Rust already?!

[truman_greg]

So I just purchased my X5 4.4 sport about 3 weeks ago. I thought I did all my homework on it - I'm meticulous about taking care of my vehicles. I looked it over, inside and out. Well, I noticed the other day a quarter-sized spot of rust on the inside tailgate, only visible when lifting the spring-loaded plastic cover. I gasped, then immediately sanded it down to bare metal. Keep in mind, I have a ton of tools, but am not handy. So, I thought I could just leave it as-is, but tiny specks of rust started to come back. Maybe I didn't sand it down all the way like I thought.

To make a long story short, I took it to a dealer, and they pointed out that the rear bumped had been sprayed, and that BMW will not cover any rust repair under warranty, even though the rust is appearing on a different body panel than was sprayed. Since the original owner lived in downtown Chicago, I figured there was paint chips on the rear bumper due to normal parallel parking, and he must have had them sprayed. Finding out that the bumper had been sprayed upset me a little, as it fooled me when making my purchase - I had the dealership check to see if it was in an accident, and they said undoubtedly, no.

So, I plan on having the inside only of the lower tailgate sanded and repainted on Tuesday morning for $380, unless the idea is rediculous. What do you guys think?

Sorry for the poor quality pics:

[dkl]

I don't quite understand why BMW would deny you on the rust warranty. The warranty on rust is supposed to be covered for 12 years or something in that neighborhood?

[JohnD]

I had the same problem with them refusing to cover the rust on the inside seam of my 1999 328is a few years back. They said the fender had been repainted and therefore would cover the hood rust, which was on the opposite side and have never been repainted. After several go arounds with the local dealer, their bodyshop and BMW NA, I finally wrote a letter to the owner of the dealership letting him know what was going on and that I would share my experience on all the BMW boards, and who ever else would listen - they ended up repairing it for free.

The only problem with yours is you tried sanding it down - now they have no way of telling if it was a scratch, or if you had rust.

[Scott in Cincy]

Originally Posted by dkl

I don't quite understand why BMW would deny you on the rust warranty. The warranty on rust is supposed to be covered for 12 years or something in that neighborhood?

I think that's for something like rust THROUGH not surface rust. It looks like this is surface rust. if it were me, take what you sanded down, go to an Auto Parts store, buy some rattle-can primer, rattle can paint, mask off the area, and touch it up.

If you do a decent job, it should match fairly closely. Given the area that it's in NO ONE will notice it but you. I'd try that before I spent 380 bux. Use a wire brush to make sure you get all of the rust in the "craters" though.

[motordavid]

Originally Posted by Scott in Cincy

I think that's for something like rust THROUGH not surface rust. It looks like this is surface rust. if it were me, take what you sanded down, go to an Auto Parts store, buy some rattle-can primer, rattle can paint, mask off the area, and touch it up.

If you do a decent job, it should match fairly closely. Given the area that it's in NO ONE will notice it but you. I'd try that before I spent 380 bux. Use a wire brush to make sure you get all of the rust in the "craters" though.

...

I have a few touches of surface rust along the crimped/welded
edges of my drop down gate, on the painted surfaces. Even
though I am fairly meticulous about wiping all areas down after
washing, rain and some moisture are bound to get in the liftgate/tailgate
area, unless one lives in the Mohave desert.

Touch it up, forget about it, and enjoy the car.
GL,mD

[JayX5]

I would just sand it again, use some primer and then touch it up with paint.

[truman_greg]

Guys, thanks for all the replies. While I agree that it should be under warranty, because the spot is hidden and the fix is somewhat low, I'm going to just have it fixed. I've sprayed things before, and my aim and accuracy is poor at best. With my luck, the whole car would be covered in primer before I finished.

I read somewhere the the internal body panels has some material applied, which is why you see that yellowish residue coming out of the little ports in the doors. Not sure if this accelerates the rust...