Sunroof corrosion?

[BMWdriver]

I'm going to view a E30 Sport which notes "sunroof corrosion" within the ad, the car otherwise looks smart and rust free.

Should I be overly concerned about sunroof rust, where are the weak points? It will also not open so could this be a car killer, expensive to fit, or just a minor irritation?

[daimlerman]

Sunroof tray was spotwelded to the car's roof before painting....so it is almost inevitable that some bits were missed....

Proper fix is a replacement roof skin,a job for a skilled bodyman.

If,on examination,it is 'just' the roof lid that is rusty and not the roof skin around the sides and rear of the lid,the repair is very much easier and is DIYable.

Roof not opening is probably initially a sticky wind seal,that in the case of an electric lid,could have caused further damage to the motor/gearbox/drive cables.
All fixable,but fiddly to get at.

[Topblag]

Get the headlining down at the sides so you can get a look at the roof. Any roof rot, especially in the sunroof cassette and you are in trouble. I don't believe you can buy replace cassettes.

[BMWdriver]

If the car otherwise looks good, and the seller agrees, I'll have it inspected at Munich Legions as they seem to know their stuff.

[harry_p]

it depends whether it's on the sunroof itself, which is a reletively cheap fix, or in the suroof surround / try, in which case any corrosion will have spread along the gap between tray and roof skin, the only proper long term cure for which is a complete new roof skin.

[BMWdriver]

The seller seemed very honest and even sent me a couple of images to show the issue.

[pacerpete]

The seller seemed very honest and even sent me a couple of images to show the issue.

The rust pics do not work !


On most E30s, roof rust = frag

An easy test is to tap the headlining with your hand, the sound of cornflakes rustling is actually rust that was once the roof

[Brianmoooore]

BMW underestimated the amount of condensation that British weather would produce on the underside of the sunroof hatch, and didn't apply enough rust proofing to the panel.
The rust in your first pic. is typical of the results, and is nothing to worry about in itself, other than you need a new panel. I can't tell whether the rust in the second pic. is on the roof or the hatch, but as long as it too is on the hatch, still nothing to worry about.
The presence of rust on the hatch doesn't make it any more or less likely that there is rust in the support tray, so if you don't check, that's one you'll have to gamble on.

[BMWdriver]

Thanks for the feedback, I'm hoping the rust is confined to the hatch.

The current owner has spend several thousand on repairs to the body work with receipts to show that work was conducted by a professional classic body-shop, so surprised he failed to sort the roof.

[polsta]

looking at the bottom central area of the pic, it looks to be like blobs of touch up paint there on the actual roof skin , if it is- who knows what its like underneath and in the cassette

[polsta]

The current owner has spend several thousand on repairs to the body work with receipts to show that work was conducted by a professional classic body-shop, so surprised he failed to sort the roof.

ask what work exactly ... that little rust bit aside- looking at the sunroof paint there looks scratched right up and sh!ite, makes you wonder...

what car is it and how much ? post the link up and people here (pacer pete especialy) will give you thoughts...

[BMWdriver]

The car disappeared on ebay, and reappeared at 750 less than the initial asking price.

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... 989/903494

It's been around for quite some time.

[Rtaylor2208]

This is familar, I have a feeling it was advertised on the zone about a year ago.

[BMWdriver]

Do you have a link, its 300+ miles from home so you could save me a big trip. Cheers.

[polsta]

4 bags with roof issues and an under kit/carpet gamble ..pass !! Have patience ,better ones come up

[BMWdriver]

The paper work shows that its had new a bonnet, wings, rear arches so all the main panels have been worked. The underside pics show corrosion tho

[polsta]

what about the floor ? these can have big floor issues and bulkhead, ideally dash,carpet,kit need to come off , find meatballs thread- he paid £4500 (i think) for one, and a "little look and tidy up" turned in to a lot of work, in that sort of range its probably best to get £5k sat ready and waiting to pounce- and wait for a nice known one to come up on here and be patient - wings and bonnet are minor bolt on bits - its bulkhead,roof,floor,rear panel,inner arches,inner sills, etc are the major areas..

[BMWdriver]

Thanks polsta, I know that the costs of repairs can soon become eye watering, turning a fun car into pain. I will wait and see what comes up, I have a daily driver so have no urgent need to rush

[polsta]

only offering my thought its no worries, it may be a nice car, youd only know by going for a look and getting it looked at properly, but just be patient and keep looking all the time and reading lots on here

best thing to do, make a cup of tea and a couple of free hours...and go through the photogallery section, page after page looking through the threads, there are a lot of threads showing all sorts of cars and restorations and projects etc, youl soon start to get a feeling for the issues that can be found on seemingly "nice" cars

[stew72]

looking at the bottom central area of the pic, it looks to be like blobs of touch up paint there on the actual roof skin , if it is- who knows what its like underneath and in the cassette

looks more like water marks to me.

On many cars with steel sunroofs you get corrosion on the sunroof panel and more so than on the roof. My theory is that there is less airflow under the panel as the inner trim normally seals the area underneath therefore not allowing any condensation to clear as well as any under the outer skin where the headlining leaves a bigger air gap.

[polsta]

might well be, the mark i thought may be paint was the one direct down from the coin