E30's, how fast do they rust

[mr.pink]

Not sure if this is the right area, but here goes:

I'm looking at e30's to replace my DD that I recently sold, but I realized something. I don't know how this never occurred to me, but if I DD an e30 in the winter will it immediately start to rust? I live in Virginia so it's not like we get hellacious amounts of snow or anything but I'm pretty sure VDOT still uses salt. I tried looking this up but it seems like a lot of people simply use a second vehicle for the winter months. This is a good solution but not very practical for me because lack of money.

[gtdragon980]

I run my e30 in the winter, it is actually my winter car. Nevertheless, I wash it as soon as the salt is gone from the roads so it doesn't stay up there rusting. I know you can't clean it 100% but it slows the process. I plan on cutting out any rusted panels and replacing them and rustproofing the underside when I get the time, money and welder.

[phenobarb1]

Compared to VWs, Porsches, and Hondas from the same time period, I would say the e30 holds up much better. Eventually, it will rust, but I've never seen a catastrophic failure or something that became excessively dangerous on any of the e30s around our parts.

[TimKninja]

Compared to VWs, Porsches, and Hondas from the same time period, I would say the e30 holds up much better. Eventually, it will rust, but I've never seen a catastrophic failure or something that became excessively dangerous on any of the e30s around our parts.

My first e30 had such bad rust damage from the PO commuting from Maine To Boston, that the front Strut tower was separating and the areas where the rear subframe mounts was unsafe .

I sold it as a parts car needless to say.

Wash the under carriage every chance you get in the winter time .

[VinniE30]

Living very close the ocean is worse than anything because there's always salt and high moisture in the air.
Living in a state that salts roads is bad if you drive it during the winter but that can be negated by washing it well (underbody) after driving it on salted roads. I doubt this would be much of a problem in VA since just a little north here in MD we only even got about 2 snowfalls last winter that were enough for them to salt the roads. And the salt was only on the road for a few days before rain washed it away which is usually the case.

But the best idea is protecting the underbody before each winter.
If you're going to be driving in the wanter a lot in a state that gets a lot of snow with road saltings definitely check this out:

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=268870

[nomansland92]

At least my car seamed to rust from underneath before the body panels started to go, so if you go look at a few look over them very well.

Also not sure if I agree that they hold up better than an 80's Porsche. Not sure about all models but most Porsche's were galvanized steel.

[bmwstephen]

I think only certain portions of the e30 had galvanized steel. Ie the valence and fender area thats more prone to abuse.

[hendrixvodu]

rinse the underside of the car 2 times a week, my father owned my first e30 since new no big rust issues that what he did and it seemed to work well

[kway]

rinse the underside of the car 2 times a week, my father owned my first e30 since new no big rust issues that what he did and it seemed to work well

I hope you're right. My '88 lived most of its life in San Diego. It was painful for me to do it, but I subjected it to its first winter last year. I dropped $10-$20 a pop at the coin-op car wash washing it down whether it snowed or not. I've been driving e30s long enough and had enough rusty ones to know where all the problem areas are.

I plan on picking up a beater for this winter, but dammit, a RWD e30 on Hakkas is so much f'ing fun to drive in the snow! Maybe I'll get a disposable Caprice or Crown Vic or something.

[der affe]

The hoods seem to rust really quickly on some cars......

[mikeedler]

they sure as hell hold up better than an e46. any car will rust.

[EyExR]

POR-15 can be your best friend...

But really, don't sweat it!

[SmokeE30]

Mine has been know to rust at up to 137mph.

But seriously e30s are pretty good about rust as long as they were taken care of even in areas with road salt they seem to hold up better than many newer vehicles

[Northern]

The factory schutz undercoating on the e30 is waffleswaffleswaffleswafflesing fantastic compared to other cars I've owned... My neglected '87 iX still looks better underneath than my '09 mazda 3 does for the most part, and my iS is awesome except for the front jack pads and left rear trunk pocket.

[mr.pink]

well I feel a lot better about going forward with this decision. I'm coming from a truck so it'll be nice to get into something smaller and a helluva lot lighter