[///MZ]

I've been hearing mixed things... on one hand I thought that BMWs were coated and protected at the factory. But BMW Mississauga is trying to sell me on a 1200$ rust proofing package.

Is this just a cash grab on their end or should I actually be rust proofing? I would probably go with Krown if necessary, I'm not paying 1200$. Thanks for your replies.

[jadnashuanh]

Have you read the BMW rust warranty?

IMHO, additional rustproofing is a big waste of money.

[///MZ]

Originally Posted by jadnashuanh

Have you read the BMW rust warranty?

IMHO, additional rustproofing is a big waste of money.

Thanks, that was my impression as well, but they have been trying to get me to buy the package. I just assumed it was a cash grab.

[Musashi]

Originally Posted by ///MZ

Thanks, that was my impression as well, but they have been trying to get me to buy the package. I just assumed it was a cash grab.

Like most other members here, my initial view is that I do not need to do it on my new vehicle; it is a BMW right? I was wrong, and careful explanations made me understand what is going on.

Spent an hour hearing Patrick Farray (http://www.fari.ca) discuss rustproofing. he charges $ 350+tax for a 335i xDrive MSport due to the requirements of opening the aerodynamic cover. His work is BMW warranty compliant, and both Ottawa BMW dealerships recommend him for rustproofing.

NO HOLES. NO POLYMER OR RUBBER-STRETCHING COMPOUND.

Patrick has travelled to every major European and North American factory, including Munich, and is a luxury segment rustproofing expert. Patrick indeed agrees with everyone arguing that BMW's are built to last and do not rust- but that is for the frame, treated, and not the subframe and engine/sub chassis and lines. It is the linkages and lines that corrode. Interesting, it is not road grime that gets them wet (plastic preventing that) but the road moisture and evaporation, and bits of salt, sipping through and just enveloping the undercarriage. Or, it is this very undercarriage that is not protected (in the factory videos it is the bottom part on which the frame is dropped in the 'merging' sequence.

What does it mean? Patrick points out that the line rust, e.g. brake lines, are $1500+ for a line failure and, item by item, pass year 5, the bottom of the chassis would require normal, routine repairs worth thousands of $. Although, indeed, most metal components in BMWs are zinc coated, ZINC COATING IS ALWAYS RATED AT HUNDREDS/THOUSANDS OF HOURS of exposure and NO more. This does not mean that the car is to be driven thousands of hours, but just SIT thousands of hours while moist in this brew. At 24 hrs, that is 166 days or less than two Canadian winters in a moist wet damp environment...

What Patrick does is remove the plastic - a lengthy process, then systematically treats the body and bottom of doors with the no-drip formula. His base rate of $150 is so high precisely due to the time requirements for a BMW. He will spend as much as 5 hrs on any such car, Audi, BMW Porsche etc and his $350 rate will not increase just because he found problems.

Once done, the plastic aero film is reapplied, and the bottom of the car is fully protected. Most specialized garages working on out of warranty BMWs tell that Farray's work is good for at least 2-3 years per application- although he says yearly remains a good option. The street moisture, crazy fluoride based salts etc does not deposit itself on the treated surface, and, best of all, the aerodynamic film PREVENTS THE SHEAR REMOVAL OF THE APPLICATION.

It is the very aerodynamic film that, according to Patrick, accelerates the rusting on luxury vehicles as once the moisture is in, even on drier days, the very film prevents the undercarriage from being ventilated and dried out… think of an unvented, moist metro entrance, always smelling wet and moist even on cold days… A condensation box.

Perhaps this begs the question, why does BMW not do this at factory? Unsure, a question for them.

Patrick is almost compulsive about documenting each vehicle, and proving he leaves it in a better state than he found it. Best of all, he proves, without a doubt, that expensive vehicle components, whether Porsche or BMW or Audi, are corroded aggressively by these substances.

I, in my ignorance, used to think “Hey, if I get a Porshe and drive it in winter, no rust, as it is aluminum..” How about the carbon fibre i8?

Yes, in these two cars the body and frame will not rust, but the undercarriage will rot even worse due to the film. Even on the beautiful i8 which one would normally not even dream of driving in winter as it is RWD, but will still retain water and muck from 3 seasons worth of water.

His argument? Over 10 years someone may spend 3000$ on the undercarriage rustproofing, but $3000 + thousands more in repairs (starting years 4-5). Patrick, who saw the assembly treatment lines in Europe, told me that, ideally, the manufacturer would bathe, dip and treat the entire vehicle but they cannot for two reasons; would seal the undercarriage to the point of inability to loosen components for repairs, and, quite frankly, it is way more cheaper and profitable for the manufacturer to ship parts- the very thing they make money on more than anything.

Another bit: Patrick stated that every Germany-made car has a far superior finish than the North American/S African one. Yes, the whole 120mu bit and the USA factory clip, that job is inferior to the ‘Germany’ one.

Why are the frames so well treated? Practical perfectionism: nothing destroys the body aesthetics of a car like evident rust spots. Solution: make the frame almost bulletproof unless exposed to an accident.

Finally, for all those still not believing this, Patrick has an impressive database of Before and After pics, exposing how vehicles from X Z 911, Lambos, Bentleys etc just corrode in the seemingly most protected area, and why that accounts for a lot of the expensive leakages and repairs in the 5+ year mark.




M