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BMW X3

4185 messages,  Last post on Apr 15, 2013 at 1:30 PM

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What is this discussion about? BMW X3, SUV

Messages Page 306 of 419

#3045 of 4185 Re: New X3 on the way. . . [nyccarguy] by roadburner

Feb 20, 2008 (9:08 am)

Replying to: nyccarguy (Feb 19, 2008 7:31 pm)
There was a manual 2002 X5 3.0 with SP for sale(on eBay)in the Louisville area a few months ago. I probably would have picked it up if it had been fitted with the CWP. I talked to my salesperson at Swope and he told me that he had only seen two manual X5s. One was ordered for a customer and the other was ordered by accident- thanks to a green pea who didn't know the BMW NA ordering system. He said that they almost never got rid of that one... OTOH, his demo was a six speed X3 3.0.

#3046 of 4185 Used x3 of fx? by quattroporte12

Feb 20, 2008 (4:53 pm)

Hey guys im also looking at a used car right now. The two ive narrowed it down to now are the BMW x3 and Infiniti FX. I did BMW driving school which was awesomee, so i kinda wanted to stay loyal to BMW, but i know theyre expensive to maintain and i was thinking the fx would be a little more reliable. Ive driven both, and the bmw seems to be more of an suv (atleast the driving position) whereas the infiniti feels like a jacked up sports car when youre sitting in it (which is pretty cool, ive never been in a car like that). What i cant figure out is which one handles better...I drove both pretty hard, and the fx35 was a little peppier. But in terms of handling, they were both AWESOME for suvs. Which one do you guys think is a better handler on road? and i can assume the x3 is better offroad as well. Any opinions or help would be great!
Thanks!

#3047 of 4185 4-yr old X3 by cotmc

Mar 05, 2008 (1:28 pm)

Hey all,
 
My wife's X3 3.0i is coming up on its 4-year anniversary, and so the BMW Maintenance Plan and its full factory warranty are about to expire. We purchased this X3 as a CPO vehicle about 6 months ago.
 
I made an appointment just a few days prior to its birthday for an inspection and a 2-yr complementary brake fluid change.
 
My question is: Are there any common maintenance or warranty items of the X3 that might typically need to be addressed around the 4-yr/50K timeframe, or 1-2 years thereafter? I'd like to make sure any marginal items are worked/replaced while I still have the full coverage from BMW. I'm not concerned about the major items already covered by the CPO warranty; just the items that are typically excluded. I'm aware of some of the items for the 3-series cars, such as the front bushings. Unfortunately, I'm rather ignorant regarding which items I should address for the X3.
 
Thanks for any info you can share!

#3048 of 4185 Re: 4-yr old X3 [cotmc] by roadburner

Mar 06, 2008 (1:34 pm)

Replying to: cotmc (Mar 05, 2008 1:28 pm)
My wife runs an X3 2.5. I had the dealer change the ATF and transfer case fluid at 55K. The cost wasn't bad either: $208. I think that for as little as that maintenance costs it can't hurt to change these fluids at 1/2 the recommended interval.

#3049 of 4185 Re: 4-yr old X3 [roadburner] by cotmc

Mar 06, 2008 (4:26 pm)

Replying to: roadburner (Mar 06, 2008 1:34 pm)
Thanks for the heads up! I'll keep this advice for future reference. Our X3 has only 36K miles on it, now. Not bad for a 4yr old, eh? The previous owner put only 27K miles on it! I reckon this implies we've driven about 9000 miles during the six months we've owned it.
 
Anyway, at this time, I'm primarily looking for items which BMW NA still covers under their 4-yr Maintenance and New Car Warranty coverages. These coverages expire for us on March 26. I'm hoping to catch as much as possible prior to then. To do so, I'm looking for ideas of anything that might typically go out of tolerance, or need replacement, within a 4- to 5-year old X3. From past experience, I've noticed "Please do an overall inspection of my car" doesn't work quite as well as providing my service advisor with specific concerns, such as "I think I'm hearing some kind of thumping noise. Please inspect the front control arm assembly and see if the bushings might be replaced." Specific concerns to my Service Advisor help ensure that marginal components are fully inspected.

#3050 of 4185 Re: 4-yr old X3 [cotmc] by roadburner

Mar 06, 2008 (6:38 pm)

Replying to: cotmc (Mar 06, 2008 4:26 pm)
Anyway, at this time, I'm primarily looking for items which BMW NA still covers under their 4-yr Maintenance and New Car Warranty coverages.
 
The only warranty repairs have been:
Paint? coating was coming off console and front cupholder. Both were replaced under warranty within a month of purchase. The prior owner must have had a litter of heathens; the problem has not returned. Of course, my kid knows that he will suffer a very painful death if he screws up anything on our cars.
Passenger seat SRS sensor. Twice. Of course, the only way you know it's bad is when the SRS light stays on and the "Passenger Airbag Off" light stays on- even with a passenger in the seat...
Otherwise, it's been flawless. We'll probably keep it for at least 3-5 more years.

#3051 of 4185 Re: 4-yr old X3 [roadburner] by cotmc

Mar 06, 2008 (8:42 pm)

Replying to: roadburner (Mar 06, 2008 6:38 pm)
Of course, my kid knows that he will suffer a very painful death if he screws up anything on our cars.
 
 
 
Passenger seat SRS sensor
 
Yeah... Even if the sensor was on the verge of failure, there's no way to get BMW to replace it until it fails outright. I guess having my kid jump up and down on the passenger seat for a few hours might help accelerate any oncoming sensor failure..., nah!
 
Coincidentally, we just started seeing a couple examples of abnormal behavior from our indash CD player. Nothing major. One store-bought CD, flawless in every other way, sometimes causes a "Disc Error" readout on the display. Also, it sure seems like the fast forward function moves along at a very slow speed. It takes about 15 seconds to skip ahead one minute of content. This is the upgraded audio system, too! I am going to see if my advisor can get this replaced under warranty. My concern is that the laser might be losing allignment, and eventually get worse over time.

#3052 of 4185 Re: 4-yr old X3 [cotmc] by roadburner

Mar 06, 2008 (9:44 pm)

Replying to: cotmc (Mar 06, 2008 8:42 pm)
I am going to see if my advisor can get this replaced under warranty. My concern is that the laser might be losing allignment, and eventually get worse over time.
 
We have the base system in ours and it hasn't given us any problems- which is more than I can say for the BMW/Alpine changer in my 1995 ti...

#3053 of 4185 x3 dog question by tekotoo

Mar 08, 2008 (7:11 pm)

Yes, strange question, but here it is:
I'm considering the x3, but have two 90 lb. dogs. They definitely won't fit in the 'cargo' space, but how about with the rear seats down? I know they don't go completely flat. Anyone else out there have dogs that like to go for rides and can give some advice?

#3054 of 4185 Re: x3 dog question [tekotoo] by alaskan_otter

Mar 08, 2008 (11:12 pm)

Replying to: tekotoo (Mar 08, 2008 7:11 pm)
My dog is a 45 lb German Shepherd and she fits snugly in the cargo area with the seats up. With the seats down it would be a tight squeeze with two large dogs. The seats aren't that flat and have a small rise right behind the front seats. If the dogs are laying down and not standing up there would be enough room - but probably not enough for a very long road trip. For around town you would be fine.

Messages Page 306 of 419

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