# Anyone ever had a car under body coated or rust proofed?



## ErikBEggs (Aug 20, 2011)

I have never had it done but elected to have it done on mine for the price of one extra monthly payment. Seemed like a good deal as far as resale value goes - upstate New York is salt city. Also, I know from my fathers 12 year old car that most of the mechanical issues that happen later in the car's life with things that need replacing are due to rust...


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## CruzeLTZ-RS (Jul 23, 2011)

Thank Erik, I got a quote from my dealer. For the underbody coating, rust proofing and this Glass Coat service it was close to $800 for all 3. The Glass Coat is amazing. Think I'm gonna do the whole works.


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## Hatje (Jun 23, 2011)

its a bit of a rip off at the dealer youll find it cheaper at smaller local shops!


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## CLUBGUY (May 28, 2011)

CruzeLTZ-RS said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> I live in WI where the worst thing is the salt used the roads in the winter. My dealer offers underbody coating (some rubberized stuff) and rust proofing. The way I understand r-proofing is that they drill holes in the door, spray this gunk in there and cap the holes off. That and other rust prone areas of the car. The gunk will seep down onto the sill for a few days I guess. Since this is my only car now, I'd like to really treat it good in the winter. Has anyone ever had either or both of those services done and liked the results? Anyone had them done and wish they didn't do them? I just don't want to make the mistake of having something done that's irreversible if it's not worth it.
> 
> Thanks.


"Consumer Reports" (the magazine) states this is unnecessary with todays car builders using preassembly dipping and coating of metal components....they did state that some rubberized undercoatings offer a modest amount of sound reduction....but if installed under less-than-favorable conditions, they may trap moisture and in the long run promote corrosion...
My dad had a car rust-protected in 1966 by a company called Ziebart...He watched them treat the car and later told me they did a great job but there was potentional for the installer to take short-cuts if one was not monitoring the operation...
Remember he spread newspapers on the garage floor to catch the dark purple fluid that dripped from the body cavaties for days....


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## ErikBEggs (Aug 20, 2011)

I was told that also. But I was also told that whatever rust proofing done to all cars is only enough to withstand the 5-6 year corrosion window on the warranty. I'm just going off the last vehicle I drove, which lasted 12 years and all the mechanical repairs were caused by undercarriage rust after that 5-6 year window. I don't know if rust proofing is a fix or not, but again I got mine for just one additional monthly payment.


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## sciphi (Aug 26, 2011)

I put Fluid Film onto the bottom of my Cruze. All the underbody trays and wheel well liners were taken off so I could spray inside frame rails and panel backsides. 

It's worked well so far on our Fit. There's only very light surface rust on the uncoated cast-iron parts of the car where it was applied.


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## casey67 (Apr 20, 2011)

It's not necessary! And if they miss one little spot you'll get rust anyway!


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## mr_raider (Aug 13, 2011)

We live in a high salt/high corrosion area. I have done it on and off for several cars. Used an oil based treatment for about 70$. Shop recommends annual treatments, I tend to go once every other year. I can't really tell if it does any good, honestly, none of my cars showed any significant rust in the first 6-8 years of ownership, but I got rid of them after so I can't really tell about long term.


Honestly, best thing to do is just hose down the underside of the car after driving through snow and slush.


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## gregh2000 (Oct 13, 2011)

I also had it done on my Cruze when I bought it. My wife's fusion is all rusted underneath and is starting to rust on the paint already. Ford won't cover it unless it rusts through in the 5 year window not just surface rust, lame. I have it on my Cruze now just to be safe, I plan to keep this car a while and want it nice. I had the interior and window stuff done too. I also did the clear protector thing for the front. It is like a plastic film that goes on the top of the hood, mirrors, and door edges to prevent rock dings or if you open the door and hit the garage wall. I just want to keep this car nice from the start since it is my first new car.


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## danogg (Nov 16, 2011)

Had my car oil sprayed a week after I bought it! We have all our vehicles done every year. For 80 bucks I think it's worthwhile. My husband's truck is 10 years old and doesn't have a spot of rust


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## Mike_Bishop (Nov 13, 2011)

I'm going to have my Cruze Ziebart. They priced it at $350. I worked and retired from a GM stamping plant and even know the metal has been Zinc-Coated it will still rust. Some of us know how the Chevy trucks rusted in the 70's. My dad bought a used 1979 Chevy truck that the owner had ziebart and now a guy down the road has it and still no rust on the sheet metal.


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## doc03 (May 18, 2011)

The last vehicle I ever had Rustproofed was my 1977 Chevy Blazer. This is no BS that POS rusted thru in 18 months. Ziebart did the rustproofing and they guaranteed to either fix the rust damage or (refund your money). Well my left quarter panel rusted thru in 18 months and they repaired it at about $800. Anyway about a month later I took it back with the right quarter panel rusted thru. They wouldn't fix it, I paid about $250 for the rustproofing and they said the left quarter panel costs them more than the cost of the rustproofing. I traded that POS in on a 1980 AMC Eagle that they claimed was rustproofed at the factory. Myself I think salt water gets behind the rustproofing and actually promotes rust. I traded a 1999 Mercury Tracer that wasn't rustproofed in on my Cruze and it was getting a little surface rust after 12 years and 156,000 miles. The steel used in today's cars is galvanized and is vastly superior to cars 30 years ago, I think rustproofing is a total waste of money.


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## feh (May 29, 2011)

Clearly this is just my opinion, but I don't know if such treatments are necessary any more. I think cars built today are much better protected underneath than those built in the 70s and 80s.

I also live in WI and drive cars until they die. I change my own oil, so I get a good look at the underside of the car at least twice a year.

Over the last 20 years, I've owned 4 new cars, each of them for at least 10 years (except for the Cruze, obviously). I never had or saw any corrosion on the undercarriage with any of them.


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