Discussion
Pedmeister said:
I am shocked and appalled to discover rot is so prevalent on E46 BMW's that are barely ten years old. My daily driver/runabout is a MINT 24 year old E30 318i Tourer. I have owned it since Sept 99 and it gets used all year around. The body is pristine with no rust evident. This article has just killed my enthusiasm for buying an E46 CI Coupe-which I have been considering. I recently viewed one for sale and was somewhat perturbed at how tinny the panels felt compared to my almost King Tiger build quality E30. I have a couple of friends who are employed by BMW dealers as technicians. Both advised me that the contemporary BMW's are INFERIOR in terms of build quality, compared to models built in the late 1980's. It's all very well stuffing cars with a myriad of gadgets, and high tech, but if they are starting to ROT after less than ten years, give me the less technologically sophisticated but hewn from granite late 80's BMW's everytime. ROT in less than ten years? 'Progress?'
Totally agree with you view, this is the way the world is going.We are bombarded with bulls
t from the elected about recycling and not wasting and taxed for everything and manufacturers now are deliberately building inferior products so after a few years we have no choice but to replace.The 3 Series has never been a benchmark for rust resistance and humdrum cars (mainly French ones) have always been superior in this respect. The early E30's could be pretty ripe at 6-7 years old but after the initial glitch they were alright. E36's were possibly a bit better - in 2001 there weren't many (if any) J reg originals with rotten wings and arches.
The E46 had great showroom quality, but the real 'this will last forever' quality isn't there. I saw a 54 plate Coupe with a rotten wing last week, eight years old.
Meanwhile, I did an oil change on a mate's R registered Hyundai Accent the other day, and oddly, it's not rusty despite not being polished since around 2006.
Probably the last real quality car was the old Volvo 940, itself based on the 740 which in turn used a lot from the 240.....itself a heavily facelifted 144. They were built like a brick sh*thouse, complete with rather coarse interior plastics.
The E46 had great showroom quality, but the real 'this will last forever' quality isn't there. I saw a 54 plate Coupe with a rotten wing last week, eight years old.
Meanwhile, I did an oil change on a mate's R registered Hyundai Accent the other day, and oddly, it's not rusty despite not being polished since around 2006.
Probably the last real quality car was the old Volvo 940, itself based on the 740 which in turn used a lot from the 240.....itself a heavily facelifted 144. They were built like a brick sh*thouse, complete with rather coarse interior plastics.
Can I ask what would be a fair price for selling this? Apart from the rust, it's pretty much spot on, 04 plate, bit over 104k miles, plenty spent on it since I bought it, 4 goodyears all round, MOT until next March.
I've not really seen any on an 04 plate advertised for less than £4k, obviously they won't go for that but still.
Worth chucking on an ebay auction?
I've not really seen any on an 04 plate advertised for less than £4k, obviously they won't go for that but still.
Worth chucking on an ebay auction?
Thought I might resurrect this thread and ask here:
I have a 54 plate 330cdm and have noticed the dreaded rust on the rear arches (should be covered under warranty as it was built just under 12 years ago) spoke to a dealer about it and they made rumblings about no full BMWSH, will speak to H.O. blah blah. So anyone had rust treatment/repairs done under the 12 year warranty without full BMWSH? Assuming I get (already expecting) no joy from dealer is it worth going to BWM HQ myself?
I have a 54 plate 330cdm and have noticed the dreaded rust on the rear arches (should be covered under warranty as it was built just under 12 years ago) spoke to a dealer about it and they made rumblings about no full BMWSH, will speak to H.O. blah blah. So anyone had rust treatment/repairs done under the 12 year warranty without full BMWSH? Assuming I get (already expecting) no joy from dealer is it worth going to BWM HQ myself?
Patrick Bateman said:
I was under the impression that a full BMW history wasn't required for this, as long as a repair hasn't been attempted by someone else.
Yeah I'm sure I had read somewhere on't web that was the case but that was the line he was using I think to fob me off. We'll see what he comes back with before I 'go direct'.Sick to death of this - looking for a RWD 6-pot estate which looks OK and with decent driving dynamics. I like BMWs, why can't they bolt a car together without it having the rust protection of a Fiat Strada!?
Just looking at e90s, they are still expensive enough not to be binnable if something goes wrong, coupled with so much technology that needs to be plugged into a computer to diagnose.
Gah!
Just looking at e90s, they are still expensive enough not to be binnable if something goes wrong, coupled with so much technology that needs to be plugged into a computer to diagnose.
Gah!
Patrick Bateman said:
I've yet to see anything posted online but the front wings on a colleague's car have it, couldn't believe it. Never seen it on another one though...
For an E90 to have rust, it's got a 'story' behind it. Badly repaired damage, non gen panels, no rustproofing. A 55 plate 320d was having a new wing fitted at my local body shop due to a car park ding, and I noticed that the old wing was completely rust free inside after ten UK winters and the way the arch liner fits is different as well. See plenty of rotten 2005 onwards Audi and VW wings though. My neighbour's 58 plate Golf is starting to bubble on the front arches but that's typical VAG crap to be honest.
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