Rust drives me nuts. Replacing a part is fine, replacing a part because it rusted out and fell off, frustrating. Why don’t we make cars that last for 30 years as a standard feature? This may be an unexpected question perhaps, and it’s a bit strange of me to ask given that one of my mediums are temporary biodegradable balloons, but for the expense why don’t we make cars last longer? How much more would we have to spend to make them last 20 years instead of 10?
I have a nagging feeling with cars that many are quite literally throw away items. In the USA the average life expectancy of a car is only 8 years and around 240 000 km. Canadian tend to keep their cars a little longer (up to 15 years depending on who is asked). It is still a big expensive for such a relatively short period of time. Yes, they are a miracle of technology, but 8 years? That’s it?
With that in mind, the Car of Whimsy project is somewhat crazy project as it starts with a 10-year-old car with the thought “this is only the beginning.” Now to work on it knowing “average car life spans” is a bit daunting. This project has to be financially practical too.
Today, Whimsy heads into an auto body shop to remove all the minor rust that has built up over the first 10 years. Rust will always be a constant battle, that’s just how it goes as a car ages.
This car’s condition will be monitored carefully. Fortunately it is fairly easy to track the cost of vehicle now (there’s loads of helpful apps). One of the goals, as this car grows with us, is to keep its cost well below the cost of a new car. Given that depreciation happened before the purchase, that’s one much smaller line item.
I have always operated on a cost/km as the way to handle any vehicle. Insurance, gas, depreciation, maintenance all add up, but they can be controlled. They also don’t take into account one of the functions of this vehicle: a new line item to the tracking chart “laughs per km.”
Drew, I have rust in the same areas on my 2009. The wheel well ones have been sprayed with Rust Check for now.
Watched this video, and this is what I’d like to do. There is a custom paint supply shop in Breslau that can provide us stock colours in a spray bomb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=n4vusY2-rkQ
Cool thanks! I’ve been debating what rust check process to have it go through. Right now it’s in a shop having a complete round of body work. It’s not going to be all Ginger Peach when it’s done, but we will remove all the spots of rust that have come up. 🙂
I wonder why these cubes have a hard time with the roofs?
Rock bounce due to squareness. They hit the front end or windshield, go over the roof and skip across the roof as they exit. Being a flatter roof, this also allows for water to stick around longer. My roof is littered with these rust zits.
Yeah, that’s where most of the work is going. I debated just handling a few spots myself, but realistically the roof needed a complete make over. Everything else is pretty minor. Stone chips here and there as expected and the normal that builds up around the wheel wells.
The fact is that cars are actually made well and do last a long time. The problem is that in northern states and climates there is not a cost effective alternative to salt on the roads to treat snow and ice. Cars do last routinely 20, 30 or more years if you can prevent exposure to road salt. You can slow it down but you can not prevent it in such frequency of exposure.
Very true. We’re going to try a handful of things. Rust proofing (product to be determined), new layer of clear coat after everything has been repaired, and a bit of protection under the car too. It will take time to get through the process. Fortunately I’m not expecting miracles. I think I’d need a much higher budget for that.
Agreed Ralph. There are some low mileage ones that appear from time to time, and buying south of the border is the other option. Salt is a beast.