E46 boot lid and rear arch bubbling - what to do

[anonymous-user]

so some bubbling in some of the usual spots and i need to get it sorted before winter... has anyone had similar and what did you do in the end and did it last?

[helix402]

If you search my last 330d thread (silver one) the long term fix is fully documented.

[E-bmw]

Without reading the above, which I am sure will be good advice, there is only one real answer.

Grind out all dodgy metal to the finest degree, weld in good metal if required, treat the remaining metal with a good "rust remedy", make good with small amounts of filler if required, then paint properly.

[Shanksy87]

E-bmw said:

Without reading the above, which I am sure will be good advice, there is only one real answer.

Grind out all dodgy metal to the finest degree, weld in good metal if required, treat the remaining metal with a good "rust remedy", make good with small amounts of filler if required, then paint properly.

^^ This, there is no other robust solution. I had exactly this carried out last summer and its holding up strong.

[helix402]

Here’s the one I did:

[g3org3y]

Proper job by Helix402!

I was going to leave the rust on my E46. Because patina.

[helix402]

g3org3y said:

Proper job by Helix402!

I was going to leave the rust on my E46. Because patina.

I did have some help from a friend who used to restore classic cars, he was quite handy. I can’t take credit for the custom made repair panels. The arch panel was off the shelf, only £30.

My current E46 has one arch with the rust starting......

This was the finished job:

[anonymous-user]

thanks for the input

i took it into a local reputable bodyshop and got a quote for them to repair and repaint x2 quarter panels and the boot lid. the affected area would be buzzed back to good and the skins gently parted before establishing whether to piece in new metal or not. the parted skin would then be seam sealed up but not parted to the point the spot welds are broken

the bmw specialist that has been taking car of my alpina for 10 years uses them himself and he is picky so i thought id give them a go

it would also mean my car sees paint for the first time ever.

problem is that its about 25% of the cost of a full glass out respray and im kinda all or nothing mentality

i think i will likely get it done but at 750 quids im having a think vs the full respray option

[Touring442]

E46 boot lids are nowhere near as rot prone as E39 ones and so a good bootlid should be easy enough to find for buttons. E46 parts are close to worthless so I bet you'll get one in silver for 50 quid, possibly not needing any paint. Cheaper than cutting the rot out of yours.

There are loads on Ebay. Saloon, Coupe and Convertible.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-BMW-3-SERIES-E46-4...

[Kettmark]

I was quoted about £1400 + vat to do the 2 rear arches on my e46. Decided against it as the car is probably only worth that.
I'm sure I could get a better quote than that but the bodyshop are top notch and I know it will be a pukka job eradicating all rust.

[thatdude]

Kettmark said:

I was quoted about £1400 + vat to do the 2 rear arches on my e46. Decided against it as the car is probably only worth that.
I'm sure I could get a better quote than that but the bodyshop are top notch and I know it will be a pukka job eradicating all rust.

It's not so much as what the car is worth, it's what the replacement car is worth

[dhutch]

I got the following done on my 330ci, because of arches and triggered by a falling roof tile!

- Two new front wings, painted off car.
- Both rear arches treated for rust.
- Rear pillar and boot lid filled and faired.
- Both sides of the car painted, inc trim/handles removal and painted.
- All four arches waxoyled before liners refited.

So basically full glass in repaint, excluding bumpers bonnet and roof.

For £600 cash.

The guy who did it usually re-sprays sprinter vans for export and it isn't a perfect concourse job, you crouch down and inspect the paint you can see small imperfections, the clear coat isn't quite factory finish in places. But equally the colour match is bang on three years on it look great, no rust or fading, and I would defy anyone to see anything wrong with it at 6ft. The pattern wings are almost criminally inexpensive and the fit is really very good, although again if you get close to the front corner where wing an bonnet meet the headlight if you know what your looking at you would know.

Helps the car is imola which is a non-metallic, but does show if you hunt around you can get a reasonable job, very cheaply, which suits the price point of these cars currently. If in ten years it's worth £20k, you would do it again and this time mop up the stone chips in the bonnet and bumper.


Daniel

[Touring442]

thatdude said:

It's not so much as what the car is worth, it's what the replacement car is worth

Or you could blow £1400 on an E46 only for the head gasket to st itself the following week. Or the dreaded creak from the back end as the N/S/R subframe mounting cracks, or...or.......

Secondhand £50 bootlid in the correct colour, grind that rust bleb out of the arch and paint some Kurust on there before some silver paint.

[Kettmark]

I've had the car for 16 years so it has sentimental value but it does have 246000 miles on the clock.
sods law i spend the £1400 doing the rear arches then the gearbox goes.. It something else.

[anonymous-user]

Mines an otherwise sound facelift b3s coupe so prefer to keep it original panel if i can

The hg done and the suspension all done with factory parts so it will easily do another 70k miles and its such a brilliant allrounder and rareish

Some food for thought above and for now it will likely have the remedial work done in october and i can

[kev b]

I am facing up to tackling the rear arches on my coupe, which were given a temporary weld and fill repair three years ago,

I could weld in an arch repair panel myself but afaik these are not available, meaning making two from scratch, which is way above my pay grade.

I have mates who can do amazing paintwork at mates rates but none who can custom make panels economically.

Just wondering why nobody makes a rear arch for a Coupe? There are thousands still about, many with rusty arches.

[Touring442]

Saloon ones will do - Coupe and Saloon bumpers are the same so the arch flare is identical. You just need to cut away the specific saloon bits and graft the repair section in.

[SixPotBelly]

thatdude said:

It's not so much as what the car is worth, it's what the replacement car is worth

Or what the replacement car costs you to put right.

My view is my E46 may not be worth as much as the cost of parts these days, but it's still worth repairing to me. If I bought another instead it would likely have a long list of things that needed doing and that I'd already done on mine. So I'll keep going, thinking what it cost to produce rather than what I could sell it for today. (Then, in 10-20 years' time when all the snotters have long been scrapped, step 3! mwahahaha)

Some of the figure mentioned here - £600, £750 - seem very reasonable if it's a permanent fix. I guess the unknown is how long until it comes back. I had a mobile scratch repair guy do the rear arches for significantly less on my previous E46, grinding out the visible rust, treating and repainting, but he warned me it wasn't as thorough as a bodyshop repair and it would come back in time. Sure enough, I could see it just starting to form again under the paint 3 years later when I sold it (I pointed it out to the buyers but they shrugged it off).

[kev b]

Thanks Touring, I have no excuse for putting it off any longer now!

[W201_190e]

Kettmark said:

I was quoted about £1400 + vat to do the 2 rear arches on my e46. Decided against it as the car is probably only worth that.
I'm sure I could get a better quote than that but the bodyshop are top notch and I know it will be a pukka job eradicating all rust.

That seems expensive, I was quoted £300 an arch by an expensive shop.