Does My Car Need Rust Repair?

While there are a few cosmetic issues that are sure to put a damper on your day, spotting rust spots on your vehicle is a strange one. It clearly isn’t a good sign, but many people ignore small rust patches and chalk it up to the car getting older. However, while rust isn’t pretty to look at, it could be a much bigger problem than you think. 

Why does my car have rust spots? How much rust is too much? Is rust on a car worth fixing? These are just a few of the questions that will pop into your head if you spot rust on your vehicle, and we aim to answer all of them and more, plus offer some car rust prevention tips to help you keep your car looking like new. If you’ve noticed rust on your vehicle, or are worried about car rust repair cost worries cropping up down the road, keep on reading. 

How Does Rust Appear? 

Your vehicle is made up of metal, particularly iron. It’s an affordable and durable metal, making it a popular choice for the metal used to make up your vehicle. However, it’s prone to corrosion, which is when water and air attack, eat away, and erode your vehicle. As anyone who has ever driven around Kansas City can tell you, we’re no strangers to rain and the occasional snow, and as a result of the latter, salt on the road. These are the biggest culprits of rust spots appearing on your vehicle, reducing its structural integrity and strength to keep rolling.  

The 3 Common Car Rust Styles 

Rust Spots: This is the first level of car rust, and therefore, it’s the most common. You may not even recognize this level as rust, as it doesn’t always have the brick-red color we’re used to. Instead, this may just look like scratched or faded paint. If you catch it at this stage, it is the easiest to treat. 

Rust Scaling: This is a surface-style rust that grows and spreads outwards and inwards. You’ll likely notice bubbles, which is the other name for this style of car rust, that you need to look out for. You’ll often find this along the wheels, the sides, and under the vehicle: all of the places that water and salt will hit first. This flaky rust can be treated, though it’s more difficult. 

Full Corrosion: If the rust goes untreated for too long and spreads too deeply, you’ll start seeing holes in the body of the vehicle. This is the worst of the three, and may require you to replace entire sections of the vehicle because the metal has eroded away too much. If you see holes, you also need to worry about the structural integrity of your vehicle, as this poses a serious safety risk. 

How to Prevent Car Rust 

Wash Frequently: One of the easiest ways to protect your vehicle from rust is to clean it frequently to get any salt, dirt, and grime off of the metal to prevent it from eating into the metal over time. At a minimum, you should wash your vehicle every few weeks, but increase the frequency if it’s been particularly rainy or snowy. 

Rinse the Underside of Your Car: Sand, grit, and salt will get kicked up and hammer your car’s undercarriage. Since you should wash your car frequently, be sure to rinse off the underside more frequently, as you likely won’t see the rust developing, unless you happen to check underneath your car. 

Keep Your Car Dry: Since water is a main culprit in developing car rust, keeping your car dry as often as possible will mitigate this as a threat. If you can park in a garage, we strongly recommend doing so. Constantly leaving your vehicle outside in the elements is a surefire way to develop rust faster. 

Wax Your Car: Car wax adds an extra layer of coating to prevent car rust. This extra layer seals the vehicle, making it more difficult for water, sand, salt, and grit to penetrate into the paint and metal. You’ll need to wax your car to prevent rust approximately twice a year, though more if you drive a lot or if your vehicle has been left out to weather the elements. 

Check Your Doors and Seals: Door seals will wear out over time, and in some cases, completely erode or fall off. When this happens, it’s a welcomed entrance for moisture to seep into the metal and start creating rust. When water gets in through holes in the door seals, it will attack the unseen portions of your car and its frame, and because it’s out of sight, it has free reign to start corroding the metal to eat away and create holes, which as we mentioned, can be incredibly dangerous for you as the driver and to your wallet to fix. 

Opt for All-Weather Floor Mats: Have you ever stopped to think how much water and grime can seep into your car’s frame through the floor of your car? Standard carpeted floors are comfortable and will trap some dirt, but water can easily get through over time and start to create rust, unseen and unnoticed, underneath. All-weather floor mats are durable components that trap water and dirt to protect your vehicle’s carpets and its frame, so they can be a worthy investment for car rust prevention. 

Car Rust Repair Costs 

Car rust repair will depend on the severity of the issue on your vehicle. Discoloration in the paint is the earliest sign and the easiest to treat. If the rust appears where you have a dent, you may be able to solve the problem with dent repair. If you have a dent but rust hasn’t set in yet, you should consider paintless dent repair, which is a quick, easy, and affordable body service to prevent rust from forming.  

The more serious the rust spots on the vehicle, the more expensive rust repair costs will be, unfortunately. It’s best to get ahead of the problem before holes start appearing on your vehicle and to take the car rust prevention tips we mentioned earlier seriously. However, we offer free estimates for rust repair in Kansas City, and we’ll work with you to get your vehicle the service it needs at rates that won’t break the bank. With regular maintenance, trusted experts can spot rust damage early before it becomes a driving hazard and offer solutions to fix it fast and affordably. 

Bring Your Car to Our Kansas City Service Center 

Whether you have early signs of rust damage or severe rust issues, deflating tires, or simply need an oil change, our expert technicians are here to help get your car back into optimal condition. No matter how diligent you are in taking care of your vehicle on your own, including following our rust prevention tips, problems still may develop, but that’s why we’re here to help. Visit one of our McCarthy Collision Centers today for a free estimate on rust repair or auto body work, and rest easy knowing that we’ll get you back up and running in no time at prices you don’t need to worry about. Schedule service online now to get started. 

Tags: car rust, car rust repair, rust repair
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