Hello August!

On 21 Jan 2026, August Abolins said the following...

 AA> 23yr old vehicle.. wow.  Any body corrosion issues?

No, not really -- some very light surface rust on the weldings of the muffler
and the neck of the towbar and a couple of bolts here and there on the
underside, but that's about it. Exhaust, muffler and cat still original, same
thing for the lambda sensors, wheel bearings, alternator and fuel pump...
Actually rather surprising when I think of it. 

Most of the underside was sprayed from the factory with some kind of clear,
epoxy-like anti-corrosion wax. I'm the second owner and bought the car in 2008
when it was 5 years old -- back then it had 16600 km (103,000 mi) and quite a
lot of stone chips in the paint (probably from lots of freeway driving), but
those were shallow and easy to fix with a touch-up pen.

I sprayed another layer of rust proofing wax (Dinitrol) on the underside when I
got it, which was more "rubbery" than the factory one, just for the sake of it,
and it has held up very well.

I did get some stone chips on the driver's door a couple of years ago, and
hadn't washed the car for a couple of months during winter season (they put a
*lot* of salt on the roads here, sadly!). Noticed the corrosion way too late (it
was hidden near the edge of a piece of plastic trim on the door), so ended up
having that rust removed and the door repainted... Oh well.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with the car. Just wish there were less sensors
and stuff everywhere. 

 AA> I have a 18yr old Rav4. It has been extremely reliableall these years,
 AA> but   the body corrosion from underneath is not looking very good.

Those seem to be very reliable cars, yes. Corrosion is always a PITA...

Best regards
Zip

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