bigjacksauto

I live in central ny and they use quite a bit of salt.
I picked up my HHR SS used from Southern NJ almost 2 years ago
its spotless top and bottom.

I have an older car that I mainly drive in the winter.
But lateley its driving me crazy knowing I could be driving my hhr
with winter tires and wheels which I have just sitting in storage in my shop.

Its almost to the point where I consider trading in my ss for something that I would not be too worried about driving in the winter but then I think well why not just drive it in the winter.

Anyhow anyone regret driving theres in the winter.
My 07 hhr lt that I bought had seen a few winters when I bought it used and I drove it through one winter and used the delta sonic car wash every few days and it did not seem to rust underneath anymore than when I had it.

just looking for ideas on how your ss or lt or ls has been holding up mainly underneath in the salt

badassbowtie

Absolutely hate driving my car in this crap...but I cant afford 2 vehicles right now...SS as a DD is nice, but I need to find a winter beater


I just spray off my car every chance I get...even delta sonic if I have too

Musicguy

I hate that they feel they need to saturate the roads with salt and chemicals, it's as if they work with the carmakers to destroy your ride. My inner doors started rusting out the first year.....very much not happy about it.

Neudy

So did anyone ever figure out what to use on getting the salt deposits off the aluminum ?

Miltown SS

This will be the first winter I am driving my HHR as I stored it for the last two years and drove a beater. I always missed my HHR in the winter. I have winter wheels and tires (Michelin pilot sport Alpin PA3s) which are awesome. I figure its only a car not a Faberge egg so I decided to drive it. I will be getting a coat of wax put on it pretty soon and regular washes should help battle the salt which is extreme here in WI. I also got Weather-tech floor mats and highly recommend them. You only live once, might as well enjoy the ride summer and winter.

skyline26

ive never had a specific winter car..so with all the vehicles Ive had I have always got them rustproofed with Krown...never had an issue with rust. Plus, if you use Krown every year and register your vehicle's vin with them, they have a no rust guarantee...so if the car starts rusting, Krown will cover the costs for repair. Not sure if thats everywhere, but its that way here where I live in Canada.

Little Red Wagon

For the most part I never regretted driving it in the winter with the exception of terrible traction with the tires from the factory. I put different Michelins on the front and it really isn't that bad now. Over the weekend I let it set for a few days because of the weather and used my son's Jeep. to my surprise when I decided to go someplace the fan on the heater didn't work. I hadn't been on the Forum for quite a few years because of zero problems but because of the fan I sought out the fix. My 08 SS is always outside never garaged but after checking all fuses I decided to back the 62 Corvette out of the garage and put the HHR in the garage with a small space heater running below the fan motor. An hour later the fan worked fine.

rlee63a4

The HHR is my winter car. Before winter hits, I give the can and the wheels a good waxing and leave the wax residue on the wheels, especially the inner part of the wheel. It doesn't last long, but at least it makes me feels better about driving it in the salt. In addition, whenever I rotate the tires or get under the car for any reason, I spray rust converter or paint on all surfaces that need it. I also give every nut and bolt a squirt of penetrating oil (PB Blaster or Liquid Wrench) because, someday, I'll need to be able to remove them, and the salt obviously speeds up the corrosion process. After a good snow/freezing rain event and driving on the salty roads (as we have this past week), I try to get to a quarter car wash (well, they used to be quarter car washes) to get rid of as much of the salt I can giving the underneath and suspension a REALLY good spraying. Then I simply hope for the best. Not much else we can do in the rust belt.

Oldblue

I have the same issues, only one car for me, I drive it all year round, wash it when ever I can, and have a small pressure washer for the underside on those balmy 30F to 32F degree days.
January thaw allows me a day or two to apply spray wax, and clean up a little.

blizzard

I use mine to commute, so I'll wear it out long before rust is problem. but I do try to wash the salt and dirt off it every weekend