lawguy

I'm looking at picking up a used SUV to keep my kids and dogs (and wife) out of my Mercedes. Found a very nice 2008 Suburban with relatively low miles (27k) in the Cleveland area. Its at a dealer, so no ability to talk to its prior owner. I am a little concerned about the potential for rust from a few years of harder winters up north than we get here, but was told by a few pals that its not as much of a concern as I am making it.

Curious about the opinions of those wiser than me - is rust from salt something to worry about, or is it not as big a deal on cars these days with better rust coatings, etc.

Thanks for all thoughts.

cij911

It really depends on how well the car was cared for, how **** you are, and how long you plan on keeping the car....If the car was properly washed weekly and properly detailed 2x / year, you will have minimal surface rust on exhaust and engine bits, but chassis will be fine.

GregD

I'd be more concerned about oil consumption issues with the 5.3 liter with cylinder deactivation. I had an 07 that I put 120K miles on. At 75K it started using oil pretty badly. they replaced the lifters and installed a oil pan splash guard under warranty. the problem really never went away. It was a fairly widespread problem on those motors. I religously changed my oil using all synthetic from the start too. Do a search on it.

kompressede

I agree, it depends how the previous owner maintained the vehicle.
Some people think I'm nuts but I don't care.
A few of my cars won't use in the winter, the ones that I do use I not only wash the exterior I do my best to hose underneath because of the use of calcium or salt on the roads.
The things that will fail over time are the brake lines, and fuel lines, actually the frames crap out (rust) over time too. A quick wash buys a lot more time on the under carriage.

BlkE55K

I bought a GMC Yukon years ago that was from an area with harsh winters. It ran fine, but had some undercarriage rust. That bothered me enough that I eventually sold the truck. Well, that and the fact that it only got 11.5 MPG.

lawguy

Wow. Great thoughts - much appreciated.

Sounds like I should give more consideration to Plan 2 - a 2008 ML550 from Atlanta - no rust, and no 5.3 cylinder deactivation issues.

S13REMI

ohio isnt to bad, as they dont ever see to harsh of winters. avoid cars that have been driven through the winter in western ny and other states that are heavy salters.

dtohio

Hello from the rust belt. I live in northern ohio, the winters are often rough and we have a lot of freeze thaw cycles, and we use a lot of salt. The cars take the salt much better now than years ago, but it is still a problem, a car here five years old will usually show no body rust, but will have under carriage corrosion. Get a hundred miles south of the lake and its less trouble.I use my truck in the winters and store my two cars.