[Canyon Carver]

Hi all -

I'm looking to get my Wife a CPO X3 - and possibly keeping it long term. I know I can (and have) read the consumer reports and other publications in regards to reliability (which isn't stellar), but I'd like to get some real world feedback.

Are there many long-term owners out there? How far do these cars go if well maintained? We'd like to keep it past warranty, but feel it may be too big of a risk.

Thoughts?

[wrp]

"If you can't afford a new BMW, you certainly can't afford a used BMW."

[alvav]

Wow. What kind of a statement is that?!?

[Canyon Carver]

Originally Posted by wrp

"If you can't afford a new BMW, you certainly can't afford a used BMW."

Wow, did I say I couldn't afford it? I've owned BMW's for decades. I can afford the car and repairs, without issue...I'd prefer NOT to sink thousands into a long term car that is unreliable and no, I don't want to drive a Toyota.

Feel free to keep the rude comments to yourself.

[Canyon Carver]

Originally Posted by alvav

Wow. What kind of a statement is that?!?

That, is a statement from a dick who drives a 28i and part of the reason people don't like BMW owners...gives us all a bad name. Thanks for calling it out, appreciate it...

[Barbera335]

Originally Posted by Canyon Carver

That, is a statement from a dick who drives a 28i and part of the reason people don't like BMW owners...gives us all a bad name. Thanks for calling it out, appreciate it...

What is wrong with the 28i. That is what I have and it is 7 years old. Just because I cannot afford the better car does that make me less of a person. Get off your high horse, jerk. It is just a car.

[Canyon Carver]

Originally Posted by Barbera335

What is wrong with the 28i. That is what I have and it is 7 years old. Just because I cannot afford the better car does that make me less of a person. Get off your high horse, jerk. It is just a car.

Great, this is getting into a petty war. Did you read the whole thread?

Nothing is wrong with the 28i - GRP's post insinuated that "If I can't afford it, I shouldn't buy it" (a pretty snotty statement) and I found it ironic coming from someone who can't afford more than a 28i. That's all I was saying, it was directed at him, not you. Chill. It's even more ironic that you think I'm being a jerk for posting that, based on why I was posting it. The 28i is just fine...I might buy one, that's why I posted my Original Post. I'm not trying to disparage anyone who drives a 28i, just GRP for being a dick. Think you missed my point. Jeesh.

[Barbera335]

Originally Posted by Canyon Carver

Great, this is getting into a petty war. Did you read the whole thread?

Nothing is wrong with the 28i - GRP's post insinuated that "If I can't afford it, I shouldn't buy it" (a pretty snotty statement) and I found it ironic coming from someone who can't afford more than a 28i. That's all I was saying, it was directed at him, not you. Chill. It's even more ironic that you think I'm being a jerk for posting that, based on why I was posting it. The 28i is just fine...I might buy one, that's why I posted my Original Post. I'm not trying to disparage anyone who drives a 28i, just GRP for being a dick. Think you missed my point. Jeesh.

No worries, as to your original post. I bought my car new and have had it for 7 years. It currently has 90k miles. Consumer Reports is accurate. To date I have replaced the telematics module, A/C evaporator, coolant expansion tank, 12 volt battery, all door seals due to discoloration, glove box door due to delamination, various dash trim pieces due to peeling, washer reservoir filler neck was leaking, and an oil leak from the VVT motor seal.

[ejw2011]

Don't worry about it, Canyon. There are some smart A$$ on these forums who have nothing better to say and have no constructive info and shouldn't be on these forums.

To answer your question, both 28i and 35i have there issues. My understanding 28i with n20 engine have timing belt issue. 35i with oil gasket leak and water pump issues. It's a hit or miss. Some folks may never see any problems until very high mileage. Some have these issues early. If you are get a CPO, get an extended warranty before factory warranty expires, otherwise it will be difficult to get a BMW extended warranty. Today there is no car without issues, no matter what car manufacturer. There are more computer parts new and unproven parts on these vehicles and you may or may not have problems at all. That is why BMW is always releasing redesigned engines. So to cover your butt and plan to keep your car for a long time, buy an extended warranty right before factory expires, for unexpected repairs and cost. I've had many bimmers for over 30 years and no serious issues, so I've been lucky.

[Canyon Carver]

Originally Posted by Barbera335

No worries, as to your original post. I bought my car new and have had it for 7 years. It currently has 90k miles. Consumer Reports is accurate. To date I have replaced the telematics module, A/C evaporator, coolant expansion tank, 12 volt battery, all door seals due to discoloration, glove box door due to delamination, various dash trim pieces due to peeling, washer reservoir filler neck was leaking, and an oil leak from the VVT motor seal.

Thank you. That's what I'm looking for...real world experiences. Appreciate it.

[Canyon Carver]

Originally Posted by ejw2011

Don't worry about it, Canyon. There are some smart A$$ on these forums who have nothing better to say and have no constructive info and shouldn't be on these forums.

To answer your question, both 28i and 35i have there issues. My understanding 28i with n20 engine have timing belt issue. 35i with oil gasket leak and water pump issues. It's a hit or miss. Some folks may never see any problems until very high mileage. Some have these issues early. If you are get a CPO, get an extended warranty before factory warranty expires, otherwise it will be difficult to get a BMW extended warranty. Today there is no car without issues, no matter what car manufacturer. There are more computer parts new and unproven parts on these vehicles and you may or may not have problems at all. That is why BMW is always releasing redesigned engines. So to cover your butt and plan to keep your car for a long time, buy an extended warranty right before factory expires, for unexpected repairs and cost. I've had many bimmers for over 30 years and no serious issues, so I've been lucky.

Thank you! I appreciate the info and agree with all points...guess I just have to decide if it's worth the risk and/or the money for an extended warranty.

[gareth12468]

Originally Posted by Canyon Carver

That, is a statement from a dick who drives a 28i and part of the reason people don't like BMW owners...gives us all a bad name. Thanks for calling it out, appreciate it...

Driving a 28i is not the problem.....

[gareth12468]

Search my post couple years ago and you can see the issue of my car..... Dealers cannot fix it totally.....

[Mingstar88]

+1 about the 35i with oil gasket leak and water pump issues
my 35i, we had to replace water pump/thermostate really early like 70,000km.
oil gasket, i can see sign of oil coming out now.
both items are not that expensive.

[atarivers]

The extended warranties are very expensive compared to what I'm accustomed to with Mercedes. My warranty runs out at the end of March. In consultation with my service advisor, based on the condition of my brakes (very good vis-à-vis the 31K mileage) and repairs completed to date, we agreed it's not worth my while to pay thousands for an extended maintenance deal.

Everyone's situation is different. In my case, I'm interested in keeping the vehicle long term - but only if repairs don't get out of hand. I decided the first repair (as distinct from replacing consumables like brakes or batteries) that costs more than $2,500 that comes along, I will trade in for something with a warranty. I see no point in spending thousands to end up with back at square one with a vehicle with no warranty. I might not necessarily trade in for another BMW. The quantity and the nature of repairs and fit/finish fixes on these cars, at least on mine, has left an extremely bad taste in my mouth. I do enjoy driving the car, but not enough to put up with what I consider unreasonably poor build quality.

Originally Posted by ejw2011

Don't worry about it, Canyon. There are some smart A$$ on these forums who have nothing better to say and have no constructive info and shouldn't be on these forums.

To answer your question, both 28i and 35i have there issues. My understanding 28i with n20 engine have timing belt issue. 35i with oil gasket leak and water pump issues. It's a hit or miss. Some folks may never see any problems until very high mileage. Some have these issues early. If you are get a CPO, get an extended warranty before factory warranty expires, otherwise it will be difficult to get a BMW extended warranty. Today there is no car without issues, no matter what car manufacturer. There are more computer parts new and unproven parts on these vehicles and you may or may not have problems at all. That is why BMW is always releasing redesigned engines. So to cover your butt and plan to keep your car for a long time, buy an extended warranty right before factory expires, for unexpected repairs and cost. I've had many bimmers for over 30 years and no serious issues, so I've been lucky.

[atarivers]

I had my oil gasket replaced at 30k miles under warranty. I'm curious, how much does that repair cost? Also, what is the year of your 35i?

Originally Posted by Mingstar88

+1 about the 35i with oil gasket leak and water pump issues
my 35i, we had to replace water pump/thermostate really early like 70,000km.
oil gasket, i can see sign of oil coming out now.
both items are not that expensive.

[Bufalo]

Given the timing chain issues on the N20 four cylinder, I'd only be interested in a 35i model if looking at a 2nd generation X3.

[Barbera335]

Originally Posted by Bufalo

Given the timing chain issues on the N20 four cylinder, I'd only be interested in a 35i model if looking at a 2nd generation X3.

Keep in mind the 11-12 28i used the N/A N52 inline 6. That is what I have in my car.

[Bufalo]

Originally Posted by Barbera335

Keep in mind the 11-12 28i used the N/A N52 inline 6. That is what I have in my car.

True, but OP suggested looking at a CPO car, and nothing from 2012 would be certified at this point correct?

[BruceOmega]

Originally Posted by Canyon Carver

Hi all -

I'm looking to get my Wife a CPO X3 - and possibly keeping it long term. I know I can (and have) read the consumer reports and other publications in regards to reliability (which isn't stellar), but I'd like to get some real world feedback.

Are there many long-term owners out there? How far do these cars go if well maintained? We'd like to keep it past warranty, but feel it may be too big of a risk.

Thoughts?

We bought a 2011 X3 35i new in June 2011 and traded it in this past Saturday with a little under 53,000 miles on it.

After the factory warranty and maintenance expired I relied on a very good local independent shop.

In terms of repairs, not maintenance, after the factory coverage expired we had the following expenses:

$417. to replace 1 of 4 sets of taillights at 35,000 miles

$400.+ to replace 1 of 4 taillights at 46,000 miles

$1388. to replace the thermostat and, as a precautionary measure, replace the water pump (no additional labor cost) based on known WP issues. This was at 48,000 miles

$451. to replace 1 of 4 taillights at 51,000 miles

$663. to replace the TPM sensors in all 4 wheels at 52,000 miles.

We were driving home from a trip on 19 Feb when we got an error message that the TPM system could not read the tire pressure. Took it to the shop and they said 3 of the 4 TPM sensors in the wheels were not working, their batteries had died, and all 4 needed to be replaced.

But the shop told us there were other problems with the vehicle-
Coolant overflow tank was leaking
Some kind of oil seal for the filter / oil cooler was leaking
The leaking oil had weakened the accessory drive belt such that the belt and tensioner needed to be replaced.
Another 1 of the 4 taillights was not working.
There was a problem with the turbo that did not need to be fixed immediately but could go out at any time and needed to be checked every 6 months.

In addition the car still had the original battery, and they recommended replacing that as a precautionary measure. I don't have an issue with having to replace a 7 year old battery but the cost for that would have been $400.

Adding up all of the above it would have cost us around $4,000 to do the repairs and new battery, but we would still be living on borrowed time with the turbo and I am sure repairing / replacing that is not inexpensive.

While we really liked our X3 my wife and I both decided to trade it in instead of repairing and keeping it. We had the TPM sensors replaced so the vehicle would not have error messages when being looked at by a dealer for a trade-in.

Bruce

[E90705]

Originally Posted by Canyon Carver

Hi all -

I'm looking to get my Wife a CPO X3 - and possibly keeping it long term. I know I can (and have) read the consumer reports and other publications in regards to reliability (which isn't stellar), but I'd like to get some real world feedback.

Are there many long-term owners out there? How far do these cars go if well maintained? We'd like to keep it past warranty, but feel it may be too big of a risk.

Thoughts?

If you’re comfortable doing some diy then a well maintained bmw is not hard or much more expensive to maintain than other cars. That being said these cars tend to brake sooner than later than other manufacturers.

Cheap plastic parts break and gaskets and rubber tend to cause leaks which leads to more pricer repairs. Catch them early.

[Merlin82]

I got my 2011 X3 35i just over a year ago and I still absolutely love it. Ive been doing the regular maintenance, and have had to fix a couple thing but nothing that really cost me anything. The list of what Ive had to do is below.

3 out of the 4 led tail lights died, all at different times. But picked up new led driver boards based on a thread here and i think all the repairs plus a spare cost me like $20.

Glove box delaminated - Again, a little gorilla glue and some clamps and time and its fixed and holding for a few months now.

Spark Plugs - about $100 for a set of new plugs for it and then just an afternoon with a friend and they were all changed relatively easily.

And past that it has just been oil changes and such. When i got it it did have a bad wheel alignment from the shop so it ate a set of tires over the summer. But that all got sorted out and i absolutely love it.