Never Seen Rain

[LJSB]

I have seen in vehicle descriptions "never seen rain" and I would like to hear from people who believe this claim is positive and of value. I really am curious and want the opinions and reasoning only of folks who genuinely think this is an important plus.

I would also like to know how would one verify such a claim?

I will not challenge, argue or render judgment on you or your responses. I really want to know what you are thinking and why.

 

[hollywoodgarbage]

It may mean the owner was very meticulous in the car of his car. The previous owner of my LBBP took very good car of his car to the point of using gloves to work on it. He never drove it in the rain and even avoided wet roads from sprinklers. I have kept this tradition.
I know this may be extreme, but Im sure glad he took very good care of my car.:biggrin:

 

[Meeyatch1]

I have seen in vehicle descriptions "never seen rain" and I would like to hear from people who believe this claim is positive and of value. I really am curious and want the opinions and reasoning only of folks who genuinely think this is an important plus.

I would also like to know how would one verify such a claim?

I will not challenge, argue or render judgment on you or your responses. I really want to know what you are thinking and why.

I would imagine that by looking underneath of a vehicle you could get an idea. With the exception of those people that are mentally ill and actually wash the entire underside of their car regularly (like me), any other car that has been driven in the rain will probably have the dirt and water spotting that goes with it.

As far as the value, it is nice to know someone was very careful about when they drove the car, but I would rather have a well maintained and regularly driven car that may have seen rain occasionally, rather that one that sat around a lot not being used.

 

[Vega$ NSX]

In Vegas and other areas it's not that far fetched of a claim. It only rains about 10 times a year and usually for a few hours. So I would heavily take into consideration where the car has been housed or is coming from too in determining if the car has seen rain or not. Sorry Seattle folks! :biggrin:

 

[NY2NV]

When i bought my nsx 4 years ago, it did'nt have the wipers installed. The previous owner told me it has no purpose. It did'nt see rain nor snow and i kept it that way.

 

[tosugrad]

I think its maybe more of a metaphor than it is hard and fast. My car's PO lived in Tacoma and said it had never seen rain. Thats a BOLD statement when it rains probably 5 days a week there! Maybe thats why he only mustered 8k miles in 3 years?

Well, the bottom of the car looked absolutely new and that seemed to help his claim.

 

[tom4416]

The statement probably has some validity with other cars but on an almost all aluminum car, who cares Maybe it keep the underside cleaner, OTOH, maybe it doesn't wash off light dust and dirt that accumulates. I don't drive it on rainy days but I'm not going to lose any sleep if I get caught in the rain while out and about. Actually, I probably need to find an empty parking lot on a rainy day just to see how it handles so I'll be prepared when it happens for real.

 

[goldNSX]

The paint doesn't like acid rain or road debris. For people who value the paint very much this is a plus. Verification? Difficult...have a look at the paint. :wink:

EDIT: For verfication have look at the threads of the cats or other mechanical parts. There should be near to none rust there if the car has not been driven in the rain.

This car seems to have seen not very much rain, the screws on the cats are slightly rusty but still show a lot of the original coating.

whereas this car with over 140k miles on it much have been driven in the rains if not also in winter (salt)

 

[KazO]

I think it's much more important with older, rust-prone cars as a practical standpoint. And it's not hard to do in places such as here in SoCal. I do agree with others that it's probably more important from an 'owner's care of the car' standpoint than rust or other such things in a modern car (or an aluminum one like ours).

 

[docjohn]

Agree with above,it is an older point when cars could and did rust.In the collector car world you will pay a premium for cars documented to have lived thier lives in the desert,like nevada/arizona.

 

[Mirroredshades]

My car had never been rained on when I bought it and the underside was amazingly clean. Poor thing got rained on 3 times the first week I owned it.

:biggrin:

 

[sahtt]

I too was suspect to say the least but I realized it is possible. For instance, I owned a motorcycle that I only road during nice weather. When I sold it about a year and a half later, I realized it had literally never been rained on. For low mileage cars that the owners strictly drive out of pleasure, it seems plausible for the first few years. Now if you have a 9 owner 91 with 75k miles, your car has seen rain.

 

[slamstrom]

My car had never been rained on when I bought it and the underside was amazingly clean.:biggrin:

Same here, until the day I picked up my NSX and drove it home. Naturally, I ran into some light shower on the way home. The wipers work great. Since then my NSX has seen 3 light showers (no heavy rain).

 

[Sim NSX]

I enjoy reading advertisements that state 'never seen rain'. I too would like to be one to purchase a NSX that has never seen the rain. I took the wipers off my Integra here in socal. It never sees the rain :biggrin:

 

[Big_D]

I don't think that this claim makes the car worth more, just easier to sell. Most people would like to find a used vehicle that were meticulously cared for.
I agree that it is difficult to substanciate that claim. If a car has seen rain like a half of dozen times over 17 years, do you think you could tell the difference?

I used to work with this engineer that owned a Corvette that had never seen rain. One time while we were working Saturday he drove his pristine car to work and put the cover on it. Loh and behold a rogue thunderstorm found its way and rained on the car. Well, he called his wife for a ride home and left the car where it sat and waited for evaporation to do its job to return for the car. When he did sell it, he advertised that it had never seen rain...LOL Was he telling the truth? He claimed that since he didn't drive it in the rain that his claim was still valid.

Bottom line is when I see the words "Never seen rain" or "Flawless" I take it with a grain of salt. If the car is priced right and has the maintenence right, then it is more like a feather in your cap...not really something to pay a premium for.

 

[EuroBoutique]

Not to play devils' advocate but I remember when I was living in Indiana this new buddy moved over from Arizona (supposedly a very dry state) and his red Integra turned PINK almost from the sun/heat! So all dry and sun is not that great either.

My NSX was an east coast car and whether it has seen rain or not really does not matter to me. We recently had the car up on a lift for an alignment and the underchassis looked BRAND NEW! But my entire car seemed to have been cared for by 2 very ANAL NSX owners (also here on prime) so I got lucky.

But in all honesty a bit of rain really doesn't matter to me as long as the car is well taken cared of. Assuming no rain in the east coast, I have yet to even come close to driving in the rain here in CA so I guess my car would be a "no rain" car as well

rk

 

[NSXrunner]

On another side of the coin. My car has only seen the rain a couple times when it decided to rain while I was out and about. To me rain isn't so much about getting the car dirty, it's about keeping the car safe.

I have seen more than my share of folks who don't know how to drive in the rain, or in Southern California's case, a slight drizzle (which can be worse because it just lifts all the oil and grease to the surface for you to slip on vs. a strong rain that helps actually wash em away).

I don't want to NSX to get caught up in an accident because of someone elses rain related mistake. Thats what I have the Fit and the Montero for.

 

[omega2]

"Never seen rain" to me means weekend car. Possibly less mechanical issues. Possibly less issues. Don't think it really matters too much since the entire car is aluminum.

 

[jlsnyderNSX]

Mine hasn't seen rain that I know of and I plan on keeping it that way...
Call me crazy but I don't even want to drive it on a cloudy day...:biggrin:

 

[dlynes]

The statement probably has some validity with other cars but on an almost all aluminum car, who cares Maybe it keep the underside cleaner, OTOH, maybe it doesn't wash off light dust and dirt that accumulates. I don't drive it on rainy days but I'm not going to lose any sleep if I get caught in the rain while out and about. Actually, I probably need to find an empty parking lot on a rainy day just to see how it handles so I'll be prepared when it happens for real.

well said, +1

 

[hofffam]

Man some of the people here are soooooo sensitive about their cars!

I try to avoid rain, sprinklers, big puddles etc. I just want to minimize dirt pickup so I don't have to wash it any more than I do already. I don't take the car when the forecast calls for rain - but if I get caught in it - we have sudden thunderstorms in Austin - I don't sweat it.

If I were shopping again - I would not value a "never driven in rain" statement. I would simply judge the condition of the car.

 

[MoogieBoogie]

I knew a guy who was so meticulous about his car that it never saw water. He would use a duster and quick detailer to wash the car. Of course his car probably saw water at port and during transport to the dealer.

 

[oscar_driver]

2 weeks ago i passed an SLR under poring rain, IT HURT SO MUCH to see such beauty under such horrible rain @ I95 .... sucks .... i do think avoiding rain on a 400K + car is not a bad idea ..
OScar

 

[usafdarkhorse]

I knew a guy who was so meticulous about his car that it never saw water. He would use a duster and quick detailer to wash the car. Of course his car probably saw water at port and during transport to the dealer.

Ridiculous. :biggrin:

I was going to say "So what happens when you wash your car?" until I saw this post.

It's not a Datsun!

 

[Vega$ NSX]

You mean you guys took your NSX out of it's original plastic wrapping?!? Maybe if you quickly put it in some sealed mylar bags you can at least sell it with a mint to near-mint condition.