I just purchased a 2011 malibu ltz and plan to keep this car for at least 8 to 10 years. I was trying to figure out the best way to protect the whole car from rust and corrosion as the years go by. As far as the outside paint, I am using finishing compound to get the water marks out of the paint (dealer left it out side and acid rain left some marks). Then I will be using a polishing compound to shine it to the max, and then putting a nice coat of wax on.

My main concern is the bottom of the doors, behind the rocker covers (my 2003 cavalier rusted out here) and also the under body (also an issue with my cavalier). Also I'm from Cincinnati and we get the hot humid summer and the snow in the winter.

I keep my cars 10+ years each.

Keep it washed (ever other week at least), clean and rinse the areas around the rear wheel opening inside fender lip (you can clean the inside lip, even with the plastic inner shroud [most people never clean this area, but it's important!], bottom of doors (get under the rubber molding), and inside of lower front fenders (open the front doors and squirt inside there). The lower rocker panel in the new Malibu are plastic, so they shouldn't rust.

My 2001 Cavilier with 150K miles, and my 1999 Buick Century, still have not begun to rust, and they have sat outside their entire life.:D

exactly... the best rust prevention is just to take care of your car...

you just have to do the little things that most people dont. for instance, when you wash it, shammy it right afterwards, and clean the inside door trim and bumper moldings and whatnot. it should take you almost an hour to wash your car correctly, if you wash your car in 5-10 mins, you aren't doing it right.

and just keep er waxed... at least twice a year do a real thorough waxing with a lot of elbow grease

I've had (still have) my 2003 cavalier since new and it rusted out behind the rocker cover. This is an image of the rust that started behind the rocker cover and worked its way into the quarter panel. This cavalier is the LS sport coupe and had plastic covers over the rocker panel.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x475/mariobro54/47656_10150099013389919_581949918_7321475_4146179_ n.jpg

Here is it after I welded a piece of sheet metal in to repair, it was cold so I put PUR-15 on it until i can work on it when its warm out.
http://i1183.photobucket.com/albums/x475/mariobro54/63244_10150099013569919_581949918_7321477_2352830_ n.jpg

Thankfully it's not a problem here, but when it does snow, it's a riot

That corrosion is coming from the inside out. There will be more if its humid, wet, and if you drive in salt. The above advise is excellent. If you're really interested, drill holes into the body cavities like rockers, doors, etc and apply waxoyl, fluid film or something similar. They work well.
Tony

Tony,
Your right that rust was coming from the inside out, but with my cavalier the moisture got behind the quarter panel from the seam where rocker panel and the quarter panel seam. The quarter panel layered over the rocker panel and it was not welded or seam sealed at all on the lower side of the car. Those panels are spot welded and needed seam sealer from the factory, that would have prevented most of this rust.

What is a good car wash solution to use?

What is a good car wash solution to use?


i use meguiars gold class car wash... it seems like good stuff to me. You can actually see the soap in the water, unlike the cheap kinds where there will be some suds on top and the water just looks clear and doesn't sud up very well

http://www.uksupplydirect.com/images/thumbs/0000502_300.jpg

Very few cars rust around here. Mainly you see rusty cars form people who bring their old northenr cars down here. Sometimes we get people who have so-so cars who never, ever wax them - the paint literally gets eaten away by the sun and the exposed metal begins to rust - that only happens to people who do absolutely nothing to wax their car.

What is wrong with you northerners - putting salt on roads?!?!?!?!?

Wooo florida!!!

Very few cars rust around here. Mainly you see rusty cars form people who bring their old northenr cars down here. Sometimes we get people who have so-so cars who never, ever wax them - the paint literally gets eaten away by the sun and the exposed metal begins to rust - that only happens to people who do absolutely nothing to wax their car.

What is wrong with you northerners - putting salt on roads?!?!?!?!?





I agree that it sucks for us northerners in the winter. I am not sure what the DOT is using today but they were using a calcium salt mixture. Not good for our vehicles! Many local towns will use salt along with sand on the roads. The sand can be just as bad since it will sand blast your paint and pit up your windshield from other drivers tires.

I visit the local Car Washes often in the winter to keep my Vehicles clean as much as possible. I don’t get the cheapest wash either, I will get the works with the under wash with wax.

It gets expensive to keep your vehicle clean if you own more than one but if you are going to keep it for any long period of time, it is worth saving your car from the long term damage of rust.

Even your most over concerned owner that keeps their cars clean here in the north will still experience this condition over time, usually the frame / underside and bottom of the vehicle starts to take on rust!

Since I plan on keeping the Malibu for a very long time, I clean it as much as I can. I am sure waxing will help! I am a clean freak when it comes to my personal Vehicles! I just can’t stand a dirty car! I have always been this way with my vehicles.

That is one thing you guys don’t have to worry as much as us northern people but I do like going Fresh Water Fishing at times and don’t have to worry about alligators pulling me in the water or taking off a limb up here. LOL!:D

A little common sense! Regular Maintenance; Clean, Clean and Clean but Any tips / suggestions always helps.:)

My trick is to live in California. :D

That is one thing you guys don’t have to worry as much as us northern people but I do like going Fresh Water Fishing at times and don’t have to worry about alligators pulling me in the water or taking off a limb up here. LOL!:D



I ran around without a/c for 8 months because I hit a living alligator that was big enough to hit all 4 tires and put some massive gashes in the condenser. These back roads are high 55+ speed limits and surrounded by swamps. Perfect alligator plowin ;)

The 8 months... that was my laziness.

How long do you plan to keep your Bu?

Until one of the headlights burns out. :D :p

The light bulb replacement is absolutely the stupidest thing GM did when designing this car, at least for us owners are concerned! $$$ I don’t even want to get going on the Replacement of both my headlights because of Condensation / Water in them!

I now turn my headlights off, that is when I remember, hoping I get some longer life out of them! I know we can pull a fuse under the hood and this would take care of remembering to shut them off in the car!

I am hoping the Malibu last me for a good long time since I have invested / paid a lot of money for my LTZ.

Yes, I absolutely hate the road salt in the Winter but what are you going to do? Sell my car or maybe just don’t drive it at all in the Winter! It is a lose , lose situation other than cleaning the crap off the car as much as possible!

I am going to Wax the Malibu real good before every winter! Hopefully my extra Time & Care pays off in the long term of my ownership! Again, I help keep my local Car Wash in business during the Winter Months! During the Spring, Summer and early fall, I wash my cars at home most of the time to help cut cost since I have three vehicles to Clean

When the Malibu is all nice and clean, it is a sharp looking car! I just love my Red Jewel Tint Coat color! :)

I ran around without a/c for 8 months because I hit a living alligator that was big enough to hit all 4 tires and put some massive gashes in the condenser. These back roads are high 55+ speed limits and surrounded by swamps. Perfect alligator plowin ;)

The 8 months... that was my laziness.



I can just imagine the damage they could cause to your car! Man, 8 months without AC must have really sucked down there in Florida, hopefully it was during the off season when it was cooler! During the summer months up here, I always turn on the AC no matter what the cost in gas.

I like to watch a show called Swap People on TV. Where they catch them for a living! They can be very annoying and dangerous for many that live near any swaps / fresh water!

I am just glad I don’t have to deal with that around here. I would start salt water fishing instead of fresh water fishing!

If it is not one thing than it is another. Up here in the north you have other animals / creatures to worry about, like bears, if you like to go camping. Farther up north where I once lived in the State Of Maine, you had to look out for Moose in the roads at dusk or in the early mornings! I had missed one by literally inches after standing on my brakes and coming to a complete stop!

The dam Moose did not move at all until I had came to a compete stop and this Hugh Moose just looked / stared at me for a couple of seconds and then started to walk into the woods! A good size Moose could total your car up north!

It would be like running into a Cow, which the Moose is just that, just another form up north!

Sorry, I didn’t mean to throw this off subject but it is still an interesting conversation / response. LOL!:D

Like other here have already said, clean, clean, and clean. Rust that comes from inside panels is hard to fight but a lot comes from small spots of surface rust. Those are easier to fight but it take vigilant upkeep. Every little nick in the paint is a possible source of rust, so you need to touch them up as soon as you see them. For me it means putting the car up on ramps and laying on my back with a bottle of paint if needed. While I am down there I check out the entire underside of the vehicle to look for problems. I then spray the underside of the car with Simple Green or a Purple cleaner avoiding any rubber hoses as I go. These work great, you can see the dirt dripping off the car, then power wash at the do it yourself coin wash or your driveway if you own a power washer. I do this twice a year, once in April or May after winter and once in October right before winter hits. If everything looks good I spray everything with one of those foam tire shines and just let it drip off and dry by itself. DO NOT do this in your driveway as it will stain your pavement. I usually do this in Wal-Marts parking lot right after I buy the tire shine, the drive home allows the excess to drip or blow off. You will be surprised how nice everything looks after it dries. Be prepared to get dirty doing this and be sure to wear safety goggles as cleaner and tire foam will blow into your eyes.
Door jambs and weld seems are another spot that holds dirt and needs to be cleaned on a regular basis, that includes under the hood and trunk. Of these the bottom of the door weld seams are the most important. Use a good rag and your finger nail and run it along the seam, the more often the better especially in the winter if you live in a salt area. Another thing I do in the winter when there is snow and salt on the roads is go to the coin wash and just spray the car off good with water to get the salt off as much as I can, usually one cycle is enough time to get the whole car, wheel wells and the underneath. It's all about getting the salt off the car. I have done this as many as three times in one week, but so far my '05 Mazda and my '99 Jeep are rust free.

Salt and sand suck. Here in Minnesota they have some sort of liquid-based road deicer but it's obviously more expensive than salt and sand. Some of the smaller lakes here that are near roads have more salt content than the ocean. I wish they would just be put heaters in the road but obviously that's super expensive.

I would think the EPA would not let them use these chemicals on the roads. It all becomes runoff into the water and soil which is what they are suppose to protect. I wonder if we could get a class action lawsuit to recieve damages for what this stuff does to our property.

I plan to keep my Malibu till it dies. Which for me will be a very long time as I'm a maintence freak! Basically some good ways to keep your 'Bu from rusting are: wash your car at least every other week, by hand. Car washes basically destroy paint. Think about it, have you every scene anyone ever cleaning out those large revolving brushes? I never had and I don't think they are self cleaning either. So basically that lifted Krawl Workz Jeep that just entered the bay, that just came from a mud whole. All the stones and gook prolly just got wiped across your car too. Anyways wash it by hand. Make sure you get a bug scrubber and some stuff called Spray 9. Its a degreaser that is safe on paint, wheels, tires, etc.. always scrub the bugs off your car. Use two different buckets and wash mitts for the wheel and body. You spray the degreaser all over the wheels and tires and wheel wells and go at it on them with a wash mitt and possibly a long handled brush for the wells. Try a varity of different soaps till you find one you like, I can't really recommend one as at my work we use a generic 50 gallon barrel of some strawberry smelling stuff that seems to work well. It literally has no name on the barrel.
Make sure as everyone else said you do your door jams, trunk jam, and also I recommend degreasing the engine bay and washing it down too helps keep parts in there from rusting up, even though its mostly plastic now. And its safe too. I do my cars every thousand miles or so. If you want to keep stuff from underneath from rusting possibly check into getting your car under coated. I did with my Saab and I'm going to do it with my Malibu soon. Wax it at least every month, possibly buff it yearly. If you keep it waxed often you might not even need it yearly. With any metal, chrome wheels. Keep them poslished and waxed. It helps from brake dust pitting, and dirt slides right off them. Plastic caps just keep it washed. They don't collect brake dust as bad usually. For your interior just keep it vaccumed and wiped down of dirt and skin grease, I know that sounds gross but its the truth, your skins oil can really put some wear on plastics. Take your car to get professionally detailed at least once a year for a good steam cleaning, and degreased wipe down. Check around for local shops to see which ones cars seem to look the best. Also I would suggest not using products like Armor All, if your car is brand new, for at least a few years. Its generally bad for new plastics and can bleed the color right out of them. I wouldn't suggest like Mr.Clean for your interior, but a dilluted mixture of Spray 9 is a excellent plastic cleaner. And a really dilluted mix is good for leathers, vinyls, along with a moisturizer for real leathers to prevent cracking and hardening. For maintence follow the book, thats the key part. Most people besides oil changes dont follow up on the other maintence. Your manual tells you when and how many times to do the maintence on everything. Follow that and the car will last you a very long time. That is what I do and so do my parents that is why are 03 Tracker with 340K runs great, our 95 Tracker with 400k still runs like a champ and my Saab with 203k doesn't miss a beat. And we drive them everywhere.

Excellent advice! Thanks for taking the time to help us all. :)

Any other tips to extend the life of my Bu?

I generally buy new cars every few years, but in this economy I may have to stick with what I have for awhile.

I wash mine once or twice every two weeks, depending on my driving habits. I plan to keep my bu for at least 5-7 years so I can get my money's worth out of it.

If you have such problems with exterior, modify the car with body kit. Before the installation the car's body should be
covered with anticorrosive coating. I think it will prevent the car from damages and somehow from rust. And of course, it is necessary to keep the car in dry garage to prevent corrosion.