Are all E46's rusty ?

[Ford 2]

http://cars.donedeal.ie/view/7481389
02 BMW 320D 2.0 DIESEL NCT 07/15

Went to look at the above today, I'm comming back lads so yes 46's, I'll be going coilovers, wheels and csl bumper etc but after looking at cars one thing is showing true, there all rust bags. What is the problem, archs, door bottoms, boot etc. are all e46's like this ? Only reason it's my first choice is I need diesel basically but if this is the trend I'll be forced back into a 36 and to make matters worse there's an amazing 4 door one gone up so I ask ye people help, I have 14 days ( passats tax runs out ) to find one, is there any 150 46's out there not rusting etc for upwards of 2500 or a tiny bit more ?

[listermint]

to answer your question. no not all of them are rusty. But was it a serious question.

It really depends on the cars life and location.

[Gar]

The red e46 i have outside has zero yes zero rust not one spec it could be down to the mileage or the fact its an original irish car but theres not a single spec of rust

The e39 on the other hand :-(

Thats not to say i haven't seen rusty e46's but iv also seen rotten right through e36's

[Peter-E36]

I didn't realise this was much of an issue for e46s at all to be honest, but then again I've never been in the market for one.

[Paddy]

Arches are known for rusting, so if there's no rust then it's possible the wings have been changed or rears have had work done. Fair enough not ALL will rust, but the way they were designed, water will sit in on the inside lip of outer arch and rot away nicely. Mine were nice and clean, with no spots and within a few months of that shitty winter in 2010, they were riddled.

[Ford 2]

I can't believe it.. I've not seen one that hasn't had it starting on either archs front or back or the bottom of the doors, the sills etc. Is it bad metal ? not all wear English cars. Is it a case of it may happen in the future and I'll just have to budget to fix it. I'm already on the fence about buying one . I'm starting to think am I just not spending enough. ? Thought 2500 was loads for a standard car, won't need a sport as I plan on doing my own thing. Or will I lump it, leave diesel behind, go back to what I know and just put up with it

[HealyC]

Have two at home, both with not one bit of rust. See loads of them on a daily basis and tbh I don't see much on them unless there a heap of sh!t.

[Don B]

Might be because you're looking at high miler earlier cars?

[John_D]

Early cars will suffer rust issues, later cars I think 03 onwards had a different rust treatment in the factory. Galvanised or something so rust is much less prevalent.
Mine is 2000 and unfortunately being a uk import has suffered its fair share of rust issues.

Common spots are front and rear arches(fronts moreso)
Door jambs below sill kick plates , rear panel below bootlid. Bootlid around handle. Bottom of battery box.
Front of sills below wings.

Rear arch rust is preventable IMO if you clean inside the lips regularly. I am disappointed at how much rust I've had to deal with, I expected better from a quality manufacturer tbh.

[Don B]

That makes sense John..mines an 02 Uk import (by me) and the compact
is an 04 Uk import. Mine is showing a small patch on drivers rear arch (which
I've been trying to get quotes for) and the compact doesn't have any signs
thankfully (from my thorough inspection ) Only on about 60k miles though