Dear Tom and Ray:

I'm going to buy a new car -- a black Toyota Camry for use in Wisconsin. The dealer says the Toyota rust warranty is "essentially void" in Wisconsin because we use salt on the roads in the winter. Is he correct? -- Rob

Tom: No. He's full of baloney, Rob. Many states still use salt on their roads to improve traction. And while it's true that the salt does speed up the corrosion process, it does not void any manufacturer's warranty that we know of.

Ray: What he probably meant to say was that the warranty is "essentially useless." That's true. Most manufacturers offer a six-year or longer "rust through" warranty. That doesn't mean that they'll fix the car if it rusts. It only means they'll fix any part of the car that actually rusts THROUGH -- i.e., where rust makes an actual hole right through the body.

Tom: So your car could have surface rust from bumper to bumper. You could have paint blistering all over the hood and a roof with the complexion of a 2-day-old pizza, and the warranty wouldn't help you one bit -- until the actual holes appeared.

Ray: So if you expect to take advantage of the rust-through warranty, Rob, at the first sign of rust, you might have to start SPRINKLING salt on those spots on a daily basis. And if you add a little sulfuric acid and a few well-placed nail holes, you might be able to get the thing to rust all the way through before the warranty runs out -- but I wouldn't count on it.

Tom: Toyota's lawyers, please note that the aforementioned comments were made by my brother, Raymond Magliozzi ... R-A-Y-M-O-N-D M-A-G-L-I-O-Z-Z-I. His Social Security number and home address are available upon request.

Tom and Ray share secrets mechanics don't want you to know in their pamphlet Ten Ways You May Be Ruining Your Car Without Even Knowing It! To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1997 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

Back to the September 1997 index