Rust and Automobiles

One of my favourite albums titled is the 1979 “Rust Never Sleeps“ by Neil Young and Crazy Horse. While I have always enjoyed the caution against complacency in the title, it has very real day-to-day meaning in oceanside tropics. Many visitors to a place like Zihuatanejo, especially those from mild and/or arid climates, have no idea of the expenses associated with maintenance in this environment.

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?