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      09-03-2011, 10:08 AM   #1
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Thinking about getting an X3; Opinions wanted

Hi all,

I'm currently thinking about trading in my current SUV on an X3. I was originally planning on waiting until the F30 comes out until trading it in next fall but new developments have arisen that are making me rethink that. My current SUV is a 2006 Nissan Xterra that is just approaching 90,000 km. It's starting to give me more serious troubles than I want and I always told myself that when that started to happen I was going to ditch it.

So, basically I want to know: how do you guys like your X3's? Any reliability issues or quality issues I should know about? I'm thinking about ordering within the next month so N20 is out of the question and I want M-sport so all I can get is the 35i (in Canada). Any issues with the N55 and 8-speed auto combo? Currently have an N55 in my dad's E92 and I love it!

What'd you guys think of Deep Sea Blue with Havana leather (Mojave) in M-sport?

All opinions are welcome, I would like to make as informed of a decision as possible.
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      09-03-2011, 03:17 PM   #2
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45 views and no responses?
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      09-03-2011, 03:34 PM   #3
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      09-03-2011, 06:13 PM   #4
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Can't answer your main question as I don't have an X3 (though thinking about ordering one if the smoke around N20 clears and I can get one in time for my expiring lease).

Personally I really like the blue+mojave combo, though I'd probably go with carbon black with mojave. Carbon "black" is really a very deep blue or a black with deep blue highlights depending on how the sun is shining.
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      09-03-2011, 08:34 PM   #5
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No responses because I think most people are thinking in the back of their head... you need to just go test drive it yourself. Your third question about color combo is so personal that no one's probably gonna answer much.

As far as how do I like the car and reliability issues. The only problem I have so far is a small paint defect in the passenger door. QC fucked up not catching that, but they'll fix it to look as good as new hopefully. I've only driven about 200 miles on the car, but everything's working fine. I like the car A LOT. I've always driven slammed cars so it's a nice change to not worry about bumps and dips. The handling is great (glad I got DHP to stiffen it up when I want). The engine is great. The transmission is very nice although you have to 'learn' how the throttle is mapped. The styling is great. It's the perfect size for my planned family (have one in the oven). Interior is nice. The tech and gadgets is very nice. In about a week or two I'll do a full review with photos.
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Last edited by sard; 09-03-2011 at 09:08 PM..
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      09-03-2011, 08:52 PM   #6
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I've got my mind pretty made up that I'll be buying it. I plan on getting everything except HUD and dynamic dampers (I just don't think that I'll use it 99.9% of the time and it'll allow me to save $1500).

I'm out of town and away from my normal dealer until the end of september, so I will test drive and order then and hopefully it will be finished in time for american thanksgiving.
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      09-03-2011, 09:06 PM   #7
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The DHP is $1300 more if you're getting the M Sport package. I've heard the non DHP X3 rides like the X3 with DHP in Sport Mode. Correct me if I'm wrong. If it were only me in the car, I would always leave it in Sport mode, but I'm glad I have the option to make it a little softer when I have friends/parents in the back seat. I didn't get the HUD either, but it seems people who have it love it. To me it's definitely not worth the cost.
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      09-03-2011, 09:20 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sard View Post
The DHP is $1300 more if you're getting the M Sport package. I've heard the non DHP X3 rides like the X3 with DHP in Sport Mode. Correct me if I'm wrong. If it were only me in the car, I would always leave it in Sport mode, but I'm glad I have the option to make it a little softer when I have friends/parents in the back seat. I didn't get the HUD either, but it seems people who have it love it. To me it's definitely not worth the cost.
I was going to get the HUD when I planned on getting the 28i. Then I drove the 35i and had to have it. Reading these forums made it sound like I have to have the performance package too so I dropped the HUD since I was already far past what I planned on spending.

I hope the performance package is as good as most people say. 2 month months to wait.

In response to the original question about whether or not to buy.. I was waiting for the N20 engine. When I found out 2012 models will not have it I decided to move forward. I didn't need the new car now, I just wanted it.

Test drive the 28 and 35i. If any of them leave you with a feeling of, "Wow, I want this", then you'll have your answer.
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      09-03-2011, 09:36 PM   #9
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What's the performance package?
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      09-03-2011, 09:49 PM   #10
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What's the performance package?
My mistake. It's actually called, "Dynamic Handling Package" which includes:
- Performance Control
- Variable Sports Steering

It's supposed to include Dynamic Suspension but it's not listed anymore. hmm
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      09-03-2011, 11:00 PM   #11
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Well, personally speaking, I just can't see any other SUV on the market aside from a Cayenne S being better than the 35i for its market segment (and that's pushing the limits of the segments really)

I test drove the GLK350, RX350, FX35, Cayenne (base), Q5 (turbo & NA), Edge TT, MKT TT, Volvo XCs, etc... so many SUVs, I don't recall having so much fun driving cars in a while.

I ended up with a 35i Black Sapphire with M Sport, and after owning some turbo, supercharged, big block SUVs & cars, this car meets absolutely everything I need in a car. With 2 kids, lots of city & highway, being a bit of a heavy footer and the prices of gas climbing, the 35i delivered and surpassed the competition in nearly every aspect.

It directly replaced my Buick Rainier, which although was a very good vehicle to me, was too big now, an insane pig on gas & reaching 100k KMs, so I needed to get rid of it ASAP.

My X3 is up to 5.5k KMs now, has an average of 10.5L/100KM using Sport mode probably too often; on the highway with full load I seem to have settled at about 8.5L/100KM @ 118KM/H cruise control which is BARELY more than my Honda Fit @ 6.5L/100KM @ same speed & load. I don't even use the Fit anymore lol, the difference between the 2 cars is mind blowing (obviously...) Fit vs Rainier was a "perfect" reason to buy a gas sipper (I averaged 18-20L/100KM with the Rainier >_< ).

Interior top notch even with leatherette, but my kids are just too young and I didn't wanna chance destroying the real leather with baby seats, food, messes, barf, etc... heh. Still more comfy than ye 'ole boat (Rainier).

Performance-wise, it's really, really hard to explain until you're test driven it. The amount of HP isn't insane compared to it's weight, it's really the transmission that's pretty much the whole magic here. That 8 speed is godly, doesn't matter when I punch it, it'll downshift nearly instantly and scream. I mean, better 0-60 than a Cayenne S for ~23k less? don't get all angry now, obviously not an apples to oranges comparison, but it's about the only real competition it has performance-wise...

I can't give this car enough praise really, when you compare prices & what you get to the competition, they are all left in the dust (literally). I'm biased towards performance (Paxton 5.0, modded Grand Prix GTX, modded WRX), so the butt-dyno had a LOT of say in my choice (but my brain still had a say in singing the contract lol).

I actually test-drove the X3 last, because I knew very well that on paper, the competition was in trouble (the outgoing X3 had no chance whatsoever with me; too small, boring engine+transmission combo, so-so interior because it needed a refresh SO BADLY). Me and the wife had time to document and talk at lengths about the other SUVs we tested, but the minute we test drove the 35i, we tried our best to keep a poker face not to let the damned dealer know our feelings towards the car!

TL;DR: test drive, sign, all the way home
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      09-03-2011, 11:22 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DDS2015 View Post
Hi all,

I'm currently thinking about trading in my current SUV on an X3. I was originally planning on waiting until the F30 comes out until trading it in next fall but new developments have arisen that are making me rethink that. My current SUV is a 2006 Nissan Xterra that is just approaching 90,000 km. It's starting to give me more serious troubles than I want and I always told myself that when that started to happen I was going to ditch it.

So, basically I want to know: how do you guys like your X3's? Any reliability issues or quality issues I should know about? I'm thinking about ordering within the next month so N20 is out of the question and I want M-sport so all I can get is the 35i (in Canada). Any issues with the N55 and 8-speed auto combo? Currently have an N55 in my dad's E92 and I love it!

What'd you guys think of Deep Sea Blue with Havana leather (Mojave) in M-sport?

All opinions are welcome, I would like to make as informed of a decision as possible.
I love my new X3 35i MSport (and I had an E90 M3 before). The N55/8 spd tranny is sweet together, smooth and fast!!

DSB is pretty, and Havana would be good with it.
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      09-04-2011, 03:57 AM   #13
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Love this car. The 35i was well worth it for me. I passed on the HUD, auto high beams, and M-sport (wasn't even an option at the time). The only issue I've had was a clip popping loose so the side bolsters on the passenger seat stopped working. Happened the first time it was used. Easy fix. You'll have seen folks here having to deal with some annoying things, thankfully, I've not encountered such as of yet. Just about 12k mi.

For what it's worth, I use the DHP every day. Changing the settings is very handy. My set up drives great on washboard gravel roads, which I find handy.
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      09-04-2011, 11:47 PM   #14
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Thanks for the awesome views guys. I've decided 99% that I'm getting it. Literally all I need to do is test drive and order. I love the N55 in my dad's E92 and thats witht he 6 speed auto, so I can only imagine what its like with the 8 speed. It is just the perfect car, and exactly what I need. I think that I would probably be happy ordering without actually having driven it.

Also, what you say about the standard suspension being like the dynamic dampers in sport mode is very encouraging because thats the only setting i would leave it in anyways, so I'm happy skipping that option. If all goes according to plan I will be ordering on Oct 1, and I am going to hope and pray that I can take delivery on Nov 24-26. That's allotting about 8 weeks so I think it's doable. All depends on the allocations that my dealer has. I can't even tell you guys how excited I am right now so I can only imagine what I'll be like during the wait from ordering to pick up!
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      09-05-2011, 12:10 AM   #15
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Don't hold me responsible for that statement about a non DHP car riding like a DHP car in sport mode! That's just what I saw one post say.

One warning is the throttle mapping. It might take a little getting used to, but the first inch or so of you pressing the gas pedal down, BARELY gives the car any gas. It's that 1 inch after pressing the pedal down that you have to be careful and it'll finally give it some gas, but too much and you launch forward.
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      09-05-2011, 12:21 AM   #16
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DSB and Mojave/Havana is a good combination, but I prefer DSB and Oyster. Mojave/Havana was my second choice.
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      09-05-2011, 01:23 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DDS2015 View Post
Also, what you say about the standard suspension being like the dynamic dampers in sport mode is very encouraging because thats the only setting i would leave it in anyways, so I'm happy skipping that option.
I'm not sure this is true. There is a PDF posted somewhere that compares the suspension settings. Can't find it now but I would get the dynamic handling package if you intend to drive in Sport mode most of the time
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      09-05-2011, 07:00 AM   #18
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Lightbulb Dynamic Handling Package

Seriously consider this option. If you use the custom settings in the Sport mode, you can have the tighter handling/steering in the chasis without the gas eating higher shift points and throttle tip in, if you so choose. We like it as it handles like our 335IX, with very good avg milage of 25.7 mpg at 7500 miles.
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      09-05-2011, 07:32 PM   #19
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"being like the Dynamic Dampers in Sport mode" does not make sense. The Normal, Sport, and Sport+ settings affective the firmness of the suspension (and other stuff). That is not changing the setting of the Dynamic Dampers. Dynamic Damper Control is separate and allows the car to actively change the damping coefficient in any of the modes above. Two different, related capabilities.
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      09-05-2011, 10:23 PM   #20
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We ordered my wife's Alpine White X3 35i with Premium, Convenience and Oyster on 8/9. Picked it up on Saturday, 9/3. I haven't seen my wife since leaving the dealer's lot. I think she likes the car, I hope.
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      09-05-2011, 10:44 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 96_Impreza View Post
We ordered my wife's Alpine White X3 35i with Premium, Convenience and Oyster on 8/9. Picked it up on Saturday, 9/3. I haven't seen my wife since leaving the dealer's lot. I think she likes the car, I hope.
Wow, thats very quick. I guess that the dealer altered an X3 that was about to go into production because that's a very fast turnaround time. I think that those 7-8 weeks between the time I order and pickup should be fine. It really doesn't even matter if it would come in earlier because I'm not going back to winnipeg until the 24th of November. I have a very good relationship with the dealer so I don't see why they wouldn't be willing to alter a current allocation vs sticking me at the back of the line.

Also, after much consideration I believe that I will go ahead with the dynamic handling package. It just seems stupid that they would just include that in the M-sport. But I figure I'm only going to be ordering the car once, I might as well get it exactly the way I want. Over 4 years its an extra $30 per month basically.

I know that I'll be getting 3.0% interest through my bank (which I also have a very good relationship with) so I'm going to go that route instead of financing with BMWFS.

Thank you everybody for your amazing input! I'll let you know when I order. But it will be Deep sea blue 35i, with Havana leather, and all options except HUD. I'm very excited, and I can't stop thinking about it even though I haven't even ordered it yet!

One last question about break-in. When I get it on the 24th of November, I'm going to have a 500 mile trip on the why with it right away. Basically what should I avoid in those 500 miles so that I don't ruin my new car? Just alter speeds and don't exceed 100 mph? For instance if I pull over for a break every hour would that be ok do you think?
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      09-06-2011, 10:36 AM   #22
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Break-in, Owner Manual PDF, page 120.
http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Conte...yN2Vwpl66pstQ=
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