ummm I'd say a car that never touched snow/salt/winter is worth more than one that has been through winters. Salt does nasty things to the underside of a car....

 

It CAN do nasty things since the average car owner has no clue how to care for a vehicle in the winter. I agree your best bet is it sitting in a garage with a cover on it for the duration of the winter, but on the flip side my 05 LS didn't have a spot of rust on it after 4 or 5 winters of driving, no has any car I've owned since I have a pretty strict regiment .

 

what do you do to prevent rust?

 

Rustproofing is availible from auto stores or your local dealership may offer it. Undercoating can help too. Hosing off your undercarrage after snow when salt was applied. Things like that.

AND THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL IM DRIVING MY CAR IN THE SNOW!!! COME OCT. 1st, that ***** in storage.

 

Between the salt and the sand they use around me ....I wouldn't have any paint left on the rockers ... It sandblast's the hell out of my wifes malibu....... no thanks .

 

LOL at you losers. You drive an economy car with a turbo motor. drive your car. its not going to be at pebble beach... EVER

For the OP. i went with 17 inch Drag Wheel DR-33's with hankook IPike winter tires. they were awesome.

 

Loser ?..... cause i want to keep paint on my car? I don't think it's special .... I just don't like ruining something for no reason . Way to put us in our place

 

17" snow tires make this thing a beast in the snow as long as you know how to drive in the snow. I had cheap off brand snow tires which kicked ass. I drove through snow deeper than my front lip and I had no issues.

 

i guess some people have respect for their own cars..no matter what they cost

 

I can hardly go a weekend without driving my car i don't understand how I would manage going the whole winter without it. Honestly the pure satisfaction of driving the car (especially in the winter) to me gives it all its value. Driving a winter beater instead of your cobalt turns a thrilling adventure into a dreadful task. I didn't buy a FWD vehicle so i could store it in the garage when it snows- otherwise i would have gotten a camaro, g8, or vette.

Realistically i see myself wanting to replace my cobalt in maybe 5 years so i don't see the point in trying to store it to last 15+. To me the endgame is the cobalt will be the winter beater while a a nicer (RWD) car for the summer.

 

its really not hard, just think how pristine the ss will be in the spring . And 4x4 for winter or a ebrake-able fwd beater is hella fun in the snow

 

you also have to take into account, people suck at driving in poor road conditions. I dont want someone sliding thru an intersection full of snow and hitting my Challenger, let them hit the Subaru.

 

^ Exactly.... going to DD this car for a few more years, then use this car as a winter beater + buy a z06 for summer :P

 

people suck in any condition. ugh i hate people. at least with 4x4 I can easily get out of the way of a sliding down the hill behind me car

 

If the car is frozen, don't wash it, the moment it thaws wash it every single day they drump any amount of salt on the road. If the car is a frozen brick and covered in salt that's no big deal because the salt needs water to react. No standing water, no car wash, no reaction at all . I also tend to go to pull the wheels off in my garage periodically and scrub the **** out of the suspension, rotors, etc. just to get an build-up off the normal washing can't get at.

My primary conern is the unibody and door jambs since once they rust there's little you can do to correct it properly if you don't catch it in time. If there's some spots on the suspension, braking system, etc. I don't see it as a big deal it won't rust through like door panels or the unibody unless it gets REALLY bad in which case it's time to replace it.

Not a perfect science but it has done the trick for me for the last 2 (this being my third) cars I have owned. I also refuse to put an insulated garage door on (the one I have is just thin metal) not only because the builder wanted a fortune for it, but I want the garage to stay the same temp (frozen) as the outdoors so the snow/ice caked on the car doesn't begin to melt...or I just leave it outside as long as possible before going to sleep .

 

ya thats way to much work for me. I'm lazy as ****

 

believe me, 3 months into winter and I have about as much motivation to keep it up as nothing. That and having icicles growing off my nose, ears and in my hair isn't always my idea of a good time...but it keeps the rust away