place weather effect on a car?

[Aren Jay]

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[Glockafella]

MN definitely is harder than Florida

[Glockafella]

Salt/ snow is much worse than heavy rain/ ocean spray

You can wash a Florida car all year long, but not a Minnesota car.

[jonroe]

I lived in MN for several years in the 80s and it is a chore to keep a car clean there. I never had the luxury of leaving a car in the garage - they were driven all winter. I do remember when I bought a new car in 1982 I could not stand to see it dirty and salty after the first snow in November so I washed it by hand......................at 17*F. I used buckets of hot water and tried to dry it VERY fast before it all turned to ice.

[Blk Mamba]

He said garaged in Mn. not winter driven, I say Fl. because of the sun, and salty ocean air. The heat, and light, not only destroys paint, in has terrible effects on plastic, and rubber, half of a car.

[mossiehorn]

condition, condition, condition...... depends more on the the care than the climate.

[PeteSzerszen]

I agree, the condition itself and the mileage would be my two big factors. I've lived in both climates and in Michigan, I usually had rust starting somewhere within 3 years of buying a new car (and this was with frequent washes). In the south, you don't get rust but you get a lot of dry rot, it's tougher on exposed rubber surfaces. Furthermore, the lack of a good wax job can cause oxidation or worse to the paint. (you'll see a lot of neglected Florida cars rust from the top down). If everything (condition, mileage) was a draw, I would personally prefer the Florida car.

[Aren Jay]

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[LIGHTNIN1]

A co-worker who has worked on a lot of autos and is from MN. advised me not to get one from that area because of weather. In 9 months I have purchased 2 cars including the MM from Florida, a 2002 and 2003 and they both are in excellent condition. The window and door rubber is like new but these cars were garage kept probably. Talk to mechanics in northern region.