Rust is a serious problem as your car ages; since much of the body of your car is tin, the unpainted surfaces are vulnerable to deterioration. By practicing some simple maintenance practices, you will be able to greatly reduce rust problems as your car ages. Here are some care tips to help keep your car like new for many years to come:

1. Regular Cleaning to Prevent Rust from Forming

The grime that gets thrown up on cars from normal driving contributes to a lot of rust problems. Cleaning the grime from your car regularly will help ensure your car does not begin to rust early. If you live in an area where salt is used on roads, take your car to a carwash and rinse the salt off after the roads have been salted. In addition, make sure you clean off any mud and dirt that gets splashed on the body of your car, because it can have the same effect as salt; causing rapid corrosion of any exposed metal.

2. Painting Undercarriage with Protective Coating to Stop Corrosion

For maximum protection from the elements, salt and other problems, you can have the undercarriage of your car coated. Today, there are rubber like sealants that can be sprayed on the raw metal of your car to protect from rust, dirt and corrosion problems. If you do not want to do this to your entire car, consider only having it done to the more vulnerable areas like wheel-wells.

3. Paint or Oil-Coat Metal Parts to Protect Them from Rust and Corrosion

Another option that you have to protect raw metal is to paint it with a protective primer. Special metal primers can be used to ensure metal is not exposed to the elements. If you do not want to use paint, you can coat metal parts with oil.  Used motor oil is fine to coat parts if you are not concerned about appearance, such as for a work vehicle like a pickup. If you are concerned about the appearance of your car, use fresh oil to coat metal part and keep them looking like new.

The body of your car is vulnerable to rust problems, and sometimes even regular maintenance cannot prevent these problems. If you have an older car that its age is starting to show with rusted spots, contact an auto repair shop to do the repairs that are needed.