We are looking for a car with a hot-dip galvanized body

Any car can be repaired, the question is how expedient it is. But if the engine changes to a contract engine on a budget, then there may be problems with the body. There are a lot of good cars, as a rule, Japanese or Korean production, which have traveled, but the body fails.


If the fenders, doors, trunk and hood can be changed, then you have to mess with the racks, the bottom. Welding work will help, but few people now will disassemble the car completely.

You need to drive by car, and such a front of work is not one month. Therefore, when buying a used car, especially an old one, it is better to look for options with a well-preserved body. You need to take a model with high-quality galvanization, which we will talk about today.

What is zinc used for?

"Factory galvanized body" - this magic phrase is familiar to every driver since the early 1990s. Many people remember that the Audi seemed to have been subjected to a “triple treatment”, and the Opel did not protect itself from corrosion at all.



In fact, these are empty tales of car dealers and ferrymen. But the fact that Audi did not rust for a long time is true. Galvanizing is a method of combating metal corrosion that has long been used in the automotive industry.



Manufacturers galvanize ordinary steel with special compounds. This provides the body with the necessary protection. Of course, a lot depends on the quality of the paintwork. But drivers notice how scratches and chips immediately “redden” on some cars, while on others they remain unchanged for a year or more.

What are the methods of galvanizing?

There are several methods of galvanizing in the automotive industry:

• ? Cold
  
• ? Galvanic
  
• ? Hot
  

The cold method is usually used in handicraft production; well-known auto concerns almost never use it. The most popular methods are galvanic and hot.



For many buyers, there is no difference between the methods; for them, the phrase “galvanized body” sounds magical. Automakers know that it is the hot method that allows you to maximize the protection of cars from corrosion.



Often, manufacturers of obscure budget cars proudly advertise in advertisements that the bodies of their cars have been treated. It is not specified which method was used. An excellent marketing ploy, especially if you add that the galvanization is double-sided!

That's just the method can be cold, in some cases it's just applying a special primer. Of course, it gives some protection, but insignificant. If the body is damaged to the metal, then cold galvanizing will not help.



When choosing a car, you need to understand exactly how its body is processed. It is advisable to give preference to a model that has been hot-dip galvanized. Below are the machines processed in this way.

Expensive cars

First, let's talk about expensive cars, which are often taken "for the soul." Such machines are expensive to maintain and repair, it was not enough for their body to rot!

Audi A6 C8

A popular car in Germany, which has been produced since 2018. The car is “fresh”, this generation is still on the assembly line. Of course, it's too early to rot Audi anyway. But some buyers who decide to take the car for the next 10-20 years can sleep easy - the car is hot-dip galvanized!

The Audi A6 C8 also has a number of aluminum body parts that do not rust at all, so they should last at least 20 years.
A 2018-19 car costs from 3 rubles.

Cadillac Escalade

An American legend in all generations is considered brutal and reliable. But with the body, not everything is as good as we would like - cars rot if they are not periodically processed!



But the manufacturer decided to subject the fourth generation Cadillac Escalade to the body hot-dip galvanizing procedure. Finally listened to customer complaints! However, it is too early to say whether this helped - the oldest fourth-generation cars were released in 2014, and it is too early to rust in any case.

2014-15 Cadillac Escalade minimum cost - from 3 rubles.

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG C197

This is already a real exclusive, which was produced from 2010 to 2014. The car is not for every day, with a huge consumption of a 6,2-liter engine for 571 liters. With.

The manufacturer decided to process the body of this sports car by hot-dip galvanizing. If there are free ones from 16 rubles, then you can take the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG C000.

Porsche Panamera

If a sports Mercedes seems like a car for an egoist, you should take a closer look at the conventionally family-owned Porsche Panamera. The car can be bought 10 times cheaper than the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG C197 - from 1 rubles.



Of course, the Porsche Panamera is an expensive car to maintain and repair, but even the first-generation models of the earliest years of production have no problems with a rotting body. Hot-dip galvanizing layer from 5 to 10 microns.

Budget options

Of course, Porsche and Cadillac are cool, but for most Russian drivers, such cars are not available. And it's not even about their cost, but about expensive maintenance and repair. Below are the machines easier.

Volvo S40

Volvo cars are distinguished by enviable body durability. The S40 is no exception. It does not matter what generation the car will be, its body is subject to corrosion to a small extent.

There are enough models of the first regeneration with "bugs", but there the problem is rather in body repair after an accident. If we compare cars with "classmates", then the Volvo S40 stands out against their background.

Ford Focus 2

Ford cars have earned the reputation of rotting back in the 1990s. The Focus of the first generation was no exception, although this model was popular in Russia.



But the second Focus pleases in terms of bodywork - here it is hot-dip galvanized. This is due to the fact that the car was created on the same platform as the Volvo S40.

Of course, the Ford Focus is far from the durability of the Volvo body, but it does not rot like the first generation model.

Audi A4 b6

Audi is a classic of the genre. In the b6 body, the model was produced from 2000 to 2006, and you can buy such a car from 250 rubles.
Not to say that the car did not rust at all - the oldest copies are over 20 years old. But compared to the "classmates" the model behaves with dignity. The main problem is the previous owners, who restored cars poorly after an accident.

Ford Fusion

Unexpectedly, the budget Fusion got into the list of cars with hot-dip galvanizing of the body. What prompted the manufacturer to process the model in such a way is not clear, but the result was excellent.

The cost starts from 200 rubles, and for this amount you can find options without rust.

As for the popular Volkswagen Polo in Russia, their bodies were not hot-dip galvanized. Drivers believe that car manufacturers frankly do not want to process cars in this way so that they last for 10-15 years, no more.



Hot-dip galvanizing is rarely used on budget cars. And it’s far from always worth believing advertising - bodywork can also be different!