I live in California andfound a 2005 R/Tat a localdealership with 33,000 miles on it. Iran aCarfax reportand itspent it's whole life in Michigan before it was bought at auction and shipped here (1 owner clean car). I keep my vehicles for a long timeandwas just wondering about future rust damage due to the harsh winters and salt they put on the road. I always hear don't buyeast coast cars for that reason. Question is how rusty will this car be in 5-8 years from now? Or am I being paranoid.

 

It depends upon how meticulous the owner was about getting that road salt off the car. Even so, you're probably going to have rust on this car no matter what, given where it lived its few years of life. That being said, the car is only 3 years old, has relatively low miles, and the last couple of years Michigan has had some pretty mild winters, so I think the damage (if any) is going to be minimal. I'd say go for it. I too recently purchased a 2005 Magnum R/T, with only 17,000 mi. on it, and love every minute of drive time!

Michael

 

cars just don't rust like they used to from road salt. you'll be rust free for many years.

 

I live in Michigan. You don't see many cars with rust these days. To be on the safe side, give it a thorough wash, especially on the inner surfaces on the doors around the welds(the places you have to open the door to get to).

That said, what are the rules on owning a car without CA emissions in CA?