I have a house on my property that is about 15 meters from the zona federal and there are onshore breezes for probably 10 hours each day. I had to have the window iron removed from the ocean-facing windows because it was so corroded. The window iron on the other side of the house is still in place.

I have a two year old carriage house (garage downstairs and apartment upstairs) about 40 meters from the zona federal. After two years there is little corrosion.

We, again, 100 meters from the water here, at 7.5 years here, still have the same two microwave ovens, one on the second floor, windows never closed, but technically indoors, and the other, on the totally open air terrace is still doing great. It is always plugged in, so maybe the heat keeps it going. Our old CD player and all the CD's are on the same terrace, fully exposed, and 7.5 years later are functioning well.

We also use three sets of speakers, all three Bose, two technically indoors, and one set outside on the terrace. They were a garage sale score. All are great so far.

We think there are two things going on. There isn't much wind here, unlike Southern California beaches, and that we don't leave and are here always, so things are always turned on and plugged in.

Your mileage may vary.

On the other hand, I have had Sonos speakers here for at least six years without any problems.

In California we were 100 meters from the ocean as well. Cold ocean. In 1982 we bought a classic VW beetle, sold it in 2017 because we couldn't import it. It lived it's entire life outside, but under a car cover. Literally all the time it wasn't being driven, even at work. We swear by the Evolution covers, the numbers on them change as the technology improves. That car always spent it's winters under its cover on the beach while we were here. Rust was never an issue on the body, the exhaust system has a slightly lower life time, but all else did well. When we sold it it went to Arizona and the buyer was shocked at it's condition.

We have always seriously questioned the stories about rust by the ocean. Sure, if you just leave it out with salt water spray on it and lots of sun, you will see deterioration on the finish, and probably the undercarriage. From what we understand, nothing like what you get with salted roads.

Washing a car too frequently, think weekly, is supposed to be bad because of all of the little nooks and crannies that fill up with water that will ultimately lead to rust.

Buy what you want, and if you really are worried, get a good car cover and actually USE IT when you aren't here.

I have gone 12 years without a vehicle in Mexico. Part of my delay in buying a vehicle was that I didn’t want to get one until I could first afford to have a garage built, so I had to fund that. The garage is now built, about 50 meters from the ocean. I will be getting a vehicle soon. I’m hoping that some vehicle-owning locals can comment on what they do, or wish they had done, to protect against rust as much as possible, and what their success has been.

My life in Canada has sometimes been in snowy areas where salt has been used on roadways and corrosion was mostly at the bottom of vehicles. “Undercoating” was sometimes done. I’m reading that in tropical climes vehicle corrosion tends to start at the top and work its way down. This is because it is the exposure to the sun and the settling of salt onto upper surfaces that causes the corrosion. This would be consistent with my previous experience with a Ford Ranger that I had in Mexico where paint blistered off of the roof and hood.

I’m reading that “rust protection” here is mostly about frequent washing (as in weekly) and waxing the vehicle two or three times a year. Is that the experience of this board? Or can I be doing something to make my vehicle last?