e60/e90 rust

[Patrick Bateman]

...or lack-thereof.

What did BMW do differently in the production of these to vastly improve the resistance against rust compared with previous generation cars? I've not been able to find anything definitive.

[Esseesse]

They're not that old yet thought are they?

My 2003 e39 doesn't seem to have any rust on it at all (touch wood).

Having said that, older recentish BMW's do seem to have suffered with rust more than they should have. Alfa GTV's (old now, owned 2, inspected many) don't seem to get any rust really.

[Patrick Bateman]

Esseesse said:

They're not that old yet thought are they?

My 2003 e39 doesn't seem to have any rust on it at all (touch wood).

Having said that, older recentish BMW's do seem to have suffered with rust more than they should have. Alfa GTV's (old now, owned 2, inspected many) don't seem to get any rust really.

They are, you'll get e60's that are 11 years old now, e90's 8 years old.

There will have been plenty of e39's and e46's with rusty wings/jack pads/sills etc. at the same age.

[cerb4.5lee]

You make a good point my E90 330i is over 8 years old now and the bodywork is excellent and it doesn't lose any fluids either and I must admit with its age I would have thought it wouldn't be in great shape by now on both counts but it does seem to be holding up well.

[sparks_E39]

Never heard of a rusty E60. My 2002 E39 has a little, I'll get it all sorted this year.

[stevesuk]

We have two BMWs - a 2002 registered E46 330 Ci, and a 2005 registered E91 325i.

So somewhere between 3 and 4 years in age apart (the E91 will be 10 years old next autumn).

OK, the E46 has 30k more miles on the clock, but In the last couple of years, its needed a new front wing (which was completely rotten underneath) and rust scabs repaired in other places. It's got to the point where each time I wash it, I dread finding some more! Its a bit disappointing, because it has spoilt my enjoyment of an otherwise good car.

The E91 on the other hand? Not a spot of rust anywhere...

I guess the E46 and E39 were a mid-nineties design, and other manufacturers had some pretty shocking corrosion problems around the same era (Mercedes for one). I guess BMW saw the problem developing and refined the design or manufacturing process for the next generation.

[Seesure]

One of my E39s is "ripe" with rust in many places ... absolutely incredible to be honest.... Build date Dec 2000 - registered Jan 2001...

Rear near side



Front near side door



Boot lid + surrounding area





Fuel filler cap area



Rear drivers side door



Front drivers wing - actually replaced by BMW in 2007 due to rust ...



Moon roof area



Near side A pillar...

Edited by Seesure on Tuesday 24th June 11:36

[Esseesse]

Seesure said:

One of my E39s is "ripe" with rust in many places ... absolutely incredible to be honest.... Build date Dec 2000 - registered Jan 2001...

Oh dear. After seeing your pictures, maybe mine does have a tiny amount of rust. In the fuel cap along the edge in a line it's a tiny bit bumpy under the paint. It's hard to press on, I was never sure if it was rust or just slightly messy weld. Has not changed in the 2 years I've had the car.

[Patrick Bateman]

Nobody seems to know, maybe they use magic beans.

[sparks_E39]

Seesure said:

One of my E39s is "ripe" with rust in many places ... absolutely incredible to be honest.... Build date Dec 2000 - registered Jan 2001...

Rear near side



Front near side door



Boot lid + surrounding area





Fuel filler cap area



Rear drivers side door



Front drivers wing - actually replaced by BMW in 2007 due to rust ...



Moon roof area



Near side A pillar...

Edited by Seesure on Tuesday 24th June 11:36

That's an unusual amount of rust for an E39, quite surprised by that.

[Seesure]

sparks_E39 said:

That's an unusual amount of rust for an E39, quite surprised by that.

And it has been garaged overnight for the majority of the time I've owned it (10 years), plus being waxed, polished and being cleaned fairly regularly..

[Patrick Bateman]

Are you deliberately trying to cement my thoughts of just leaving the car covered in bird st and dirt?

[cerb4.5lee]

Seesure said:

sparks_E39 said:

That's an unusual amount of rust for an E39, quite surprised by that.

And it has been garaged overnight for the majority of the time I've owned it (10 years), plus being waxed, polished and being cleaned fairly regularly..

I love how you have used it and put so many miles on it you must have a great bond with the car after driving it for that many miles...pity the bodywork hasn't held up that well for you though.

[Seesure]

Patrick Bateman said:

Are you deliberately trying to cement my thoughts of just leaving the car covered in bird st and dirt?

ROFL .... Coffee spat out over the bloody keyboard !!

[hornetrider]

How can this be when the E39 is the pinnacle, nay, the holy grail of build quality?

I am confuse.

[Patrick Bateman]

Given a lot of people seem to say the e34 was better built, I don't think they're including rust resistance in that term.

[4rephill]

As the OP asked about the E60/E90 series, corrosion on E39's is of no relevance whatsoever!

[Esseesse]

Just reading about e90 rust chances, and I came across this post...

"BMW does a cathodic dipped primer instaed of galvanizing. The paint doesn't have sacrificial anode properties like the zinc."

Apparently VAG do full galvanising. Is there any truth in this and is it why BMW's seem a bit rust prone?

[Lowtimer]

Are you talking the processes of both companies now or 15-20 years ago? I can show you plenty of rusty 20 year old VW group cars, BMWs and worst of all Mercedes.

But for things built in the last decade, I have never seen a rusty E90 or E60 that wasn't related to accident damage or some other external influence e.g. untreated stonechips.

[iSore]

sparks_E39 said:

That's an unusual amount of rust for an E39, quite surprised by that.

Not really, there are plenty around like that but Avus blue ones seem to be the worst. E46's are just as bad if not worse. I've seen one early E60 with a scabby back arch but in general they seem fine. The E90 is ten years old next year.