Rust proofing question for Canadian owners

[pardi]

My sales rep and business manager told me that rust proofing is not necessary on all BMWs as rust proofing is already applied at the factory in Germany. In fact, I was even told that BMW does not recommend any rust proofing be done upon delivery of the car.

Is this all b.s.?!

Winter in Canada is brutal -- for people and for cars especially. Road salts are used frequently to melt the snow on highways and public roads, and they literally destroy cars.

Based on my previous car buying experiences, rust proofing package is always offered by the dealer (and I later learned that this is where they make tons of money from). And I would never buy a car without rust proofing done -- at the dealer or elsewhere.

I know BMW has a 6 year rust warranty, but so do most other car manufacturers. My concern isn't so much about the body, but the underbody of the car and around wheel wells where a lot of road salts accumulate basically for the entire winter.

As I intend to keep my BMW for many years to come, I really want to have maximum protection against rust.

Any suggestions?

 

[330i and like it]

I wouldn't worry about rust. The car comes with a rust warrenty.

 

[aNoodle]

I'm with 330iandlikeit.

But I can't improve on the Car Talk guys explanation.....

"Dear Tom and Ray:

My wife and I are in the process of purchasing a brand new Mercury Villager. Our question revolves around the issue of undercoating and rustproofing. Do we really need to have our car rustproofed? And if we do, who should we get to do it? Bob

Tom: We've stopped recommending rustproofing, Bob, for two reasons.

Ray: The lesser of the reasons is that manufacturers have improved their rust protection to some degree. They now dip the car parts in some sort of lactose-free, magnesium-zinc, corn syrup-based fruit shortening, which supposedly adds some protection against rusting.

Tom: And their "rust through" corrosion guarantees reflect an increased confidence on their part that they've been at least somewhat successful....either in rustproofing their cars, or crafting warranty language that's vague enough to be weaseled out of easily.

Ray: The more important reason we don't recommend rustproofing is that it's usually done so badly, that it actually makes the car MORE likely to rust, not less likely.

Tom: Let's face it, the guys that do the rustproofing are not recent graduates of the Star Fleet Academy. And they're poking holes in the bottom of your brand new car, and supposedly squirting chemicals in door panels and body panels. And if they do it right, it can help your car last longer. But if they do a sloppy or incomplete job, one of two things can happen. If they don't put the chemicals where they're supposed to go, you can end up with extra holes, which can let moisture into the door and body panels and facilitate rusting. Or, if they put too much of the stuff in, your drain holes can get plugged up, which also accelerates the rusting process.

Ray: Now I'm sure the Continental Rustproofers United in Defense (CRUD) is going to be all over us for expressing such a blanket opinion. And I'm sure that there are some skilled, honest rustproofers out there. The problem is, even WE don't know how to identify the good ones. If I bought a brand new car tomorrow, I wouldn't know who I could trust to rustproof it correctly. And I'm in the automotive business...you know...honor among thieves and all that.

Tom: So unless you personally know and trust someone who rustproofs cars, our advice these days would be to keep the car clean and take your chances." http://www.cartalk.com/content/columns/Archive/1995/December/08.html​

I would only add that they're talking about a mercury! You should be fine with a BMW.

 

[pardi]

Thanks for your input, folks! I guess I wouldn't worry about it then.