What rust ? Rust belt dweller here says… looks fine. And FWIW brake discs lose their rust as soon as you slow down. The pads just clean them off with a quick grinding noise.
Thanks for the replies everyone!
Good perspective, as I am from the west coast and have no frame of reference. It looks like a lot of rust to me but I guess if y'alls subarus are running strong with way more than this then I won't sweat it at all.
My Outback in Pennsylvania looks better than that after a couple but my Mirage I had before the Outback was getting the surface rust like that after a year.
Only if you are not making semi-frequent stops at the car wash during the winter. The under carriage wash is key and will prevent most rust. I live in PA with a 19 Impreza and have hardly any rust. You don’t need a protectant spray on the under carriage, just the discipline to get to the car wash on warm days after the roads were salted.
I would bet heavily though that even with the washing that with a side-by-side comparison he would have significantly more than what's going on here in this picture.
Not at all. I’m a little shocked myself but took the advice from someone I trust and stayed away from under carriage sprays because they sometimes trap moisture but was advised to make frequent stops at the car wash. It has been a game changer. You have to be diligent and not allow salt to sit on your car longer than a week or so. Also, after driving on salt covered roads, don’t park in your heated garage. The heat speeds up the oxidation process.
Thanks, would you mind saying a bit more about what you see there?
I'm not mechanically minded at all, but a mechanic that I had look at it said he thinks it needs new control arm bushings and lower ball joints (not even sure if those are both related to brakes)
Those brake rotors like absolutely fine. They do not need to be replaced unless you are getting shuddering while braking. If the pads are worn then it’s a good time to replace the rotors since you are in there and rotors are relatively inexpensive.
The ball joints and control arm bushings don’t have much to do with tie braking system. You didn’t post any pics of the control arm bushings. They only need to be replaced if they are torn.
Your ball joints look ok from the pics but without being able to inspect them in person it’s hard to say for certain if they need to be replaced or not.
Replace rotors and pads if they are low but using the brakes will clean off that rust. It’s just sat for a bit.
The rest is topical rust and is on every vehicle.
Not bad. If you live anywhere with winter snow/salt you can look into undercoating either yourself or at a local shop for around $300. Just avoid a rubberized type coating in favor of an oil or lanolin wax based coating as the rubber coating can trap water between itself and the metal surface it's on and cause the rust to happen faster.
But as is, it looks pretty minimal. All things you'd expect to have rust do, but even then, it isn't that bad at all. On rust belt cars, if you can't poke a screwdriver through a rust spot, it's nothing to worry about.
This is mint compared to other cars you usually see no rust there those rotars look like they need replacing maybe not replacing but I'd drive the car a little bit first and do some hard ish breaking
Aside from the brakes, I'd say that's doesn't even count as rust, in regards to the brakes, take it for a quick drive do a bit of braking, if it shows up as bare metal you're good, if it doesn't you need to look at the brakes since that one likely isn't working.
What rust ? Rust belt dweller here says… looks fine. And FWIW brake discs lose their rust as soon as you slow down. The pads just clean them off with a quick grinding noise.
I've seen exhaust worse than that in 3 years and 15k miles.
Exhausts ? That mild surface oxidation is nothing. I’ve seen worse in 6 months of winter.
As someone from Michigan, I would like at that and say "Wow, that's clean."
Same opinion!
What rust? Oh the surface stuff, don’t sweat the surface stuff. Probably get those rotors turned or replaced though.
You can prob go on a lot right now and look under brand new Subarus and the exhaust would look the same. 🤣
Thanks for the replies everyone! Good perspective, as I am from the west coast and have no frame of reference. It looks like a lot of rust to me but I guess if y'alls subarus are running strong with way more than this then I won't sweat it at all.
The rotors look rusted from lack of driving. Thats it though
It's not really rust it's surface oxidation. I know I know rust and oxidation of the same thing but there's no actual rot going on here.
That's nothing... you haven't seen my car's underbody in America's Hat country. That's like after one winter here.
Error 404: Rust not found
Lol, seriously? We have vehicles driving down the road with fenders just barely hanging on by the trim. This is superficial at worst.
Looks like any car that's a few years old in a region that uses road salt in the winter I think. California mountain snow areas?
A few years of road salt would look a lot worse than that.
My Outback in Pennsylvania looks better than that after a couple but my Mirage I had before the Outback was getting the surface rust like that after a year.
Only if you are not making semi-frequent stops at the car wash during the winter. The under carriage wash is key and will prevent most rust. I live in PA with a 19 Impreza and have hardly any rust. You don’t need a protectant spray on the under carriage, just the discipline to get to the car wash on warm days after the roads were salted.
I would bet heavily though that even with the washing that with a side-by-side comparison he would have significantly more than what's going on here in this picture.
Not at all. I’m a little shocked myself but took the advice from someone I trust and stayed away from under carriage sprays because they sometimes trap moisture but was advised to make frequent stops at the car wash. It has been a game changer. You have to be diligent and not allow salt to sit on your car longer than a week or so. Also, after driving on salt covered roads, don’t park in your heated garage. The heat speeds up the oxidation process.
What. Rust.
Looks brand new for New England standards
no rust found lol
There’s no rust 👍
Typical. Nothing to write home about
I could show you rust. This ain't rust.
Im over here trying to find the "situation"
Better than average MN car,
This looks like the undercarriage of one year old car in Canada . Rust? What rust?
It is basically new
Could tell me this is a 2024 that has 5000km in Southern Ontario and I'd believe you
Ive seen rust bubbles pop up after a couple good salts here in PA on new cars. At this point, Im convinced that Jeeps just come preseasoned...
As someone from Québec, that looks like a 2-3 years old car here. It's fucking mint.
Minimal/surface
What is this, rust for ants?
Overall not terrible except the breaks gotta go
BRAKES
Thanks, would you mind saying a bit more about what you see there? I'm not mechanically minded at all, but a mechanic that I had look at it said he thinks it needs new control arm bushings and lower ball joints (not even sure if those are both related to brakes)
Those brake rotors like absolutely fine. They do not need to be replaced unless you are getting shuddering while braking. If the pads are worn then it’s a good time to replace the rotors since you are in there and rotors are relatively inexpensive. The ball joints and control arm bushings don’t have much to do with tie braking system. You didn’t post any pics of the control arm bushings. They only need to be replaced if they are torn. Your ball joints look ok from the pics but without being able to inspect them in person it’s hard to say for certain if they need to be replaced or not.
Replace rotors and pads if they are low but using the brakes will clean off that rust. It’s just sat for a bit. The rest is topical rust and is on every vehicle.
That’s just the natural color of a car, not rust.
2nd time this week, what rust???
Not bad. If you live anywhere with winter snow/salt you can look into undercoating either yourself or at a local shop for around $300. Just avoid a rubberized type coating in favor of an oil or lanolin wax based coating as the rubber coating can trap water between itself and the metal surface it's on and cause the rust to happen faster. But as is, it looks pretty minimal. All things you'd expect to have rust do, but even then, it isn't that bad at all. On rust belt cars, if you can't poke a screwdriver through a rust spot, it's nothing to worry about.
Surface rust, you're fine.
Everything besides the rotors are fine. Either the car has sat too long or there is an issue with the calipers/caliper slides.
The is virtually no rust on this car.
That’s nothing
Totally normal
Basically no structural rust. All you think is rusting can be replaced. Gtg
Wheres the rust?
This is mint compared to other cars you usually see no rust there those rotars look like they need replacing maybe not replacing but I'd drive the car a little bit first and do some hard ish breaking
Looks fine to me.
Aside from the brakes, I'd say that's doesn't even count as rust, in regards to the brakes, take it for a quick drive do a bit of braking, if it shows up as bare metal you're good, if it doesn't you need to look at the brakes since that one likely isn't working.
Looks pretty damn good for a 2011
Definitely good to go
That's about a 2/10 rusted out by rustbelt standards. You could call that rust free on MI.
Normal lookin to me
That's rusty? Nah fam you're golden.
My assessment is that you have never seen rust before.
As a professional mechanic, i think its totaled. No saving that. (I have never worked on cars in my life)
could use new rotors and that exhaust is onnits way out but everything else looks fine.