I'm a little concerned with going up to the snow so much in my subie. Of course, I feel WAY more safer on my subie than on my parents jeep cuz that thing is a million years old and is not 4 wheel drive.

My main concern though is with how dirty the engine bay gets after I go up. I started going up every friday cuz at Boreal it only costs $10 if u have a college ID and it's an awesome drive . When I get back to Elk Grove, I just take it to a Touch Free carwash with the undersprayers so that I can get all that salt off the metal under my car. But I didn't checked the engine bay until this weekend when I changed my oil. And it was SO DIRTY! Should I give it a really thorough clean? What about the paint? Is that salt in any way bad for the paint or the parts under the car itself?

 

They actually don't salt roads anymore because salt can cause problems for your paint; they now use sand (at least in California, I don't know about other states).

I know once I move away from Tahoe I'm going to give my car a very good cleaning, undercarriage, engine bay etc, but for now I'm content with just spraying down the outside once a week (or two).

I don't think it will cause any permenant damage to your paint, but it is sand, which means its like having sandpaper right on your car. Moderate brushing up against the car will create scratches, but there shouldn't be any sort of chemical reaction hurting your paint.

 

Most other states that get snow still use salt.