Right from the horses' mouth at http://www.chevrolet.com/warranty/

 

Great.

 

Good find, this may save new buyers some cash.

 

There's been a lot of dicussion about this topic and I hope this finally settles the arguement about rustproofing. Use the cash you save on mods or a nice polishing kit!!

 

This should be clearly stated to all potential buyers. You never find out about this information until *after* everything is all said and done. how ironic....

 

So true

 

grrr....

 

Um, this may sound like a ditzy west-coast question, but what the hell is rust-proofing? Is it to protect the car from all the snow/salt and sh** from your guys' winter?

 

rust proofing = undercoat

Doing it on a cobalt would be like undercoating an undercoating..

 

Sounds like some peole got skrewed over ! I guess some dealers wanted to make a quick buck by offering rust proofing to those they think might not no the car is already protected. That really sucks.

 

The key word in the warranty statement is "rust-through". The car could be covered in rust, but as long as metal isn't rusted all the way through, you're boned. I had a Cavalier with the same rust-through warranty and was urged not to rust proof the car after I bought it new. In hindsight I wished that I had. Late in the car's life, I had problems with corrosion of the sheet metal on the underside of the passenger side door and critical parts underneath the vehicle that really should've been made not to rust, e.g. the fuel line. I don't trust this no-rust warranty stuff.

 

GM has not "Reccomended" rustproofing for some time now. Of course they are not going to since they "warranty" it and all. For the most part you will be fine without it, but if you live in an area which uses a lot of salt in the winter, it is still a good idea to get it done. However, Do not buy the dealer rustproofing package, go somewhere else, it will most likely be cheaper and done better. Also ask if you can watch them do it, and check the car after they are done for places they missed. Its not just the underbody that needs it, behind all of the metal body panels need it also, any place that water can come in contact with steel (as aluminum does not oxidize), painted or not.

 

If you look in the actual warranty and maintenance guide that came with the car it also states in there that rustproofing is not required. There is also a blurb in there along the lines of GM will not take sides on whether or not rustproofing can help protect your car etc. I don't have my book on me right now but if you look in there you'll see what I mean .

Overall I think it's still personal preference whether or not you get it done and I'm still undecided on this one. People are right in that the key word is rust through. I've never had anything rust through on my car but my cavalier began to develop rust marks on the doors after 7 years. Of course, I didn't exactly take great care of it (I don't think I barely washed it in the winter ever) but it began to show up anyways. Also, the bracket that held my muffler on rusted right through and next thing I knew I was dragging my tailpipe down the highway .

Permafried-

 

I agree, here in Toronto the city uses alot of salt

the car is garrentied to rust if you don't.

but that depends if you plan on keeping the car.

 

I wouldn't want that crap on my car no matter where I live.

 

I totally agree, if you plan on keeping the car, GET IT DONE! The door panels on my 99 Z24 I bought used were already rusted to ****. (The very lip at the bottom) If it had of been rustproofed, it never would have happened..

 

I had a 96 Z24 and not a spec of rust on it and I never got it rustproofed. I drive a 1998 Dodge Caravan now with 170K km on it. Never been rustproofed and not a spec of rust - not even on the underbody.

THE KEY TO KEEPING YOUR CAR RUST FREE IS TO WASH OFTEN!!

 

And to spend the extra cash to give the underbody a good blow-out once the spring arrives to get out any salt, dirt, sand, etc. that has accumulated in crevices under the body. Even though most car washes have underbody jets they just don't do the same job as putting your car up on a lift and pressure washing the hell outta the edge of the runners, etc. just to make sure you get as much as possible.

If you drive on gravel roads a lot however it may be worthwhile looking into rustproofing since you will more than likely end up with a larger amount of stone chips on the underbody, though I think in that case you're going to have a hard time keeping the rust away from exposed metal.

Permafried-

 

Or a new paint job so you don't get rust from all the damn chips in it.