Are UK imports rustbuckets?

BrianD3

I have heard it said many times that cars in the UK rust much worse than they do here. I have actually observed this once or twice myself on newish cars 5-10 years old. Vauxhalls, Fords and japanese cars seem to be the worst offenders.

The usual reason given is that the UK authorities salt the roads and we don't but that's not actually true - Irish county councils do use salt as well. Maybe we use less of it/lower concentrations. Also we tend to get less snow and ice here than over there so it may be needed less often.

But apart from the salt factor, I find that most UK owners tend keep their cars spotless and tend to be meticulous about waxing and repairing stone chips etc. Whereas many Irish cars are filthy all the time and always have muck and cow **** clogged under the arches (which holds moisture against the metal) Owners also don't bother fixing damage when it occurs. So you would think that this would mean more rust on Irish cars.

Any opinions?

Seth Brundle

I would tend to disagree with the rustbucket theory.
The UK has salted and gritted its roads during the winter months as long I can remember. However, they also look after their cars much better than we do.
To be honest, the Irish have little respect for cars and allow them to deteriorate to such an extent that they can become embarrasing.
I would reckon that Irish cars are in worse condition but irrespective, if I was buying 2nd hand anywhere, then I would give it a proper examination anyway

t5pwr

Friend of mine bought an RS2000 in the UK recently. It's about 10 years old and is in perfect condition. He is a mechanic so he knows what he is talking about...

It was a great buy. They do take care of their cars in the UK a lot better and the roads are in better condition so it's not as harsh on the mechanics of the car either

lomb

yes uk cars rust easily if the paint is damaged, and stuff like bolts in the engine compartment or chassis are usually rusted solid. cars that are prone to rust like the e class and various recent mercs, rust alot more in the uk than here. mechanically they generally are better though.

Angels

BrianD3 wrote:

I have heard it said many times that cars in the UK rust much worse than they do here. I have actually observed this once or twice myself on newish cars 5-10 years old. Vauxhalls, Fords and japanese cars seem to be the worst offenders.

The usual reason given is that the UK authorities salt the roads and we don't but that's not actually true - Irish county councils do use salt as well. Maybe we use less of it/lower concentrations. Also we tend to get less snow and ice here than over there so it may be needed less often.

But apart from the salt factor, I find that most UK owners tend keep their cars spotless and tend to be meticulous about waxing and repairing stone chips etc. Whereas many Irish cars are filthy all the time and always have muck and cow **** clogged under the arches (which holds moisture against the metal) Owners also don't bother fixing damage when it occurs. So you would think that this would mean more rust on Irish cars.

Any opinions?

Well a girl i know got a car down from the north a 98 Toyota Corolla hatch 3dr, she got it for 7,000euro & the car was like brand new, i think cars in ireland are not respected enough so i feel they are in worse condition here:(

5500

lomb wrote:

yes uk cars rust easily if the paint is damaged, and stuff like bolts in the engine compartment or chassis are usually rusted solid. cars that are prone to rust like the e class and various recent mercs, rust alot more in the uk than here. mechanically they generally are better though.

But why are they more likely to rust?

ciarsd

eireal wrote:

But why are they more likely to rust?

usually due to the salted and gritted roads during winter months eireal. we as a country are only beginning to do this (in parts)

Seth Brundle

More salt and grit on winter roads?

ds20prefecture

Grit/sand/dirt is not a problem in itself, but should be washed off regularly with clean water to prevent corrosion.

Salt is a huge problem for rust - The life of a galvanised piece of steel regularly sprayed with salt water is about 1/4 that of galv sprayed with regular water. The underside of cars are very prone to chips and dents. When galv is new, it will "bleed" over the dent forming a new protective layer. But chip it again, and then coat it in salty slush and you have big problems.

The Irish used to use salt on the roads, but as far as I know, they stopped the practice about 10 or 15 years ago.

BrianD3

A couple more (dubious) theories:

-Irish people maintain their cars worse than the Brits so are less likley to get an oil leak fixed. Car leaks oil for years. Underside of car gets covered in oily grime, acts as rust protection

-Perhaps there is more of a culture of trips to the beach and seaside in the UK resulting in cars being exposed to salty air/sand/water.

-Cars sold in the UK may be manufactured in plants with inferior quality control to cars sold here Eg Vauxhalls may be assembled in Luton which might have poorer QC for rustproofing than say an Opel plant in Germany somewhere.

-Lots of cars in the UK pounding down the motroways at 90 mph day in day out. Front of car gets blasted with stones chipping the paint and providing a starting point for rust.

mike65

I go for the salt theory myself, much of Britain has far harsher winter weather than we do and the local authorities are not slow to splash the grit.

Mike.

Hotblack Desiato

BrianD3 wrote:

A couple more (dubious) theories:

-Irish people maintain their cars worse than the Brits so are less likley to get an oil leak fixed. Car leaks oil for years. Underside of car gets covered in oily grime, acts as rust protection

Don't knock the protective effect of a good oil leak! Years ago my dad owned an old Austin 1100, and eventually replaced it with a (mechanically almost identical) Metro. Both notorious for chronic engine/gearbox oil leaks. On the BMC 1100/1300 the rear subframe was a well known rust failure point because it received no 'protective' oil film. If it failed at speed the car would effectively break in two. Rust on the front subframe was rare...

-Perhaps there is more of a culture of trips to the beach and seaside in the UK resulting in cars being exposed to salty air/sand/water.

Not sure about that. Large parts of the UK are further from the coast than anywhere in Ireland is.

-Cars sold in the UK may be manufactured in plants with inferior quality control to cars sold here Eg Vauxhalls may be assembled in Luton which might have poorer QC for rustproofing than say an Opel plant in Germany somewhere.

Dunno about this either. QA was dire in British plants in the 70s but I doubt GM could afford to tolerate inferior quality today. Also it's possible that some Opels actually run off UK production lines. IIRC my other half's Corsa comes from Spain.

-Lots of cars in the UK pounding down the motroways at 90 mph day in day out. Front of car gets blasted with stones chipping the paint and providing a starting point for rust.

On the particular models favoured as 'repmobiles', yes. But you wouldn't want one of those anyway.