Winter Rust: heated garage Vs. open air, your thoughts

[rennlistuser3]

For those driving their cars year round in snowy cold and salted areas, what are your thoughts and arguments on heated garage Vs. open air?

The argument I heard is that using a heated garage in winter will only accelerate the rusting process because it brings the car temperature above freezing regularly and lets the salt and water take their action, while if parked outside in the freezing cold the salt/water reaction will be very slow and so long as it stays that way for very long periods (hellllo Minnesota! 6 months bellow freezing!), rust should be minimum.

I'm sort of falling into the latter theory cause I recently had my exhaust replaced and after using the car for months in winter, it was spotless. So maybe there is some truth to that?

[Stephen W.]

I feel that if you wash your car on a regular basis like once a week, (and I mean spend as much or more time spraying the underside of the car with hot soapy water as the top) then keeping it inside is the better way. Not cleaning it for long periods at a time but allowing to warm up overnight throughout the winter will likely do more harm then good.
My personal experience has been that inside kept my car in better condition. From November of 2006 until October of 2011 my STi spent every night inside. My wife’s 2011 STi hatch took over the garage and my car has been outside every day since. Yes, it’s going on 12 years old and has over 270k on the clock but, I never had rust issues until it spent a few winters outside. First was the resonator followed by another section of exhaust pipe. Then more rust showed up. Two years ago I had to have some channel welded over a rusted support. It’s called car cancer for a reason. Once it starts you can never stop it.

[Tcoat]

Either way works equally well as long as you wash the car on a regular basis.
Personally I would like to keep mine inside just to avoid the snow and ice that has to be brushed and scraped off. Every summer I finally get rid of the snow brush swirl marks just in time to start making them all over again.

[johan]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Either way works equally well as long as you wash the car on a regular basis.
Personally I would like to keep mine inside just to avoid the snow and ice that has to be brushed and scraped off. Every summer I finally get rid of the snow brush swirl marks just in time to start making them all over again.

And eventually you'll run out of clear coat to remove the swirl marks from...

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by johan

And eventually you'll run out of clear coat to remove the swirl marks from...

Meh. Cut right through the pearl. I wanted a brown car anyway.


I mostly just fill them with wax so no clear coat is harmed.