Its Official. E39's rust!!!

[B7]

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/662053.htm

I have never seen an e34 need the same work.

[bss325i]

I saw an E46 coupe with rusty rear arch the other day at work. It had had a previous poor repair.

[beardymat]

yeah thats what i thought, that or unrepaired damage from a kerb scraping incident which was left like some kind of festering wound.

[Andyboy]

The rear of the sill is one of the most common areas for E34's to rot. I've had two that needed welding there, one was a K plate and the other was a G. E34's also rot under the fuel filler flap, the crossmember under the radiator and front lifting pads.
E39's generally dont rust but Tourings rust on the tailgate and the battery tray in the boot if neglected.
E46's are known to rust on the rear arch to sill joint, the infill panel behind the front wing where it meets the sill and the front arches rot on Coupes and Convertibles.
Thing is, 1996 is an old car now. Go back 20 years to 1988 and a 12 year old car was a 1976 E12/Cortina/FD Victor with the sills falling off - if you could find one that was still on the road.

Early E39's - if in decent condition - are looking like a lot of car for the money now. I've seen a couple of leggy P-R reg ones at auction for under a grand and even a clothed up 520i manual is a pleasant thing to punt around.

[BadDave]

The touring tailgates tend to be prone to the brown rot as well

[B7]

yeah thats what i thought, that or unrepaired damage from a kerb scraping incident which was left like some kind of festering wound.

Good point the only e34 I've seen that are scabby have been shite repairs. But I've not yet seen one welded personally. The e39 sills are a bit prone to scraping.

[darkchild]

When I was looking for an E39 last year I came across a couple of examples with a bit of tin worm. One had a scabby front wing which looks like it was caused by a poor quality accident repair and the other had a rotten bootlid.

Good point the only e34 I've seen that are scabby have been shite repairs. But I've not yet seen one welded personally.

E34's are ridiculous, they're built like Fort Knox. My Dad's Touring has had the sills welded though. Probably due to being covered in mud for 15 years!

[DanThe]

E34 skirts hold lots of mud, ive only ever seen rotten sills on early cars, wings are a popular rust spot though. My E34 touring has more rust on the roof (from stone chips) than the sills.
Rusty E39 tailgates are common

[Simon13]

e46's rust behind the arch lip on the front wings where the splash guards rub on the wing!

I'm glad E30's don't suffer from these rust issues though

[Simon]

Rust on an E34..



In China by now..

[gazm3]

Small speck on my E39 tailgate has appeared

[B7]

Rust on an E34..



In China by now..

]

Thats classic pisspoor windscreen replacement damage.

[Alex]

I saw an E46 coupe with rusty rear arch the other day at work. It had had a previous poor repair.

my dads old e46, which his mother in law now has is rusty as hell its a 323i 1999 rusty arches rusty bonnet and 250,000 miles on original engine and two owners from new

its a lovely car mind you topaz blue with cream leather

[georgen]

There's an E39 touring up here with an absoloutly rotten tailgate. Looks terrible !!

[Alex]

i seen a 523i p reg yesterday and the boot was coverd in the R word !!!!

[james318i]

my e39 touring went round the rear arch , rest was perfect though so i reckon it had been repaired at some point , massive amount of car for the £800 i gave at auction though , just juicy