Subframe Through BMW

[BL92]

Anyone had the full boot replacement done ?

Share any info or head ups, Do's and Don'ts

Mines getting booked currently

[bmwfnatic]

The panel needed is NLA, so that will be an interesting conversation.

Also even if you even somehow get a hold of that panel, if your car isn’t damaged to the point where it needs one, it is certainly a downgrade to the car, there are many things that can be missed and done wrong, and you will never achieve the same level of rust protection as it had from the factory due to the car being e-coated after all factory welding.

Get a Redish, Vince, CMP or whatever kit and have someone install it that has already done it at least once before (preferably multiple times) so they have learned from the mistakes on the prior jobs (trust me you make them) and you are therefore not a test mule.

I think BMW dealerships have no business working on E46’s nowadays, especially replacing crucial panels. Even though they in theory have access to all the information and documentation, in practice things don’t always work out great.

[oceansize]

I think BMW dealerships have no business working on E46’s nowadays, especially replacing crucial panels. Even though they in theory have access to all the information and documentation, in practice things don’t always work out great.

This ^

[zivagolee]

I had mine done in 2007 after I discovered a crack -- all under warranty and took about a month or so. They did a complete replacement of the trunk floor and apparently it was done immaculately. Many track days and it is in perfect condition at last check when updating diff and subframe bushings about a year ago.

[BL92]

Thank you everyone

This is the email response i got from BMW Australia

Not sure what to make of it

Your Thoughts

[zivagolee]

Thank you everyone

This is the email response i got from BMW Australia

Not sure what to make of it

Your Thoughts

I wonder if they are just doing the foam fill "repair"

[JakeM346]

I wonder if they are just doing the foam fill "repair"

The Foam is discontinued….sine a couple of years already…….so likely no

and yes the panel is indeed not available

[Nate047]

My car had the panel replaced at some point way before I owned it. I didn’t know this until I dug into the car, and I found surface corrosion in tons of places. Nothing really critical, but it for sure did not hold up like factory coating would have. If your car is fixable I would just repair the panel and do a full CMP/Redish/Vince Bar/whatever reinforcement combo you want. Don’t let some dealership do a job like that with no oversight. Also keep in mind that if they just replace the panel and don’t reinforce it, that’s not really fixing the problem.