I don't get it!!!

Limeybastard

I didn't think rain would cause corrosion by itself. I know as it rains a lot in Florida but most older cars I see look like new underneath over here. Compared to when I was in the UK rust galore due to winter salting of the roads.

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JARblue

Rain will absolutely rust your undercarriage. Just not as fast as salt water, which is essentially what the road salt turns into when it melts the ice.

Those older cars may look ok, but I guarantee you there is significantly more rust on their exhaust piping if you compared it to a weekend driver's car of the same age and model.

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MacCool

Because this is Minnesota. It snows in November and the snow stays until March. Even if it was safe to drive a Z car in those kind of road conditions, it's most certainly not fun. Driving the Z car in the winter defeats the purpose of owning a car because it's fun to drive.

4TthAnnyZ

^^I'm with this guy. MN resident my whole life and ever since I've owned a nice car, I have had a winter beater. And when I say beater, I mean a POS that I don't care about. I typically pay $1000 or less, drive the crap out of it, then scrap it when it dies. Currently I have a 1991 Volvo and 1995 VW cabrio to beat up on in the winter. Combined I payed less than $1500.

I have a 2004 VW Jetta I daily drive in the summer

I don't think the Z would be safe in snow, I would never attempt it.

JARblue

The Z is plenty safe in the snow with proper wheels and snow tires

It's all the other idiots that drive in the snow that are the reason I would never attempt it. That and the fact that I live in a location where our yearly snowfall is recorded in tenths of an inch.

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b15

For me it's more the amount of snow we can get in one snow fall. It would be my luck that I head out, then it snows 6-7 inches, and then I'd be stuck until the plows get around. Plus who wants all that salt garbage all over your nice car

madwi

I daily drove my 350 when I lived in Wisconsin. It was ok to drive in winter with blizzaks but it sure did suck when it snowed more than 3 inches while at work. Donuts were fun though. I would much rather drive my four wheel drive truck any day of the week in the winter versus the 370 with snow tires. I still use my truck a lot during the summer too. I'd rather the truck take a hit from a shopping cart or a idiots door than the Z. It makes Z time just that much sweeter to me.

MacCool

I bought my current Z in St. Cloud, traded my old one there. Big fan of Miller. When I traded my 2011 for my current 2014 in late late February, it snowed two days before I was going to go down and make the trade (90 miles). I couldn't even get my Z out of my garage---zero traction. Miller Auto actually brought the new one to my house on a flatbed, dropped it off and took the old one away. I concluded the whole deal at my kitchen table without even setting foot in the dealership at any point in the process. It was about as easy as ordering a pizza.

My winter DD is a 4WD GMC Sierra. It's a lot more fun to drive in 5-or-more inches of snow than any Z car.

Limeybastard

Funny you mention exhaust, that is kinda sorta how I guage initial rust. It always starts on the factory weld joints of exhaust and subframe areas. Worst I see in florida is some light browning of the weld seams. I think the car would last in excess of 20 years with just rain if not more here. Main culprit here in FL is sun UV damage which kills paint of more than any rust. Not unless you are parked on a beach frequently which I dont.

My wives previous ride was a 2006 Malibu, the floorpan was clean as whistle and it had over 120K miles on it and parked outside.

Now the same car or similar in a salt belt would have been perforated underneath. Yes, indeed water will corrode bare metal, but it will take ages without salt. Back in England they salted the roads in winter, you would be lucky to be rust free for more than 7 years and I am not just talking about the underpan areas, wheel arches would perforate.

axmea?

I know what you mean but I was not worried about the rust when I speak of rain, more about the amount of work to clean it again.

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