Difference between a 2007 Honda and a Chevy

"RacinBob" (racinbob) 04/19/2019 at 15:44 • Filed to: None

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My Daily driver is a ‘07 Civic Si with 100,000 miles. It gets driven 365 days a year, through slush, salt and snow. My race tow vehicle is a 100,000 mile Chevy Uplander. It gets driven 50 days a year and is parked almost all winter.They were built within weeks of each other.

Today is oil change day and I got a view from the bottom side.

The Honda has virtually no frame rust.

My Chevy is pretty disappointing in comparison.

Yep, Mahk was correct, Chevy is more reliable? Ps, the bottom side of my Civic is dry as a bone. The Uplander is not so much. Too bad the oil leakage isn’t enough to prevent rust. 

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > RacinBob 04/19/2019 at 16:11

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Questions:

1. Did you buy both new?

2. If not, how were both taken care of prior to your ownership?

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/19/2019 at 16:22

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Chevy is known to not coat their frames.

CompactLuxuryFan > RacinBob 04/19/2019 at 16:27

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They both have 100,000 miles? Or is that a typo?

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 04/19/2019 at 16:47

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That still doesn’t answer the question.

I mean if both were bought used, who’s to say the Honda wasn’t garaged/babied and the Chevy was driven year round, never leaned, generally abused like most minivans?

Without all the details one cannot pass judgement.

RacinBob > CompactLuxuryFan 04/19/2019 at 17:28

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Correct, for the Honda it’s a 3 mile round trip to work twice a day plus a dozen or so 500 mile weekends per year. For the van its about 6000 miles of towing per year

benn454 > RacinBob 04/19/2019 at 19:11

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 Uplanders were garbage when they were new. My condolences. 

Alf Romio > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/19/2019 at 19:45

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No details needed. It’s a Chevy.

BigBlock440 > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 04/19/2019 at 20:00

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So are the Japanese though

RacinBob > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/20/2019 at 11:40

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The Si was purchased new. The Uplander was an ex rental that I bought less than a year old at bargain prices during the crash of ‘08. I assume it was was hed weekly. Since then it has sat outside but it is a primary summer vehicle.

Everything that is bubbling on the Uplander was initially painted. So was the Honda’s materials. However there is something to the Honda’s paint system that is very good at preventing corrosion. This, like my wife’s ex-02 Si just doesn’t decay due to rust.

By the way, I am otherwise a big advocate of the U plander. It is comfortable, efficient and reliable. I am though disappointed that the frame rust is happening as it may lead to a premature demise. The 3.9 motor is a beast for towing a 4000 pound trailer , especially linked with the 4 speed. 75 mph at 3000 RPM at 17 mpg all day towing. The only repair in 10 years was a transmission pressure solenoid. Too bad that the structure may not outlast the drivetrain.

I think there was a lot of Bob Lutz influence in the design. Gone is the “melted PlaySchool” dash controls. Instead it is a nice morph of Honda/Jaguar  design. It’s a nice place to be during a 4 hour trip to the track. Take the rear seats out and there is more room back there than any pickup. 

Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness > RacinBob 04/22/2019 at 07:09

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75 mph at 3000 RPM

Holy Screaming! My 3.8 ( well, 3.3 now ) only turns 2200 rpms at 80 mph!?!?!

So in all honesty you have no idea ( Assumptions aside, we all know how they go ) how the Uplander was cared for before you got it and it has been parked outside since, meanwhile the Civic gets garaged/cleaned frequently. I think it seems perfectly reasonable the Uplander looks worse underneath, continually changing temps/moisture from sitting outside help speed things along.

RacinBob > Long_Voyager, Now With More Caravanny Goodness 04/22/2019 at 11:55

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Y ou are right, 2200 RPM or so. I was thinking of my Civic. I would say the care between the two was comparable. And as another point of data the rust was consistent with that seen on similar parts from my ‘94 Transport and was the reason I retired it even though it still looked and ran well. I think they use disappointing materials or coatings.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > RacinBob 04/24/2019 at 08:36

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Rust is a form of rustproofing!

Seriously, when metal rusts it forms a scale which prevents oxidation of the metal beneath it. As long as you don’t disturb it, it will actually protect the rest of the metal. The caveat to that is if the metal is thin and is rusting through. Then you have problems. Just keep an eye on it.

Also, my Cruze is 8 years old, 135k miles and doesn’t have anywhere near that kind of rust under it. I bought it new and it’s spent a good chunk of it’s life outside - about the first 5 years I had it it was parked during the day in a commuter garage (so covered, but no climate control) but at night it was parked outside. For the last 3 years its been outside 24/7.