jkownz

I have my Audi now for three months. About to go into my first winter with it. I live in Rochester, NY . We have REALLY bad winters here and salt.....lets say its everywhere for the next 3 months minimum. I was thinking about Ziebart but I don't know about this yellow crap they put all over my car. Is it clean or does it look like there's 50X bananas thrown at my car. They tell me that they will put it in my door seams and under my car shocks brake lines yadda yadda. I just don't want to see yellow nasty crap all over my car. Anyone done this before and is worth it? or is there another option I can go?.

Bob58

Not only is undercoating unnecessary, it's counterproductive. The only person who will recommend it to you is the guy trying to sell it to you.

AofC_RR

You also have a 12 year corrosion warranty on your car. Read the warranty booklet my friend ;-)

Hobbes

I had my A4 for over 12 years living in the salty-road northeast. Not a speck of rust to be found when I sold it.

jkownz

yea i knew the warranty. just wanted to get peoples feedback on it. why i trust this site so much. haha saved me some 299$ for nothing.

Turbo Freak

I just sold my 11 year old B5 and there was only a very little spot of rust near the bottom molding of the drivers door.

Only had the car underneath sprayed every second year from the 6th year of ownership.

I live in Montreal Quebec.

NJRoadFan

They use ALOT more salt in Upstate NY. With that said, keep in mind the corrosion warranty only covers rust perforation, surface rust is NOT covered by that warranty. Aftermarket undercoating will invalidate it as well. Also if you plan on doing your own repairs, its a PITA after a few winters getting bolts and other parts off with all that rust (coming from someone with experience working on a 22 year old quattro equipped car). Basically, if you are really concerned about rust, drive a winter beater, otherwise wash the car frequently.

BuzzL

If you are going to keep your car for several years, then it might me worth having a rust protection done in your car. If you keep it only, let's say, max 5 years, I would leave this worry to the next owner of the car.

Regarding the corrosion warranty; VW/Audi, probably the other brands also, corrosion warranty covers only the cases where the rusting starts from the inside. So, the rusting started for example from a stone chip or from scratch are not covered under warranty. You must get these damages fixed immediately before the rusting starts. Also they require that the car/paint has been inspected by official dealer regularly.
And that is not all, although the possible rusting would have started from the inside, the 12 year warranty covers only the rust perforation, so I would not count too much on this warranty.
It is possible to get rust damages covered by corrosion warranty, it is also possible to win millions of dollars in a lottery...

jkownz

Yea. i dont have a beat up winter car. I wish i did. I plan on keeping this car for long time. I might just get the rust protection done after two years.

plA4keeps

As many have suggested in the past, undercoating like Ziebart is "not necessary". Given the climate the original poster's car will live in, what specific suggestions can folks offer to maintaining the vehicle optimally during the rough winter months?

How best to keep salt and road grime off the car? Totally touchless car washes that also offer the option of an underspray? Weekly washes sufficient?

Also, would it make sense for the poster to get his car detailed w/ a great coat of wax prior to the winter's arrival?

-- plA4keeps