Not having to deal with road salt as we northerners do really helps with the car. Any time I'm down in Mexico, I'm amazed at all the "classics" I see on the road.
Wayne Parham Messages: 18793 Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)
You're sure right about that. But dirt/mud can be a problem too. Oklahoma, Texas and Mexico have red dirt that is full of clay. When dry, it is easily picked up by the tires and thrown into the wheel wells and other cavities. If it isn't washed out, humidity will cause it to stick as a cake, holding moisture and causing rust.
I find that cars that are owned by people in cities are pretty much rust free, but those owned by people in the country and driven on dirt roads rust through in less than 25 years. The red dirt does it.
Less than 25 year!?! It's not uncommon to see rust-throughs on cars in Toronto under 10 years old. There's high expectations for the city to keep the roads completely free of snow and ice, so they dump tonnes of salt each year. Lord knows why we couldn't just learn to drive properly on snow and ice and use winter tires.