When did rust stop being a problem?

[Jazzbass 1]

I can remember seeing 2002s almost totally rusted away, but looking around (as I'm sure we all do) at used BMWs I see on the road, I haven't seen a rusted BMW for yonks. The old E30s I see around are mostly in excellent condition - except where some young lunatic has got hold of one and done unspeakable atrocities to it.

Even Japanese cars seem to not rust these days and I'm certainly old enough to know that they often showed rust in 18 months from new.

When did the rust problem go away and what did they do to make it so?

Edited August 14, 2006 by Jazzbass

[Guest Spargo]

I can remember seeing 2002s almost totally rusted away, but looking around (as I'm sure we all do) at used BMWs I see on the road, I haven't seen a rusted BMW for yonks. The old E30s I see around are mostly in excellent condition - except where some young lunatic has got hold of one and done unspeakable atrocities to it.

Even Japanese cars seem to not rust these days and I'm certainly old enough to know that they often showed rust in 18 months from new.

When did the rust problem go away and what did they do to make it so?

All E30's have rust.

Better galvanising techniques, better weather proofing with rubber etc, better water management so it can't pool anywhere and hide away, undersealing of chassis to prevent the bottom from rusting.

[325GRANT 0]

walk up to the next mint looking E30 you see, pop the bonnet and pull off all the "rubbery crap" thats behind the fuse box and have a look. ok so maybe the E30 owner isnt going to let you pull his car to bits, but trust me its there.... and lots of it ...

if you have wet carpet in your E30 and cant find any rust, pull out your dash and look on the inside where this "rubbery crap" is, im betting you will find rust. water gets in behind it (rubbery crap) and cant drain so it eats its way out leaving behind a lovely hole. sometimes it eats into the vent part and from thereand then into the car causing an even bigger mess.

would be an interesting survey to find how many E30 owners have wet carpet after rain.

Edited August 14, 2006 by 325GRANT

[petone 0]

walk up to the next mint looking E30 you see, pop the bonnet and pull off all the "rubbery crap" thats behind the fuse box and have a look. ok so maybe the E30 owner isnt going to let you pull his car to bits, but trust me its there.... and lots of it ...

if you have wet carpet in your E30 and cant find any rust, pull out your dash and look on the inside where this "rubbery crap" is, im betting you will find rust. water gets in behind it (rubbery crap) and cant drain so it eats its way out leaving behind a lovely hole. sometimes it eats into the vent part and from thereand then into the car causing an even bigger mess.

would be an interesting survey to find how many E30 owners have wet carpet after rain.

I have no carpet. I have a 2 pools of water in the rear foot wells after a big rain. I cant f**king find the leak. There are no signs of water running from the dash or anything. All sunroof drains have been cleaned and seem to be draining properly. The front firewall drain had been cleaned. Must be coming from the boot, any other ideas?

/Thread hijack

Being a broke student and having broke student mates I still see alot of rusty old cars around.

[325GRANT 0]

next time its going to rain, dry the floor and tape (use duct tape) over the black vents under the window wipers. check the car the next day and if its dry youll know the problem is in there .... . out comes the dash.

[bravo 34]

Sorry Sam but my 320 had NO rust.None behind firewall "rubber" lining, none in shock towers, none behind door trims, none behind door mirrors, none in boot, none by rear tail lights. None. But it was a "garaged all its life rarity".

Partly why I got the price I did when I sold it - naysayers be damned - you know who you are

That said, every other e30 I've seen has it including my new one.

Edited August 14, 2006 by bravomikewhiskey

[StylesM5 0]

would be an interesting survey to find how many E30 owners have wet carpet after rain.

Mine doesn't, mind you it's parked in the garage

[Gus 5]

thanks for bringing that up jock

my new one used to be a submarine im sure!

[kerrynzl 3]

I can remember seeing 2002s almost totally rusted away, but looking around (as I'm sure we all do) at used BMWs I see on the road, I haven't seen a rusted BMW for yonks. The old E30s I see around are mostly in excellent condition - except where some young lunatic has got hold of one and done unspeakable atrocities to it.

Even Japanese cars seem to not rust these days and I'm certainly old enough to know that they often showed rust in 18 months from new.

When did the rust problem go away and what did they do to make it so?

Rust became a warrantable item a few years ago, so now most owners fix their cars for a WOF before their cars get totally Biodegradable

[OLLIE 26]

I have no carpet. I have a 2 pools of water in the rear foot wells after a big rain. I cant f**king find the leak. There are no signs of water running from the dash or anything. All sunroof drains have been cleaned and seem to be draining properly. The front firewall drain had been cleaned. Must be coming from the boot, any other ideas?

IT IS COMING FROM THE REAR WINDSCREEN

i have the same problem and haven't got around to resealing the windscreen yet

[nz320i 0]

I have a spot which im really worried about its the bottom corner of the door (drivers) which must be hitting the chassis when its closed,

And yesterday i found my carpet under the passenger side matt absolutley soaked, but it wasnt like this when i took my old carpet out a while ago, i didnt use matts then either, BUT one of the rubber bits of the heater wasnt on properly on the left side, would this have been a cause of this much water?? Water is really clean.. and there arent signs of it running down from the top of the dash?

Help!!

[Silver Fox 43]

Maybe, but check this thread, and if needed, take out the glovebox and see if you can see anything in behind it on the firewall.

http://www.bimmersport.co.nz/forums/index.php?showtopic=7122

[Jazzbass 1]

Wow! There ya go - can't judge a book by its cover. I never knew that about E30s. They all look so tidy. Always learning!

[E30_318i 0]

My E30 had no rust in it, but I think the E34s were the ones to break the trend, even tho mine has rust in the firewall.

edit: No too sure what the E28s are like, but E32s seem to suffer the same as E30s.

[kiwi535 538]

I am pretty sure that e34s are galvanised to a large degree.And as far as I know my car is totally leak free.My 1986 ST151 Toyota Corona had some rust problems,i think the next toyota models were seriously rust proofed

[ThreeOneEight 0]

My FL 1988 318i had only a minor bit of surface sunroof rust, and the only time it leaked was when Smith and smith failed to seal my windscreen. Once again, though, a 'garaged all its life' car. That said, my parents bought a Pre FL 320i new in 1987, owned it until 2003, and in that time only covered 72,000km, garaged of course. It still had rust, regardless. Pre FL seems to get the rust worse, not sure why?

[Gus 5]

FL had better rust-proofing...something is better than nothing!

TBH all preFL i have seen have been rusty no matter how mint they look...would be very sceptical of a 'rust free' one

doesnt mean rust is bad..cheap CSL mod