1 Exterior and 2 Interior Questions

[lex89]

I'll start with the outside. The paint is bubbling up. We got bumped from behind a couple of years ago and I guess the body shop did a sh**ty job respraying. Had to go to a body shop for another part (driver's side 'runner' I guess you could call it) where the paint was split entirely and it was rusting underneath.



Here's a couple of pics. It's located on the driver's in between the back of the car and the rear wheel.

And a close-up

Can I fix this myself? I have a PC. I'm assuming I can't.. but you never know





Inside (99 BMW 528i)



This is on the driver's side. It looks/feels like the paint, or whatever it is, is just gone. It feels like plastic on the white part.

close-up

What can I do to fix this up?





Last thing is the gear shifter (auto).

It's hard to see from the pic, but there are little indentations on the top of the stick. It's the light area in the black, right at the edge of the wood. I don't think it's leather. I'm not exactly sure what it is. Does anyone with this car or another automatic E39 know what to do about this? Thanks, Alex.

 

[imported_cj99si]

You cant fix that with a PC. its either bodo or rust coming out. you might be able to paint the handle but your better off buying new(used) parts for the shift knob, and door handle.

 

[Accumulator]

Yeah, sorry, but the short answer is "you can't fix that stuff", any of it.



The paint is a rust out. Fixing it sooner rather than later will be good, but it's gonna cost you some money.



The interior is where it's really been worn down. You could try refinishing the door but if it were mine I'd live with it.



The shifter probably *is* leather, just worn down to the backing. You could maybe fix it with the putty from Leatherique but don't expect miracles.



Things wear, simple as that, and to me it's just part of the way life is. Replacing the parts that *really* bug you is about the only way to solve this, and that's expensive.



If anything, I'd only worry about the rust. That's a "fix it or sell the car" issue to me and I'd get on it right away whichever way I decided to go. You have maybe a year tops before it turns into a gaping hole and every day it's gonna get worse; it's literally the automotive equivalent of cancer.