlikely to have any effect on the sound level of your vehicle. It’s just an added sales word to get you to buy the aftermarket spray. The sounds in your vehicle come from propogating through the suspension hardware, acoustics such as turbulance in the wheelwells, and rsonance such as sound vibrating through the floor panels. The odds of that spray affecting the resonant frequencies of any of the part of your car in any meaningful manner are just about zero.
This additional offering is known as a “pack”. It’s alomost pure profit and of no real benefit. It’s only purpoase is added revenue.
Thanking you for your replies and great opinions and advice!
Here is my “OCD” - regarding my great need to have the safest and best rust prevention treatment for the Cube. I am planning to keep this car for approx. 20 years, (unless, that is, a miraculous $$Angel visits me somewhere down the road - if I win a loto, etc.!).
I believe that I would still have my “late” 1992 Eagle Summit wagon “if only I had…” It was in absolutely perfect condition, as I took great care in maintaining it, except for my choice > of being ignorant, and NOT applying any rust prevention treatment - never! 
When I put it to rest, as it could no longer be driven, because the undercarriage had rusted (the back of the car fell down as I was driving!), plus it had a bit of rust around the front doors, (oddly - the side door for the back passengers was perfect and somehow not rusted at all!) and alot of rust in the wheel wells. I was also ignorant in NOT installing mud guards! (duh…I live in Canada…snow, slush salt!!)
I weepily waved goodbye to my Eagle Summit wagon, as it was towed away. I felt sad, as it had served me well for 16 years, (and had only 62,000 km.!) I vowed that I would be extra cautious, and well educated on making sure I would have the best rust prevention program in order, for the next vehicle I would own!!!
I have been told by others that the newer vehicles will not rust like in the past…but, I know for sure, that
most people today, do NOT plan to keep their vehicles for 20 years!! And so, that is why I am with the need to find out what is the absolute best way to keep it from rusting? (from the inside out, and from the outside in!)
I feel overwhelmed because I did call a few places - all who are competing with each other (putting each other’s companies down! I got off the phone feeling so mentally tired, and even more mixed up because of the variety of products that they offer, and each of them saying that there’s was the absolute top, bestest product…and the competitor’s treatments stink.
So, that is my story…I will be driving my Cube basically in the city, to and from appointments and shopping. (it will not be used for highway driving, travelling, trips etc.) I would appreciate your opinions, comments, suggestions etc. Thanks!
I would use the $500 to have the car washed after a heavy snow and the thawing begins. My father-in-law bought a brand new F-100 pick-up truck in 1969 and had a well known company “rust proof” the truck. Holes were drilled in different locations. This truck rusted quicker than any vehicle I have ever seen.
Rust-proofing was very popular and useful in the past, when cars did not have the factory applied corrosion protection. It was Phil Edmundston, a Montreal-based consumer activist, who tackled the “Rusty Ford” problem in the 70s and eventually forced all manufacturers, through government legislation, to provide built-in rust protection.
As mentioned, rust proofing can actually make today’s cars rust quicker, if improperly applied. I have had 2 rust proofed cars in the past, both from the 70s, and it helped somewhat, but did not eliminate rust.
The company that invented aftermarket rust protection, Ziebart, now sell all sort of other finishes, since they can’t make a living sell rust-proffing alone.
As others say, don’t buy any additional protection from the dealer, it’s too expensive and often improperly applied.
In summary, I would NOT recommend any after market rustproofing for your car since it really is not necessary anymore, and will not add any useful life to the vehicle.
If you want the final authoritative opinion, get a copy of “Lemon Aid” by Phil Edmindston from your library. He will echo what the various poster are telling you. In additon, Consumer Reports also is not in favor of any additional after market rust proofing.
The best way to prolong the life of you car is frequent washings, touching up paint scratches, making sure the drain holes in the doors are not plugged, and keeping the interior clean and dry.
Hope this sheds some light on the commercial hype and what is really going on.
I can understand wanting to be cautious about keeping a vehicle for so long. That said however, most modern cars die an early death only because the owner simply will not maintain it properly and the engine or transmission gunk up and are essentially scrap metal. Horror stories about lease owners never changing oil except when they trade it in in 3 years, or people buying them never change the oil and say the car maker is junk because the engine died on them due to sludged up oil .
save the money and buy a pressure washer. That way you can (twice a year or so) blast the underside of the car clean. also you can use the pressure washer to clean the driveway, deck fence etc etc etc.
the underside of cars has good coating and will last if kept clean. I have found it is not the salt and sand, but leaves, and debris which hangs up under there causing rust and corrosion. some cars are notorious for having little holes, indents and voids which fill up with crud and that collects water and rusts. A good cleaning is the best solution. There is no magical cure for poorly designed cars with nooks and crannys to hide/hold all this crud which is the cause of the rust.
As an alternative to buying/storing a pressure washer, find a local year round carwash and buy a ‘once a month’ car wash ticket. Just make sure it is brushless, and has the high pressure undercar cleaning nozzles, so it will accomplish what you want cleaned.
Dealer rustproofing and soundguard is a scam. Yes, they do something to your car, no it doesn’t help. Your car has all the rustproofing it needs from the factory. All you need to do is maintain it. Use a car wash with an undercarriage blast function whenever the thaw hits and they reopen the car washes. This will get rid of the road salt. Do this every chance you get throughout the winter. If you have a heated garage, DO NOT use it in the winter. This will cause your car to rust faster (much faster) than if you left it outside all winter. Contrary to popular belief, heated garages are not good for cars, unless they are never driven outside in the wintertime. If you want instant heat, get a block heater installed and plug it in for cold nights. Lastly, if you really want your car to shine, consider having it fully detailed once a year or so. It costs around $100 here in the States, more in Canada due to difference in dollar value, but it will keep your car looking showroom new, inside and out.
Don’t pay for rust prevention, you don’t need it. When you wash the car wash the underside too. Touch up any chips as soon as you see them.
Odds are if you do the rust prevention it’ll rust faster than if you did nothing. Think about it, you want them to drill a hole in your car, and apply something to the inside, are they going to plug the hole and repaint it? No, so you’re going to have bare metal exposed to the air and it will start to rust. Or worst they will plug up the drain holes and your door will fill up with water and you don’t even want to know what kind of mess that can cause.
Read the guarantee I’m willing to bet that its for rust through, not rust. So even if your car starts to rust they won’t pay for it.
My opinion is subject to change with new facts.
Using a car wash is the same as driving throw a half salty puddle in the winter.
Car washes have drains that return water to a settling tank which gets the large stuff out. However salt does not settle nor does the fine particulate.
How do I know? I was a field engineer who worked with them.
Car wash owners would go broke trying to use 100% fresh water.
I Wouldn’t Drill Any Holes In My Car For “Rustproofing” (Or For Mud Flaps Or Whatever). No New Holes.
Check your new car’s warranty. The car should come with a stated body “rust through” or corrosion perforation warranty. Keep reading. If I’m not mistaken some manufacturers void this warranty if you drill holes and apply rustproofing.
I recall that a manufacturer (probably VW, Audi, or Porsche) outlined problems with rusting caused by metal shavings from drilled holes falling into vehicle body cavities (doors for example) and setting off a corrosion reaction. I believe this was in the form of a TSB (Technical Service Bulletin). In other words, the rustproofing procedure made matters worse.
And another thing. When I managed a body shop I watched as body panels were cut from cars as part of the repair procedure. We were always amazed at how hit-or-miss the rustproofing from various different companies (company logo on decal in window) really was. Most of it looked like spray painted graffiti.
Violet, I know you want this car to last for 20 years without rust. It might, but trying to do things to it to assure this will happpen is mostly wishful thinking. One does really not get to choose an arbitrary number of years for a vehicle to remain rust free. It’s up to the car. Keep it clean, wax it twice a year and hope for the best. Stop agonizing over it.
Probably the best rust prevention is to choose cars that have good track records for being rust free. I have no idea what Nissans are like. They are not sold within 100 miles of here and I never see any. If they’re pretty good then you’re all set.
CSA
Violet, Get A Little Bottle Of Touch-up Paint (Brush In Cap) From Nissan, In Your Car’s Specific Color (According To Paint Code), When You Take Delivery Of The Vehicle.
While washing, if you notice any stone nicks that go through the paint to metal, touch them up with a very small dab of paint after the car is thoroughly dry. It won’t look much better than the chip, but it will slow the corrosion from forming and creating blisters or bubbles in the paint surface.
CSA
The car washes that I have used, always use fresh water for the rinse, yes they recycle water for just about everything except the rinse. So I’m using recycled water to soap up the, yes I use soap for the undercarriage, but I also rinse everything. So I’m getting rid of all the dirt and oil and salt.
My opinion is subject ot change with new facts.