New Hampshire roads get a heavy dose of salt and brine every winter. It keeps the roads safe, and it also slowly dissolves the underside of your car. Rust is the number one reason cars get scrapped early in New England, and it usually starts in places you never look.
Where rust starts first
- Brake lines. Steel lines run the length of the car, right where spray hits. A rusted line can burst under hard braking. This is the one we worry about most.
- Exhaust hangers and flanges. These are why your exhaust suddenly gets loud or starts rattling.
- Subframes and rocker panels. Structural rust here can make a car unsafe and is expensive to fix.
- Brake caliper slides and hardware. Seized slides cause uneven pad wear and pulling.
- Fuel lines and tank straps on older trucks and SUVs.
Cheap habits that help
- Wash the underside. Get an underbody rinse every couple of weeks in winter, especially after a storm and on any day above freezing.
- Rinse in spring. One thorough underbody wash in April gets out the salt sitting in seams all summer.
- Consider an undercoating or oil-based rust treatment in the fall. Annual oil sprays are popular in New England for a reason.
- Don't park in a warm garage with a salty car. Melting slush and warmth speed up corrosion. A cold garage or a rinse first is better.
- Get it looked at on a lift once a year. Our seasonal safety check photographs anything we see so you can decide what to do and when. Get ready for the first storm with our winter prep checklist.
When rust becomes a safety issue
Surface rust on a subframe is normal here. Rust that flakes off in layers, holes in structural metal, or lines that look swollen are not. If you're buying a used car that spent its life in New England, a pre-purchase inspection is the best money you'll spend.