Corroded Rear Wheel Arches

Post Sat Jun 18, 2005 10:28 am

Can anyone help, please?

I've recently noticed rust bubbles on my rear arches, and have been told that new rear quarters are needed, at a cost of Ãƒ”šÃ‚£1500 per side!

Good as the rest of the car is, it is still probably only worth a couple of grand or so.

Can anyone suggest a cheaper sollution? Or should I just do as the bodyshop recommended and run it till it drops?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

John.

Post Sat Jun 18, 2005 10:38 am

if your were to replace the whole of the rear quaters, the strucutre of the car would be affect.

BMW supply replacement rear arches, which are used, think they cost around Ãƒ”šÃ‚£35 each

Post Sat Jun 18, 2005 10:39 am

I would have thought it must be more than just the rear arches if they are talking about whole 1/4 panels being replaced.

I know you can buy just the actual arches which would then need to be welded in etc. Am sure I have seen non-genuine ones retailing at about Ãƒ”šÃ‚£20 a side, obviously more for genuine BM panels.

Would perhaps try another bodyshop for a 2nd opinion as mine are shot and need new arches and I had a quote for Ãƒ”šÃ‚£500 which will basically entail a bottom end respray of the car and the rear including bootlid where i have a couple of scabs.

Hope that helps mate

Post Sat Jun 18, 2005 9:57 pm

Mine were rotting away, i bought 2 tubs of body filler, spent a week on my arse on the driveway, filling, sanding, sanding again, spraying and laquering, and they look quality...

Post Sat Jun 18, 2005 9:59 pm

have contemplated this myself ricco - only problem is my car is lachs silver so likely to be a bitch to match and i'm worried about going the filling route being a stop gap and having to do it again when it cracks after a winter

Post Sat Jun 18, 2005 10:30 pm

johns325ise wrote:new rear quarters are needed, at a cost of Ãƒ”šÃ‚£1500 per side!

FILLER!!

The only way to Kill the tin worm is to cut it out!

What are your inner arches like?

Replacement arches are available from Ãƒ”šÃ‚£25, I have replaced the nearside rear arch on my sport and both on a mates red 320..

If you have a compressor an airsaw and a mig welder go for it..

Post Sun Jun 19, 2005 10:55 am

Thanks guys.

I asked the bloke at the bodyshop about just doing the arches, and he said he didn't know of anyone who could supply them!? A mate suggested Euro Car Parts so I will explore that line, and also talk to my local BMW dealer.

As far as I can tell the inner arches are OK.

Regards,
John.

Post Sun Jun 26, 2005 11:58 am

I've spoken to my local BMW dealer, and they send all their body repairs to the bodyshop I went to originally.

BMW will only supply complete quarter panels (very reasonable price, Ãƒ”šÃ‚£100 per side, less BMWCC discount), but the killer is the labour cost.

I will be at Sharkfest in July so I will try to get some more advice/options there.

Regards,
John.

Post Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:08 pm

ive been quoted Ãƒ”šÃ‚£250 for a replacement of two rear arches and boot scabs and sprayed up, i agree, FILLER is a big no no, wouldnt be long before the bubbles came back!!!

Post Wed Jun 29, 2005 4:12 pm

I had both rear arches replaced, and two new front wings, plus a few other bits and pieces here and there, for Ãƒ”šÃ‚£1250 inc VAT. Local boy, been in business for 237 years, quality.

SAS Bodyshop, Gloucester, 01452 530192

No connection, etc etc

Mine's that metallic black colour.

Post Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:08 pm

just a heads up for people. on 2doors take off the rear interior card things and check the state of the inner arch bit. since mine have rusted there and i hit them with a dremel today and put some nice new holes in the car cos they were crusty as anything. going to be a real bitch to repair in the place that have rusted.

Post Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:26 pm

OK, im scared now. My car is in reasonable condition, with a near mint engine and gearbox, but the body has some rust issues. The underside of the car, on the drivers side, from the pedals, to the seat, is rusted badly in a line.

Then, there is the rear quarter

The car has had a hit in the side, and has been filled. They have filled a hole about 1 foot squared in the quarter panel on the drivers side, and now its starting to bubble. I saw that, and got a mate to sand it back, and spray it with epoxy. The thing is the rust is comming out of the bog, not the metal. Its quite weird looking. It is bogged right through, and there is no metal in it at all, but there is still rust comming out of the centre of it, where its all bog, but no rust at the join where the bog joins the metal. Could it be that its maybe not even rust? Maybe the filler turning or something? It seriously isnt metal, and is about 4 inches away from any metal at all, but is bubbling.

Post Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:29 pm

cut out the rusty outer arch, then fabricate a new inner arch, weld in place, then weld the new outer arch on, prep and spray up,
i`m doing mine myself along with full respray

Post Thu Jun 30, 2005 9:32 am

hey the replacement arches from bmw are they the outer arch cause one of mine is very bad.....does anyone ahve a pic of them

Post Thu Jun 30, 2005 10:50 am

jimmyg_e30 wrote:hey the replacement arches from bmw are they the outer arch cause one of mine is very bad.....does anyone ahve a pic of them

BMW cannot supply an outer arch repair panel, they can only supply a complete rear 1/4 panel.

BMW can supply the inner arch though.

Cheers,

Ian.

Post Thu Jun 30, 2005 1:39 pm

ian332isport wrote:
jimmyg_e30 wrote:hey the replacement arches from bmw are they the outer arch cause one of mine is very bad.....does anyone ahve a pic of them
BMW cannot supply an outer arch repair panel, they can only supply a complete rear 1/4 panel.

BMW can supply the inner arch though.

Cheers,

Ian.

Ian do u mind posting some pics of ure car all done and any in progress pics would be great...

Post Thu Jun 30, 2005 1:42 pm

Karan wrote: Ian do u mind posting some pics of ure car all done and any in progress pics would be great...

Hi Karan,

I finally get it back on Monday, so will take some piccies on my shiny new Camera.

I can't believe how little I have actually had it this year, but she's looking very nice now

Cheers,

Ian.

Post Thu Jun 30, 2005 3:15 pm

dsio, before the car was repaired did the damage look like this?

Ive been quoted about Ãƒ”šÃ‚£400-Ãƒ”šÃ‚£500 to push it out and fill etc.

Adam

Post Thu Jun 30, 2005 10:42 pm

BMW only supply complete 1/4 panels, but there's nothing to stop you trimming it down to the bit you want.

Guest · Post Thu Jun 30, 2005 10:58 pm

Rust is such a killer in older cars! If you do repair the rear arches chances are it will appear in another place soon. Once it comes up of it's own accord i.e not through damage. It is pretty much there for good! A never ending battle with rust. The best thing to do is what I do when rust appears, cut it out back to good metal, weld in and shape mild steel plate, then lead fill over it. cheaper to do that rather than a whole rear quarter replacement!

good luck with it though mate! Us old skool car owners have to fight regularly with the mighty tin worm! But it's worth it.

Post Fri Jul 01, 2005 6:20 pm

Adam318i wrote:dsio, before the car was repaired did the damage look like this?

Ive been quoted about Ãƒ”šÃ‚£400-Ãƒ”šÃ‚£500 to push it out and fill etc.

Adam

I cant say mate, because the previous owner did all the damage. There are fragments of three different colours of paint on the chrome bumpers of my E30, and none of them are the same as my card lol.

The side of this car is quite amazing. The exterior has several bulges, Ive been told that they are maybe not rust, but are "blisters" instead. I checked the inside of it, and its quite amazing. It looks like someone has welded a square panel into the side (looking from the inside).

The panel, and all the surrounding area, is perfect. It is seamless, and it has a white powder coat on it, with absolutely no blemishes. To the right of the panel there are a few spot welds (not sure what they are) but they are still clean, with no rust.

I can get welding done F.O.C. so I may be doing that. Ive got a crack rusted into the floor forward of the driver's seat thats about 5 inches long and half an inch wide, but its under the pedals, not the seat. I can get that done. The other problem area is the rear right hand bottom corner of the boot, which is rusted right through (its below the bumper line). It going to grind it, give it a coat of rust converter and fisholine, then get a piece welded in.

Ive been told that rust is almost always an inside out affair, and that if bad rust is on the outside, then the inside is uaually bad, but since the inside of my rear quarter is perfect, the rust cant be as bad as it looks.