RE: [bmw] Corrosion and the E36...

["Roy T. Collins" <RTC@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Corrosion in the north is definatly a real concern.  I have had 2 BMWs in my
life.  One was an '84 that I had when I lived out West. I moved up into the
great artic tundra of Minnesota about 8 years ago.  The '84 was rust free for
the 11 years it was in a dry salt free climat.  I moved the car out to
Minnesota with me and now it is rusting all over the place.  In Minnesota we
see lots of snow and they use large quantites of salt on the road.  I try to
wash my car every 2 weeks to keep the salt off as much as possible.  I also
wax the car and touch up paint dents at least once a year.  Yet no matter what
you do if  you drive your car in the winter it is inevitably going to rust.
The salt will eat through anything. My '96 E36, which has been a midwest car
entirely, looks rust free but the underside of the car is starting to rust.  I
had the rear springs snap which I think was due to rust.  The springs were
very brittle and the protective paint coating had worn off from use and rust
was everywhere on the springs.   Even the control arms are starting to show
some rust and I am planning on replacing them this summer.  To make a long
story short, if a car has been driven in a few Minnesota winters it is going
to have corrosion. It might look good from a simple glance but get underneath
the car to be sure.  On that note what is the best way to prevent rust damage?
I washing the salt off the best course of action?  Underbody sprays, the tar
stuff, are done here too but even that doesn't seem to stop the rust.  Anyone
have any insightful ideas to combat rust?  I guess the best solution is just
dont drive in the winter.

Roy Collins

'84 528e  rusting everywhere
'96 328i  dificult to see rust...but still there

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Jones [mailto:mike.mary@domain.elided]
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2003 12:36 PM
To: bmw-digest@domain.elided
Subject: [bmw] Corrosion and the E36...


Hello List:

Yet another E36 question...

I've been looking and looking at a particular 1997 M3/4 (5 speed) which
is located in the Northern portion of the US. I wasn't really thinking
about corrosion being an issue, but somebody mentioned that could be a
concern considering the salt used on the roads during the winter. The
winters where I'm located aren't all that harsh and are usually short
and gravel is the only thing put down on the roads.  I had a
pre-purchase inspection done (long distance purchase) and the mechanic
didn't say anything about any rust spots or corrosion.

I've hard that  BMW uses an excellent form of corrosion proofing and
shouldn't be worried or should I...

Anyway, thanks for any and all information.

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Best regards,
 Mike                            mailto:mike.mary@domain.elided
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