hi--

i am hoping that the list can help me with my very novice rust prevention questions.

i have a "new" '93 245 w/ only 70K on it...and essentially no rust (a little wabi on the floor of rear gate, about an square inch of surface rust, which will be ground out & attacked with por-15 after xmas; wheel wells, rocker panels, door and floorboard and underbody are still essentially pristine).

my question to the list is how do i help keep the car in this very nice condition. precursors to my questions:

-- it was garaged for the first eight years of it's life. more recently, and continuing into the future, no more garage.

-- i live outside detroit: lots of salt; winter temperatures often ascend to above freezing, and then drop again...creating periodic salt baths from late fall to early spring...

-- the car will be regularly rinsed off during these salty winter months, the panel drainholes kept open, and dings rapidly touched up.

-- the car will get more than occasional use on gravel roads.

should i:

1) recoat the unibody ala ziebart? my impression is that ziebart is bad if the car isn't spanking new; that it will seal in any corrosion...is this correct?

2) spray with krown or rustcheck? which one? do the little holes they drill rust in their own right?

3) install an electronic rust preventor? which brand?

4) spray the heck out of the wheel wells with 3M's "Undercoat"? will it stick to the wells without prepping them?

5) is the steel on the '93 245 so significantly better than on the '86 that i don't need to be so paranoid?

thanks very much for your advice and experiences...

best,
merry xmas,
Eric

'93 245 70K
(had '86 245 w/ 170K and still going strong, but body rust took it out: no floor panels, rocker panels, tail gate, rear wheel wells, jack points etc...so now i'm paranoid...)