Car Doctor: Solution for rusted roof – The Providence Journal

Q: I have a 10-year-old Ford E250 van and the roof is starting to rust. I took it to a body shop and they told me this was going to be a big job. They werent really interested in trying to fix it.

I love this big van, it carries people, stuff and tows my boat with ease. Any alternative ideas that might work?

A: Rust repair is all about the preparation. Could a good body shop sand, repair, prime and paint the roof of your van? Im sure they can. The problem is unless they routinely do restoration work many body shops would rather repair crash damage.

One possibility that I have seen work is painting the roof with the same material that is used for pickup truck bed-liners. The roof will have a slight pebble finish. Since you cant see the top of the roof, it wouldnt matter. The spray-on bedliner is a fairly low cost and virtually permanent repair.

Q: I'm moving to a house on a hill, and I am considering snow tires after I got stuck near my house in a freak snowstorm last year. According to a consumer magazine, though snow tires do better in snow and ice than all-season tires, they do much worse than all-seasons in wet braking.

Since a lot of the snow I'd be driving in would be salted, and since rain seems more common in winter now with global warning, would you bother? I drive a 2009 Toyota Prius and it is my only car.

A: If the type of driving takes you out before the snowplows and the hill you live on is slippery, then there is nothing better than four winter tires.

All-season tires are a compromise, they have to work year-round. Although, with most drivers they tend to be okay in deep snow or very cold temperatures, they are not quite as good.

The publication is correct that dedicated winter tires are not quite as good in wet weather, but my experience is they are still quite good.

If this was my Prius, I would install four winter tires near the end of November and take them off mid-April.

Q: For my next winter car, I want to move in the direction of electric but read that electric cars are considerably less efficient in cold weather.

Would you consider a front-wheel drive electric car with winter tires such as a Hyundai Kona over a typical all-wheel-drive with a gasoline engine for driving in the Northeast?

There are few all-wheel-drive electrics, but I see plug-in hybrid vehicles as placeholders albeit a step in the right direction.

Lastly, how long before we see fluoride-based batteries replace the current options in cars?

A: Battery development is constantly changing. In just the 30 years or so that I have been involved with electric vehicle, batteries were the biggest issue. In fact, from the turn of the last century until the 1990s, batteries for electric cars didnt change that much.

Today, it is the combination of new battery designs coupled with sophisticated battery management systems which is making some of the biggest improvements in electric vehicles.

One of the latest near-future battery developments comes from a company called Nanotech Energy that is using graphene-based energy storage, rather than Lithium-Ion.

Electric vehicles are getting better all the time with many offering range in excess of 250 miles. The Hyundai Kona, Kia Niro, Tesla Model-Y and the Chevrolet Bolt are all god choices.

John Paul is the AAA Northeast Car Doctor. He has more than 40 years of experience in the automobile industry and is an ASE-Certified Master Technician. Write to John Paul, The Car Doctor, at 110 Royal Little Drive, Providence, RI 02904. Or email jpaul@aaanortheast.com and put "Car Doctor" in the subject field. Follow him on Twitter @johnfpaul or on Facebook.

Here is the original post:
Car Doctor: Solution for rusted roof - The Providence Journal