Models with Galvanized Sheets - Urban Salt Exposure Resistant Cars to Consider

I am looking for a car and I am wondering whether to aim at models with galvanized sheets - it is known that in the cities it spills salt. If you know, please enter what models have galvanized sheets.

Galvanization is not such a good anti-corrosion protection. It is only fast and therefore cheap for the manufacturer. But it's always better than leaving almost bare sheets in hard-to-reach places.

It depends on which years you have in mind and in what budget you are looking for a car. In general, choosing a car with a zinc coating is a good idea because they stick much better if they have not been minted. I had a Peugeot 405 for several years and it was holding up very well, no rust could be seen on it even though it was standing under a cloud. Now I have an Opel and I can see that it is not so happy anymore. You have to care more about the condition of the body and so far it works because rust does not appear, but we'll see how long.

Audina's 80-year-old friend is 22 years old and has no rust.

For example, all FIAT passenger cars produced from the second half of the 1990s in Italy and Poland (except Uno) are galvanized.

But it's bad from what you can sometimes see on the streets - it is important not only if there is zinc, but how thick is the zinc layer because zinc works in such a way that it protects the steel by dissolving itself, so with a thin layer of zinc after a few years in particularly exposed places after galvanization is It's just a memory. It is also important how the zinc is applied - as far as I remember, hot-dip galvanization brings the best results, but in the automotive industry it is probably only used on the frames.

Galvanized Skoda are Octavia1, Octavia2 and 2FL and Fabia. Felicja and the older models were not galvanized.

The quality of the sheet metal and paint coatings is important, galvanization is a secondary matter.

Golf mk 4

They have, they don't, and the rust gets worse ... with time.

fvnl wrote:

They have, they don't, and the rust gets worse ... with time.

Most of the rot is the result of unprofessional sheet metal repairs.

psilos1 wrote:

fvnl wrote:

They have, they don't, and the rust gets worse ... with time.

Most of the rot is the result of unprofessional sheet metal repairs.

Right, but as you know that the car has galvanized sheets and you can see rust, this is an indicator that it was minted and badly made. To sum up:

- Skoda Fabia, Octavia, and newer, i.e. Superb, Roomster etc.
- FIAT passenger cars produced from the second half of the '90s
- Audi - since when more or less?
- VW Golf IV - all models? Since when?
- What about Opel?
- Peugot 406, I know what models still have galvanized sheets?

tzok wrote:

The quality of the sheet metal and paint coatings is important, galvanization is a secondary matter.

And here I would probably agree.
I do not know anything about cars, but I have often seen gutters in which after about 2-3 years the zinc layer began to peel off and fall off ...

psilos1 wrote:

Most of the rot is the result of unprofessional sheet metal repairs.

More damage, no one will cut half the car and peel off that zinc to get to all the places where the coating has been damaged.

cyclone4 wrote:

- What about Opel?

From the end of the 96th I think, although I saw one Astra F from the 99th accident-free and completely rotten. But it's from Gliwice, so you can say that it's not Opel, but its fake.

cyclone4 wrote:

- VW Golf IV - all models? Since when?

I do not know about the rest, but the Golf 4 has been fully galvanized since the beginning of production. I have been driving it for 11 years and despite a few stone chips (mask) there is no trace of redhead.

My Octavia has been driving since the beginning of 2000 (February), it's been almost 13 years, 210 thousand. mileage, corrosion is nowhere to be seen. Taught by experience with other cars, I keep checking it, only praise for now.

Marian B wrote:

corrosion is nowhere to be seen

Have you ever watched it from the canal, or somewhere under the fenders, etc.? Are you only observing the varnishes, aren't there any flowers?

It just so happens that I have a sewer in the garage, and "a little obsessed" with this car, and therefore full control over everything, not only over the sheets and paint. I hardly ever go to the service (only when I need specialized tools that are not worth having in the garage). There is a slightly erroneous opinion that Skoda is a bit of a nuisance car, not very prestigious. Nothing could be more wrong.
The sheet is galvanized, and underneath it, and in all critical nooks and crannies, it is covered with a fairly thick layer of soft plastic (professional name, probably "Plastizol"). Closed spaces are also well preserved, because even now, after 13 years, a semi-liquid protective agent can be seen in the gaps and through the technological holes.
In any case, the factory rust-free warranty is 12 years, and probably for good reason.

I would like to add a few words from myself even several years after the last post on this topic.
From my several years of observation and researching the language, it appears that the Volvo 850 and Audi (from around 1986) C3 / C4 / B3 / B4 and probably the first Lexus LS400 with Audi B5 / C5 were undoubtedly the best cars with anti-corrosion protection. Is there anything else that can be added to it as well - I have no idea, I wouldn't risk writing for now.
We should also remember that galvanization and, as someone mentioned, the quality of its workmanship is one thing, the other is the quality of the sheets used (poor quality they catch corrosion faster at every opportunity), the third is well-made water drains in sensitive places (especially thresholds), the fourth is maintenance .
From the list of cars that I wrote, it is hard to find well-kept copies, unless at high prices and looking for a long time. The alternative is renovation (mainly mechanics, as many of them look very good despite years of bodywork) or some modern French cars, but you have to choose here in fairly trouble-free models.

Xsara model II is galvanized and very well protected with varnish. I have one from 2002 and no signs of corrosion.

PZ IX wrote:

the quality of the sheets used (poor quality sheets catch corrosion faster

Not true, it is good quality steel that is most susceptible to corrosion ...

Focus I is also galvanized and what? It rusts.

A lot also depends on the thickness of the zinc layer.

@ pepe150 , only the one after the lifts, and it will not rust if not pounded.

ociz wrote:

@ pepe150 , only the one after the lifts, and it will not rust if not pounded.

My boss had a new one from the salon from 2002.
Decorative strips on the sills were hot-dip galvanized
Varnished under warranty

ociz wrote:

PZ IX wrote:
the quality of the sheets used (poor quality sheets catch corrosion faster

Not true, it is good quality steel that is most susceptible to corrosion ...

Hmmm, I've always learned that rust progresses much faster in heavily contaminated, low-quality alloys.
And I'm not talking about CrMo alloys, MnMo alloys, etc.

brofran wrote:

Xsara model II is galvanized and very well protected with varnish. I have one from 2002 and no signs of corrosion.

It was this car that immediately struck me as one of the French alternative. This is still a bit of a ride and does not look like it will stop due to the rust :)

pepe150 wrote:

Focus I is also galvanized and what? It rusts

ociz wrote:

@ pepe150, only the one after the lift, and it will not rust as well as not pounded.

Focus I is a bad example, as to poliftu is a bit generally said. I don't think it is particularly resistant to corrosion, maybe a little better than a pre-cut.

Unfortunately, the apropo of the Golf IV is not entirely true.
I know one that disappeared in the eyes of the thresholds, just a factory defect, moisture / water collected, etc.
Well, nobody will say that the thresholds were combined after the collision?

If someone has it and it is ok, or something was done and well done before, or maybe better quality from other factories?

So the thresholds in G IV are unfortunately a massacre, but it is not expensive fun, it can be done.

Kantylena wrote:

Unfortunately, the apropo of the Golf IV is not entirely true.
I know one that disappeared in the eyes of the thresholds, just a factory defect, moisture / water collected, etc.
Well, nobody will say that the thresholds were combined after the collision?

If someone has it and it is ok, or something was done and well done before, or maybe better quality from other factories?

So the thresholds in G IV are unfortunately a massacre, but it is not expensive fun, it can be done.

strange because in the family we have two good golfers, year 00 and 03, from the new - Polish salon and so far they have no trace of corrosion, only in the older one it slowly begins to peel off the clarinet, but it's just a cosmetic

Kantylena wrote:

Well, nobody will say that the thresholds were combined after the collision?

Why not ... they are almost always combined after a collision, often under one threshold you can find a second one, bent in a collision and with a hammer to prevent it from "disturbing" ...

PZ IX wrote:

brofran wrote:

Xsara model II is galvanized and very well protected with varnish. I have one from 2002 and no signs of corrosion.

It was this car that immediately struck me as one of the French alternative. This is still a bit of a ride and does not look like it will stop due to the rust

Xsara is a twin of Peugeot 306 that holds up evenly.

But it is not as colorful as it seems to everyone.
306 has 2 problems:
- left rear quarter (no wheel arch), rust penetrates the car from the inside. Remove the carpets and covers in the trunk, you will find sand and rust there.
- side members at the height of the pedals (driver's and passenger's side). In old cars it starts to corrode - due to water getting into the stringer.

How to look for a 306 or Xsara is not from the Polish salon.
306 1997 in a family from the Polish salon (B-slope), the engine area is rust-colored (it came out after time) - not some through-out rust, but not so surface rust.
Xsara II 2002 Polish salon (Wa-wa) - I was supposed to buy one, when I saw that it is the same, I counted that everything would have to be torn, cleaned and painted. But the price was not in line with the condition of the car.

Lest it was sucked out of the finger - I have 306 from 2001/2 imported from Germany (private import) in 2012.
After removing the trunk covers, there were already holes for the trunk, but there were 3 pea-sized holes. Clean under the hood.
After many years of operation, there are corrosion centers under the ABS pump under the hood and in the corner of the bulkhead wall on the passenger side, but the engine side members are not corroded!

From outside? There is nothing! Doors, sills, wheel arches are clean!
And the thresholds corrode when they have been repaired.

Xsara Picasso the thresholds are rotting powerfully. But only the thresholds

psilos1 wrote:

strange because in the family we have two good golfers, year 00 and 03, from the new - Polish salon and so far they have no trace of corrosion, only in the older one it slowly begins to peel off the clarinet, but it's just a cosmetic

Kick the threshold. There you simply cannot see that there is no sheet metal under a thick layer of some sticky paste.

PZ IX wrote:

Hmmm, I've always learned that rust progresses much faster in heavily contaminated, low-quality alloys.

My point was that corrosion-resistant alloys are mechanically weak.

I had a polyphatic focus, battered on all sides, and there was not even a rust dot, 100% factory varnish.