Rusty Door Bottoms

[MrTeeThyme]

I've been looking to purchase an E34 and almost everyone I've seen has a lot of rust along the bottomm edge of the doors. Is this normal for the E34s or am I having a run of bad luck looking? Will it cost a lot to have that rust repaired? Should I accept it or keep looking?

Thanks.

[e34525bimmer]

i think it might be bad luck kinda thing, i looked at a couple before i got mine and they are all clean of door rust, mostly any rust at that.

[ross1]

A common condition in the rust belt. Still a few survivors but after at least 13 years on salted roads...... Better resistance than most though, have a look at similar age Japanese or domestic, for that matter a late '80s or early '90s Benz.
Desert cars are great as far as rust goes but the interiors are generally shot. California cars usually have a zillion miles.
Pick your poison.

[mrsharp]

Every single e34 I've ever seen has rust on the inside bottom of the doors. I'm just grinding and filling mine. Should last a few years

[Sixdown]

My e34 had zero rust outside of a small bubble on the rocker panel, and mine was originally from Philadelphia. I've seen a couple of e34's with no rust at all.

[4500 RPM]

Mine has no rust but it's a SC/GA car going into its third (mild) winter.

[DIL]

Welcome to the club. In MN, an E34 without door rust is a real treat. I sprayed the insides of the bottoms of my doors with lithium grease to help slow the cancer. Cheesy IMO, but it was that vs POR 15.

Door rust in itself is not a reason to pass a decently priced E34 up.

[cssari]

Yeah this weird,my 95' in perfect shape have rust on both side!My previus 94'(wasn't in good shape have zero rust!!Both car originaly from new yersey area!

[TouringDan]

Florida/Georgia car here and I've got some teeny bubbles on my 2 fronts. It's very, very common and a result of the shoddy design of the lower trim. The trim pieces actually catch and hold water in there....

[Shuasha]

I bought a rear wrecked 525iT primarily just for the doors. The car is from Cali and the body is completely rust free. Most of the undercarriage is like new too. I'm putting the doors/fenders on my wagon when I get it painted.

[black535]

I found clean doors, sandblasted the bottoms anyway, heavily epoxy primed then painted and left the lower trims off. No one notices or cares for that matter.

[sachmo12345]

That is the only spot my car has any rust.

[hot323i]

My passenger side rear door has rust. All the others are pristine.

[Vegas e30/e34]

" I bought a rear wrecked 525iT primarily just for the doors. The car is from Cali and the body is completely rust free. Most of the undercarriage is like new too. I'm putting the doors/fenders on my wagon when I get it painted."

Thats a great idea however, what do you think you will do to you car if you ever sell it?

Most prospective BMW buyers will promptly check the VIN stickers to match.. Then you will have to explain that your car has rust and they will wonder wow i wonder how much rust or was this car in an accident..

Sorry, i just thought about that when I read it..

[Gregs///M]

Buy a car from CA. I rarely see rust on any car, even classic cars.

[Shuasha]

" I bought a rear wrecked 525iT primarily just for the doors. The car is from Cali and the body is completely rust free. Most of the undercarriage is like new too. I'm putting the doors/fenders on my wagon when I get it painted."

Thats a great idea however, what do you think you will do to you car if you ever sell it?

Most prospective BMW buyers will promptly check the VIN stickers to match.. Then you will have to explain that your car has rust and they will wonder wow i wonder how much rust or was this car in an accident..

Sorry, i just thought about that when I read it..
LMFAO

First off, I don't plan on selling anything..

Second, who goes around checking VIN's on a 4k, 15+ year old car? It's already highly modified and I would explain everything to any potential buyer anyway. These are not collector cars.

[Lord DRIFT]

Yeah this weird,my 95' in perfect shape have rust on both side!My previus 94'(wasn't in good shape have zero rust!!Both car originaly from new yersey area!

same:(

[ebuendia]

Still, how does one go about fixing very slight rust? My '95 540i has very minimal rust which is just starting to show: may I hold it back for a a few years?

[kalevera]

Read this thread:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=964254

[4500 RPM]

Second, who goes around checking VIN's on a 4k, 15+ year old car? It's already highly modified and I would explain everything to any potential buyer anyway. These are not collector cars.

Thank you! Nobody gives a shit on a 15-year-old E34. :rofl

[Mendi3]

Mine had the same problem on the front passenger door. I took the moulding off and I did not like what I saw. This made me take off all the other ones off and I found a little bit of rust on all the other doors. It looks like just started on all other three doors. :eyecrazy

I sanded down and used a rust remover, primer and paint. I tried to reuse the same mouldings but I was not able to as they were pretty much gone. Once you take them out, they bend. So I called around to find out prices. To my surprise, I was able to find them at the dealer. Since mine has the M package, the mouldings are different than the regular ones and the "stealer" wanted like $400 for the set of four. :nono

After three months of looking around for a wrecked car, I found one in Sacramento "rust free". I bought the moulding trim, had them paint and now is in my car. The shop that did the work, installed the mouldings and used sealant to prevent water coming in. Let's hope it stays this way.:)