wing rust E46 M3

[pidsy]

my 2004 coupe has now bubbled and burst on the drivers side front wing - i know its a common fault and there isnt a whole lot i can do about it - ive read that fixing isnt really a solution.

wheres good to buy a front wing these days?

how much should paint/fitting cost?

[pidsy]

ooh, thats interesting!

cheers guys.

my book is fully stamped but some of it is indy - guess that means i'm out of luck?

[pidsy]

right - spoke to my local BMW dealer today and i'm booked in for the end of the week for them to have a look. i don't hold out a lot of hope though, the guy i spoke to seemed less than interested.

[pidsy]

i'm in North West London. there's no shortage of dealers around here so we'll see what happens.

[pidsy]

so...

spent an hour down at spire this lunchtime and they were actually really helpful. The Bodyshop manager didn't seem to see a problem with getting it organised. he was very complimentary of the car and said he loved the colour which we agreed was the best colour for an E46 (techno violet)

he took photo's of everything, took paint depth measurements, checked the service record and said he'd send it off to BMW UK today.

ive now got to play the waiting game - up to 4 weeks for a reply.

got an update on the airbag recall too - they are still trying to source enough units to get people in. he said it could take another 6 months.

[pidsy]

[pidsy]

Borhamwood/elstree

[pidsy]

Panthro said:

Great colour and so rare! I have been after a face-lift individual manual coupe or CS for ages now

Mine is facelift and manual. Plus, genuine csl wheels and eisenmann race exhaust.

Found it by accident too! I'd say make me an offer but I'm not bored of it yet.

[pidsy]

update:

its been a month to the day since my trip to spire and the phone rings.

BMW Uk have authorised my repair and i'm due a call next week to get my bodyshop slot.

very pleased. big thank you to those who advised to go through warranty rather than just getting it done. not sure how much its saved me but it all counts.

Spire have been very helpful. i'll keep this updated with progress.

[pidsy]

Looking through the thread, I realised I haven't put a pic up with the rust showing:

[pidsy]

booked in for tuesday.

[pidsy]

Complex said:

I have some corrosion occurring on the rear arches of my 53 plate e46 m3. Is this now beyond the remit of a dealer or may it still be worth looking into?

The anti corrosion warranty is 12 years so it'll be tight. Get it to a dealer and ask.

Just make sure your service book is fully stamped - that's what they were most concerned with.

[pidsy]

They've already told me how difficult techno violet is to blend.

We'll see.

[pidsy]

so, its in.

estimated return is friday. until then i've got a shiny new Pug 208 to drive - its horrible.

still cant fault the service from Spire.

[pidsy]

Got it back today.
The new wing is spot on paint wise, they blew over the bonnet and drivers side door at the same time. Gave it a good clean and job done.

Booked it in for the airbag recall while I was there so it's going back later this month.

Top work from spire.

A big thank you to those on here who pointed me down the warranty route - I didn't know anything about it up till then, I'd have ended up paying 000's to get it fixed.

Cheers.