Hi,
I've recently bought 2003 model 530d SE.
Its the first time I got around to polishing my car and noticed how rough the paintwork on the underside of my rear wheel arch is on both sides . It seems the paintwork seems a little perforated.
I've not have this on other cars i've owned.

Can anyone tell me if this is normal for my model of car ?. Maybe its some kind of protection ?

cheers

 

Same on mine ... that said, even though we have had a great winter (little snow), the wheel arches are like new

 

I believe it is like that so you won't notice rock chips as much as you would if it was smooth like the rest of the car. Just a thought....

 

It's like that on all cars I have owned. I think it was painted with rubber-like material to reduce noise.

 

Hi there,
i'm refering to the bit of the wheel arch still painted my car colour, i.e. Orient Blue. Its the 2cm bit that faces downwards towards the tyre.
I'm just checking that I've understood you correctly
regards

 

it's normal. It resists damage and thats where most of it would occur. If you look at some cars (mostly domestic) you will notice the entire lower sides of the car are painted that way.

 

I'm sure mine is exactly the same as the rest of the paintwork unless I have misunderstood which bit of the wheel arch you mean.

Post a picture if you can. Alternatively have a look at the pics of my car by using the My Gallery link in my signature and see if you can see whether any of the close up's show you the area you think might be at fault.

 

Its the bit that curves inwards towards the wheel and faces the wheel around the whole of the wheel arch. I think i'll post a picture to see what people think.
As a matter of interest if the paintwork was damaged in any way am I covered by BMW warranty. Car was registered Nov 2003 and I recently bought the car from the BMW Used Approved program.
Regards

 

I think you mean around the INSIDE of the wheel arch and on the bottom / inner lip of the wing.

I've noticed this paint on most 'quality' german cars (VW, AUDI, MERC BMW) and I always thought it was mainly to provide additional protection against rusting in what is quite a vulnerable area. The textured finish looks like the black protective paint you can buy to treat the underside of older cars.

In my experience you don't see this treatment on cheaper cars that don't offer such long term warranties against rust penetration.

The value of this becomes apparent when you look at older used cars. I tried to get a VW Golf for my wife a few years ago and even ten year old ones were showing zero signs of rust on the wheek arches.

 

Ya mine is like that too very rough.. one side is actually MORE rough than the other side. I think the fronts are better than the rear for me. Drivers rear is the worse...