The 124 is much hardier than the earlier body cars, but not impervious.

As far as waxing, washing down the lower half with warm water, checking window seals, ... sorry guys, but what you'd expect from non-salt folks.

The bad news is that the liquid snow melt, is a salt in water. It is cheaper to melt snow that way than the rock-salt, and it will get everywhere in your car.

Where you need to clean, is basically everywhere you don't see. If you can see it, and it's painted, the paint protects the metal.

Touch-up the car wherever it is chipped through the metal, that includes around fender lips and door bottoms. Get under the car if you can, be sure that every place where dirt and sand can collect (fender lips, suspension pick-up points, etc) are washed thoroughly to remove the salt-water holding dirt. The top of the car can dry, but dirt and sand deposits will stay wet 24/7. Clean all fasteners, apply oil or grease to exposed threads, they will be easier to remove some day.

Spray the inner-fender, rocker-panels, and floor behind the wheel openings with silicone spray. This will make it more difficult for the big chunks of ice to form and hang there. Wash out all of the leaves and things from below the battery box (remove the 124 battery box and vacuum beneath it, and under the center / blower motor housing). The more you remove in moisture-absorbing materials the better the car wil fare. Clean around gaskets and seals, and wipe the door & trunk seals with silicone to keep them from freezing shut.

Wash everything with lots of water whenever you can. If you don't have access to a hose, tough break, but at least use as much water at car washes whenever you can. Wash the top of the car, sure, but pay more attention to spraying under the car than over, the underside is where terminal rust starts and where the salt tends to stay. Some/most car washes recycle their water, filtered, but still with dissolved solids (soap, salt) so not all under-washes are great.

If you have an engine belly pan, use it. It makes a huge difference in how much salt water gets into the engine bay. Worth buying a new one IMO.

Garages are over-rated. If the car is cold enough for the ice and snow to stay frozen, it shoud stay that way until you are able to wash it. You put a car in the garage, the car heats the garage, salt and water melt and run around to new places, then the car and garage chill again allowing the same crap to re-freeze. Freezing tends to help salt exploit cracks and crevices by forcing them open. Plus, ice doesn't cause much corrosion compared to water.

If you drive around town, you get a lot of crud on your car. However, the crud in highway travel is arosolized (sp?) and as a gas can get everywhere from the heater core to the tiniest voids in the body. I compared the throttle-body on my '91 (never saw a Michigan winter) to the throttle-body of a year-round Michigan car, the year-round / salt-driven car had noticable corrosion INSIDE the throttle body, ... after the air filter!

Around trim clips, if the paint is breached, it will eventually rust. All holes in the body that you can check for damage, chips, etc. are worth checking. Terminal rust takes a long time to completely destroy, but a short time to start. I've seen serious rust on the 124 around the rear wheel openings, mainly from bad seals and missing plugs getting salt water and water into the trunk, and it standing in the wells behind the wheels or around the spare, or just condensing on all inner surfaces of the trunk. Rocker panels are worth protecting, they rust I'm told, though I've not (yet) seen it on a 124.

Hose it down as often as possible, underneath etc., and it'll last many years. One year of reasonable care will not even be measurable in rust, several years or serious neglect will. I've run many cars for a decade or more in the winter here, ... my first quattro drove every winter for 15 years or more with no rust, just a little washing once or twice a week.

Oh also: If at all possible, when starting out, I always tried to drive through some fresh snow to pack the fenderwells before hitting the salt. A little barrier to keep the brine from direct contact, and to dilute the brine when melting starts.

Best of luck from the other side of the lake.

__________________

Gone to the dark side

- Jeff