Greetings!

I've just bought a 1993 ("L" reg) 520i SE, and it's fine. It's my first BMW (but won't be the last, if the others are anything like this one) and replaced an old Vauxhall Nova GTE.

Now, I'm not going to waste time comparing the two cars, apart from the general condition they are/were in.

The Nova was owned by someone I worked with, and was not religiously maintained. Consequently, it exhibited the usual faults (rust in certain places, etc.) that were not a surprise to see. However, the BMW has obviously been well-cared for (full BMW service history, very clean throughout, etc.), and this is where I hope one of you can help me.

I'm wondering whether the little space on the boot lid where the registration plate fits sees much corrosion or not. I can see that it is well-protected from the elements, and my car has some rust here and the edge of the boot lid above the reg plate has split as well. Is this normal?

Also, does this car have a cambelt or a camchain? The dealer told me it had a camchain, but if so do they require replacement at a specific mileage? If they do, how much would it cost to replace one? I do like to know these things when I get a new car.

I live in Medway (Kent) and was also wondering if there are any reasonably priced bodywork specialists around here who could fix the boot lid problem.

I look forward to someone responding to this, and thank you in advance.

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                                  paul