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BMW X3 Reliability

41 messages,  Last post on Feb 23, 2013 at 2:01 PM

You are in the BMW X3 & X5 Forum.

What is this discussion about? BMW X3, BMW X5, SUV

Messages Page 3 of 5

#15 of 41 Re: Fess up [pp2009pp] by roadburner

Feb 27, 2010 (9:38 am)

Replying to: pp2009pp (Feb 27, 2010 1:16 am)
You have no statistically meaningful data so why are you demanding it of others? All you have are a couple of data points.
 
You have provided no statistics or data points to back up your "$1 per mile" and "pop the hood, pay $1K" assertions.
 
I don't know anyone who has ever owned a BMW who considers them to be highly reliable and inexpensive to maintain. Do you really own one? I'm beginning to think that your car is simply on paper.
 
You've got me there. I don't own one- I currently own three. Here-in chronological order-is my BMW ownership history:
1973 Bavaria 3.0
1972 Bavaria 3.0
1987 535is
1988 M6
1995 318ti Club Sport(still own)
1998 318tiA
1997 528iA
2004 X3 2.5(still own)
1975 2002A(still own)
Pictures of the Club Sport and 2002 can be found on my Carspace page.
 
The X3 is bouncing around the road providing heart-thumping moments when it simply fails to respond to its accelerator and mild whiplash when it decides that it should simply slow itself to a crawl before the driver actually hits the brakes....that is often 20 feet from the stop sign or intersection. I would only suggest an X3 to someone who feels that driving has become too entirely predictable and should, instead, be quite difficult.
 
So you haven't hit 2000 miles. 1500? 1000?

#16 of 41 Re: Knock on wood [pp2009pp] by roadburner

Feb 27, 2010 (10:53 am)

Replying to: pp2009pp (Feb 27, 2010 2:43 am)
I don't know what it costs to keep the X3, but I have heard
 
Exactly. So you rely on hearsay.
 
brakes alone are $1600
 
The cost of four rotors, pads, and sensors ranges from $560(OEM equivalents) to $830(BMW OEM)- so call it $750 to $1,000 installed. Note that an X3 typically requires pads/rotors every 60,000 miles at most.
 
battery is $300
 
The actual price range is $165(Interstate MTP-H6)-$250(BMW OEM). The battery in my 2004 X3 2.5 is going strong at six years/92,000 miles.
 
while the oil change (dealer) is $160 although they are very infrequent
 
My dealer(Swope BMW, Louisville KY) performed the latest oil service on the X3 and I had a coolant flush performed at the same time. The total bill was $150. Note that I change the oil myself midway between dealer visits, which amounts to around $55- and that additional cost is included in my 3 cents per mile calculation.
 
That pano roof - replace the whole cassette if it breaks is[sic] $3K.
 
You are half right, so you get partial credit. The cassette does cost $3,000, but the primary problem(leaks/rattles) involves cars built prior to 10/05 and was fixed when an upgraded cassette superseded the original part(see: BMW SI B 54 06 06). BMW also offers a $300 repair kit which includes most every part on the cassette that could break. A good dealer will be able to properly diagnose and correct any of those issues.

#17 of 41 DIY doesn't count by pp2009pp

Feb 27, 2010 (3:08 pm)

Do you really own this car?
 
There are numerous reports of the X3's pano roof leaking water. In fact, there seem to be an inordinately large number of people complaining about water in general in the X3 from clogged roof drains to leaking doors leading to large amounts of water soaking the floors.
 
How often do new cars develop water leaks? This is quite a screwball problem. Water causes lots of damage in cars from the electronics to mold and rust. It is interesting that the pano roof is now optional instead of standard.
 
As I stated before, the high mileage BMWs all seem to belong to people who are mechanics or have one available for DIY work. If you can do your own work and have access to equipment then you too can have a BMW with 300K miles. That has nothing to do with the actual cost of ownership and roll of the dice when buying one of these cars.
 
"Otherwise the average oil service costs about $220 while the Inspection I service runs about $550 and the Inspection II is around $1200. Brake pads and rotors are around $600 per axle."
 
Tires seem to run about $1800 for the set although I suspect you can go cheaper or more expensive if you like. If your heated seat goes defective that is $1000. I have heard that the headlight set is $1600 to replace. Dealer labor rates appear to vary widely but range from $90-$140/hr.
 
No one who thinks anything through would buy any BMW (or Mercedes, Audi, etc.) because it is an inexpensive car to keep and maintain.

#18 of 41 Re: DIY doesn't count [pp2009pp] by roadburner

Feb 27, 2010 (6:49 pm)

Replying to: pp2009pp (Feb 27, 2010 3:08 pm)
Do you really own this car?
 
I think that I should ask you that question, considering the ridiculous and unsubstantiated repair figures that you quote.
 
"Otherwise the average oil service costs about $220 while the Inspection I service runs about $550 and the Inspection II is around $1200. Brake pads and rotors are around $600 per axle."
 
Yeah, right. My last Inspection II at Swope BMW cost $424- and that number included a brake fluid flush and refinishing a curbed front wheel. "$600 per axle"? Swope charged $982 for pads and rotors on all four wheels.
 
Tires seem to run about $1800
 
Throwing out an even more preposterous number won't salvage your serious credibility problem. You are so far off the mark that it's laughable. The OEM 17" tires cost from $169 each(Pirelli Scorpion STR) to $195 each(Michelin Pilot HX MXM4). Me, I went with Pirelli PZero Nero M+S at $129- $620 installed(including shipping).
 
I have heard that the headlight set is $1600 to replace.
 
Hearsay yet again. Try $1000 for the most expensive adaptive unit. And just exactly why would you need to replace a headlight set? You might need to replace a Xenon bulb($212) or the ballast($105)- but most likely not until 125,000-150,000 miles at the earliest.
 
No one who thinks anything through would buy any BMW (or Mercedes, Audi, etc.) because it is an inexpensive car to keep and maintain.
 
I've never said that BMW are the cheapest cars to own, but they are nowhere near as expensive to run as the delusional figures that you like to quote. As I've noted before, I have a 1995 3 Series with over 121,000 miles and its maintenance/repair costs average 5 cents per mile, and that number is 2.8 cents per mile for my 92,000 mile X3.
  
Look, everyone here knows that you have the knives out for BMW because your dealer can't hear/feel/reproduce the transmission or suspension(have you ever decided which is at fault?) issues that you claim your X3 has. And you've posted similar diatribes on this and other BMW forums. If I hated a car as much as you do I'd sell the thing and move on with my life- and I wouldn't spend all my time on numerous automotive web sites attempting to poison the manufacturer's pond.
But that's just me.
 
In any event, I think this back and forth has gone on long enough. As I've said, I think other participants can read this topic and readily determine whose statements possess the most credibility.
Enjoy your X3.
Or not.

#19 of 41 You don't own this car by pp2009pp

Feb 27, 2010 (10:12 pm)

Oh goodness gracious, your unabashed and utterly unconvincing cheerleading for BMW is quite amusing.
 
50,000 miles are free of repairs. I have no idea if you also received free maintenance as well. Instead of making BMW look better, your posts only make me want to dig deeper.
 
You aren't doing BMW any favors here. Why don't you ask Toyota how much money they saved by ignoring customer complaints for years. Yep, they dodged THAT bullet.

#20 of 41 Note by tidester

Feb 27, 2010 (11:51 pm)

Can we focus a little more on (real) reliability issues and a lot less on each other? In fact, we insist on it.
 
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

#21 of 41 The real story by roadburner

Feb 28, 2010 (9:08 am)

2004 X3 2.5- 92,000 miles
Serviced exclusively at Swope BMW, Louisville(excluding tires/mounting/balancing and additional 7,500 mile DIY oil changes)
Warranty Repairs: Passenger Seat SRS sensor
Non-Warranty Repairs: None
Maintenance costs for 42,000 miles(since end of free maintenance): 4.8 cents per mile(including four wheel brake service, four new tires, and three additional DIY oil changes)

#22 of 41 The new math by pp2009pp

Feb 28, 2010 (2:15 pm)

Well at least you remembered that the first 50,000 miles were free.
 
IIRC the passenger seat sensor was a recall. It appears that the seat heater option may have a similar problem. The problem appears to be that of people actually getting in and out of said seats and messing up the wires or connectors or something...who knows. Do you have the optional seat heaters and, if so, are they still working?
  
DIY doesn't count as 99% of people are never going to DIY anything more than washing their car and not even that these days.
 
As I have said repeatedly, it is the roll of the dice and one or two data points do not a significant picture make. When the dice come up badly the repair costs are very high. That is the way the car industry works. You pay mucho for your car up front and you know that your repair costs and maintenance costs are going to be HIGHER.
 
It is irresponsible financially to pay up to your maximum budget for a pricey used car somehow expecting the additional 'quality' to mean lower repair costs. Not everyone has a good, responsible, honest independent mechanic in their area and then they are at the mercy of the massive mark ups of the dealership.

#23 of 41 Re: The new math [pp2009pp] by Stever@Edmunds HOST

Feb 28, 2010 (2:40 pm)

Replying to: pp2009pp (Feb 28, 2010 2:15 pm)
We have a True Cost to Own tool that's based on more than a couple of data points.
 
Unless my math is wrong, the maintenance and repair costs for a 2010 X3 will run you .06 cents a mile over 5 years/75,000 miles. .067 if you drag the decimal points out a bit.
 
That's a bit more than the .058 I come up with for a '10 Lexus RX 350 (link), but a good bit less than the .086 the MB GLK will run you. (link)
 
Edmunds also offers reliability ratings on most new cars, at least through the 2006 model year. The X3 isn't stellar there (but better than the Mercedes):
 
BMW X3 Reliability

#24 of 41 Knock on wood again by pp2009pp

Feb 28, 2010 (2:58 pm)

People seem to think that the X3 is more reliable than the average BMW. I am knocking on its little tin head everyday hoping that it will be above average instead of like this one below. Since the AT is already problematic, I am also hoping that it isn't like the no-reverse situation that has cropped up in other models (older, higher miles than most X3s so far) is reportedly $3K-$7K to fix.
 
I still don't understand what it is about water inside the cabin though. It seems to occur on some X5's as well. Why do clogged drains in the roof cause water to drain into the cabin? Just how common is this in other cars? I remember originally hearing about it in an Audi with the water running down the side of the interior and rusting out the seat bolts.
 
"Yeah, the quote did make me smile though. I remembered helping 06BMWX3 helping out finding lowest price for these springs on this very forum and the price was in range of 140-200 from various resources. Dealer quoted me almost thrice, but thankfully CPO covers it.
 
Having said that, in past (almost) 2 years that I have owned this car if I didn't have warranty I would have spent close to 7-8 k on maintenance, assuming I get it done from dealer. I had sunroof cassette go bad (3.5k), driver side seat leatherette cracking (1k), brake pads + rotor replaced (~1k), passenger seat replaced under recall, low gear holding program applied to car (150), and now the coil springs (1.5k). Except the brakes all other things point to poor quality in either material or engineering. "

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