Does this all look normal?

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by EnlightenedOne

Maybe this car was used for high speed sand testing or something

Or maybe the car came from Saudi Arabia or thereabouts... Ever see that sandstorm in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol?

[EnlightenedOne]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

Or maybe the car came from Saudi Arabia or thereabouts... Ever see that sandstorm in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol?

lol... that's it... it was a movie prop car!

According to the title it came from Oklahoma but was sold at Carmax in Virginia. Although with the mileage maybe the guy drove it down to the beach every weekend or something.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by EnlightenedOne

Although with the mileage maybe the guy drove it down to the beach every weekend or something.

Not just to the beach, but on it... At a pretty good clip, considering where the sand is located in the engine bay.

[EnlightenedOne]

Maybe he just parked on the beach and decided to do an oil change during a wind storm.

[bmw1racer]

Originally Posted by EnlightenedOne

Maybe he just parked on the beach and decided to do an oil change during a wind storm.

Hurricane would be more like it.

But the finish on the body is in good shape, huh?

[golf_234]

Just do a very involved detail.. Doesn't look like much to worry about.

[bradleyland]

Looks like a car that was driven in the winter and never cleaned up. Parts of Oklahoma get snow, and some regions use sand + salt on the roads instead of alternatives. All of these can add up to the kind of condition you've got there. Lots of sand everywhere, and lots of surface rust. None of it is an immediate threat to the condition of the vehicle, but it's the kind of car I wouldn't expect to have a long life.

I'd put some effort in to clean up. Anywhere there are particles, moisture can collect. That can lead to premature rust.

[EnlightenedOne]

Originally Posted by bmw1racer

Hurricane would be more like it.

But the finish on the body is in good shape, huh?

Body is pretty decent other than the headlights and windshield which have a lot of little imperfections in them (maybe from the high speed sand and rocks??).

There were some light scratches and there are a few spots where touchup paint can be seen but after having the car through a good detail (other than the engine bay!) it looks pretty good.

[Dafttt]

I live 10 minutes from the beach and commute/park on the PCH every day - no more than 20ft from the Pacific Ocean.
I lightly hand wash wash my car once a week, but in 3 years / 40k miles i've never seen my engine bay come close to yours. Maybe something's wrong, but above everything else - just get in there and clean it.

[EnlightenedOne]

I'm taking it to the local dealer next week for an inspection. Maybe they'll confirm or deny that anything bad is going on other than just being dirty.

Anybody know some way to clean this type of stuff out?

The "anti corrosion" stuff still concerns me. It seems to be coming out of a lot of different places. I've never seen that happen before. Paranoid me thinks that it is coming out because water was inside all those panels and then as the water drained out it swept the anti corrosion compound out with it, just more slowly since the compound is thick.

[Dafttt]

Originally Posted by EnlightenedOne

I'm taking it to the local dealer next week for an inspection. Maybe they'll confirm or deny that anything bad is going on other than just being dirty.

Anybody know some way to clean this type of stuff out?

The "anti corrosion" stuff still concerns me. It seems to be coming out of a lot of different places. I've never seen that happen before. Paranoid me thinks that it is coming out because water was inside all those panels and then as the water drained out it swept the anti corrosion compound out with it, just more slowly since the compound is thick.

No more warranty, right? I'm interested in what your dealer says.

I'd find a good shop that does a solid engine bay cleaning. Just talk to them about what specifics you've found. Point out every detail.

On a bright side, this shouldn't continue to happen. I don't think it'll get much worse.

Nothing's really wrong, just think of it as dirt under your fingernails. Gross, but.. eh.

[EnlightenedOne]

It has the 30-day "we fix anything" warranty from Carmax and then I have added an extended warranty but the extended warranty doesn't cover everything like the 30-day one does. I just want to know that there isn't something major wrong like flood damage where I need to try and return the car. If it's just dirt and nothing crazy then it doesn't bother me nearly as much. I've just never seen sand and grit get that far into the nooks and crannies of the car before simply by blowing in through the front or getting kicked up from under the car.

I'm basically telling the dealer that I want to know every possible thing the car needs. They seem to love to do inspections for free since I guess they figure anything they find I'll have fixed there (which I would if Carmax would pay them, but Carmax at least has to say they won't fix it themselves first, or at their option it says that Carmax can just tell you they aren't fixing it and will buy the car back instead).

[tracer bullet]

From what I can see, it's dirtier than normal, but it's still pretty normal. Someone just drove the heck out of it and didn't bother keeping it clean.

I expect your inspection to come up fine, or if there's anything it'll be little stuff Carmax won't cover. Never know though. Good luck.

[xShadows]

You live in Florida, that is most likely salt damage.

[EnlightenedOne]

Originally Posted by xShadows

You live in Florida, that is most likely salt damage.

The car just got to Florida when I bought it. Carmax shipped it from their Virginia Beach, VA store and the title from the person who sold it to them was from Oklahoma.

[EnlightenedOne]

Okay, just wanted to give everybody an update. I took the car to the dealer today. They didn't think there were any major issues or flood damage, but they did note the following:
- "Found many fasteners and undercarriage components rusted. Some are normal but some are more corroded than normal"
- "Found sand inside top of right front upper strut mount as well as lightly coating the engine bay"
- "Found bolt in right front brake caliper very corroded and stripped out"

So sounds like the first two are just normal wear and tear maybe from driving in the winter with salt, etc... The brake caliper one is concerning. Not sure what to make of that. I will see what CarMax can do but not sure if they will consider that an issue since it isn't actually broken or causing something not to work properly (yet!).

[lastMleft]

Some people buy cars and drive the shvt out of them, it looks like your 1 was neglected, no attention to detail from previous owner, but you seem to be a conciensus person, the one that will get the 1 back in shape, good luck bro

[pdisher]

I live in New England. Unfortunately it all looks "normal" for a car driven in winter in parts of the country that deal with snow.

Salt and sand is spread to keep ice and snow from the roadway. Driving in it is challenging and dealing with the result, from a maintenance standpoint, a nightmare.

Those who can, put their car away somewhere safe and dry. Those who cannot deal with it (or not).

[kindawg]

Check if all of your under engine covers / fender liners are intact or have holes in them. you would be surprised on how much can get in from the fender liners

[wolfe]

If the car was parked somewhere that regularly had lawn maintenance people come by, they can get a lot of grit into the engine bay when they run a leaf blower across the parking lot. This happened a lot with my old car that was parked outside.

[Konakona]

I was at Fort Sill in Lawton, OK for a year. SW Oklahoma is brutal, 30 mph winds all day in the fall, winter (0-10 degrees + rain and snow) and spring. Summer gets HOT! It was 115 for a week straight with 80% humidity. I cleaned my e90 every weekend and could not believe the places that dirt and sand would get to. Not sure about the rust though