There was a tiny spec of rust at the side of my e36 touring's rear roundel. So I popped off the roundel and was surprised to see most of the area under it covered in rust!
It seems BMW now fits these using self adhesive foam. This had trapped water and caused rust. I've never seen this happen on any other model.
The touring and conv. use smaller than normal roundels so I'm guessing they are the only ones to use foam.
It's be worth removing yours to check.
Was your car perhaps involved in a small accident, maybe one too minor to be reported to the police? And are you sure that self-adhesive foam is a factory item? The self-adhesive foam is a method I've often seen used by auto body shops when they have to remove and replace badges while prepping for paintwork. Couple that with sub-standard aftermarket body panels (as enforced by many insurance companies) and it seems like that could be a nice recipe for rust.
The tailgate was mint otherwise. The foam was a perfect circle around the edge and I'm certain it was "factory".
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