Good Garage Scheme Advice - Reduce salt corrosion with basic car care

Heavily salted roads mean that checking your car for salt corrosion is more important than ever for safety and maintaining its value.
Salt and grit are essential on the roads at this time of year to help prevent lethal ice forming, and help prevent snow from settling on road surfaces.
But road salt is less welcome for motorists in terms of the damage it causes to cars; it speeds the corrosion of vehicles because it is hydroscopic; it attracts water.
In a second vehicle-damaging process, salt increases the electrical conductivity of water, accelerating corrosion.
This is why car care experts advise motorists to combat the problem by washing their cars regularly during the winter, especially around the wheel arches and sills.
The AA says that mud, stuck to the underside of a car, soaks up salt-laden spray and speeds up corrosion.
For this reason it recommends hosing down the entire underside of the car if possible. And when conditions are dry, says the AA, motorists should inspect underneath for any signs of damage to the underbody sealing compound and have it treated, if necessary. If the vehicle is under long-term corrosion warranty the terms might specify how this is carried out.
The motoring organisation also recommends car owners touching up any minor bodywork scratches to keep them waterproof and corrosion-resistant.
The motoring organisation also recommends the use of a polish to help protect bodywork.

By David Williams www.telegraph.co.uk