Dear Tom and Ray:

In a brutal winter/road salt state like Minnesota, is it better for the car to have a heated garage or an unheated garage? Obviously, it is better for the driver to have a heated garage! But it seems like a car might rust faster in a heated garage because the snow/salt would melt every night rather than just staying frozen. However, for the engine, it seems like the heated garage might be better for avoiding the cruel molasses-like oil start-ups. What do you think? -- Pat

Tom: Your analysis is absolutely right on the money, Pat. Ideally, you want the body of the car outside in the cold where the chemical reaction (i.e. rusting process) is slowed substantially. And you want the engine in the heated garage where the oil will almost instantly be at operating temperature.

Ray: So the answer is simple. Park the car with its nose only in the garage! Just pull up until the windshield is lined up with the garage door, and bring that baby down!

Tom: Actually, there's a more elegant way to accomplish the same thing. You get an engine block heater. An engine block heater plugs into an electrical outlet at night. And when the timer turns it on at 4 or 5 a.m., it warms up the engine block. That way, when you go out to start the car and it's two degrees out, the coolant and oil are already warm and the engine doesn't suffer through an elongated warm-up period.

Ray: And since the coolant is warm, you get heat quickly, too, which we know is all you REALLY care about, Pat!

Tom: And all you should really care about. In fact, if the block heater is too much trouble for you, I'd just park the car in a heated garage and forget about the rust. I think your comfort and happiness is much more important than how long the car lasts.

Ray: Right. After all, it's only a car, right? You can always get another car. But if you break your teeth from chattering on the way to work, you'll be hard- pressed to replace them

Wait! Don't buy another car without the mechanic's checklist that's included in Tom and Ray's pamphlet "How to Buy a Great Used Car: Secrets Only Your Mechanic Knows." It will help you get a good used car and avoid the clunkers. To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1998 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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