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      12-16-2015, 12:46 AM   #1
HighPlainsCruiser
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3 Years In

Three years with about 30K miles and no mechanical problems beyond the creaking moonroof starting in the low 40's F.
Earlier in the year I began to get the feeling that the X3 was like a soccer mom's car and I needed something either more sporty or more substantial. I looked mostly at the 4 Series and the 5 Series. The 4 Coupe is definitely more agile, 4GC less so, but both are more cramped and its best not to have friends sitting in the back who are over 5' 10", and they both have that darn drive in movie screen of a display sitting on top of the dashboard. The 5 Series looks good from a distance but it may be better to save some money and buy a Buick instead, you wouldn't be missing out on much.
After seeing the drawbacks of those cars I have a new appreciation for the X3, it's actually a fun car to drive and I intend to keep it for several more years.
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      12-16-2015, 01:30 AM   #2
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      12-16-2015, 03:07 AM   #3
brissim
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Sounds as if you've been going through the same process we've been going through over the last 2-3 months. Our 4 1/2 year old F25 X3 (our first BMW) has been next to faultless. Apart from a loose bolt on the front suspension and 2 flushes of the transfer case (which might become worrying if the need for the flushes continues), our X3 has been faultless. With our 5 year warranty and scheduled servicing finishing in a little over 6 months we did start to look around for a possible new car.

On paper really liked the new F48 X1 with almost as much interior space as the F25. But the drive was a real letdown. Not a bad car by itself, but compared with our X3 it simply wasn't a contest. Also spent considerable time and test drives looking at the LCI F31 3 Series wagon. Absolutely no doubt its a better drive than the X3. But its so small, getting in and out is not as convenient as the SUV and we have limited 3 Series variants in the Australian market (no diesel wagons and no X-Drive). With the competition with the C-Class, the 3 Series is well equipped in Australia. But in the end as good a drive as the 330i wagon was, taking other factors into consideration we concluded our X3 30d was better all-round vehicle. The Merc GLC (just launched in Australia) was another we looked at but the engine lineup is fairly ordinary in Australia compared with the X3. And our 4-year X3 drove better than the GLC.

So after all this we've concluded that we'll be staying with our X3 and keeping it beyond the 5 years covered by warranty and servicing. Our plan at this stage will be to wait for the next generation G01 X3 in 12-18 months - although we wont rule out possibly even getting a new F25 X3 if we feel the G01 isn't to our liking and if there are any good runout deals going at the time.

Its actually going to be an interesting 12-18 months ahead with a number of new and next generation mid-sized luxury SUVs coming. Not only is there the G01 X3, but also the new Jag F-Pace (arguably more of a competitor to the X4), the next generation Q5 and possibly also the new XC60. Time will tell.

Tony
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      12-16-2015, 03:25 AM   #4
Tjalle
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Tony:
I would check out the F-Pace! "All" aluminium and advanced chassis. Also Volvo is on the GO.

Finally, have you heard about petrol engines? They are very much part of "joy of driving".
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      12-16-2015, 10:47 AM   #5
jponline77
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At 1 week in, loving it! Yeah, it's a bit of a soccer mom car but the perfect blend of practicality and fun make it such a great car! I'm a soccer dad, so I guess I'm fine with the rep for now.

I plan on holding this car for 7-8 years, maybe more. So, it's good to hear that people are still loving it after 4-5 years.
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      12-17-2015, 03:30 AM   #6
MartinHattingh
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brissim View Post
Sounds as if you've been going through the same process we've been going through over the last 2-3 months. Our 4 1/2 year old F25 X3 (our first BMW) has been next to faultless. Apart from a loose bolt on the front suspension and 2 flushes of the transfer case (which might become worrying if the need for the flushes continues), our X3 has been faultless. With our 5 year warranty and scheduled servicing finishing in a little over 6 months we did start to look around for a possible new car.

On paper really liked the new F48 X1 with almost as much interior space as the F25. But the drive was a real letdown. Not a bad car by itself, but compared with our X3 it simply wasn't a contest. Also spent considerable time and test drives looking at the LCI F31 3 Series wagon. Absolutely no doubt its a better drive than the X3. But its so small, getting in and out is not as convenient as the SUV and we have limited 3 Series variants in the Australian market (no diesel wagons and no X-Drive). With the competition with the C-Class, the 3 Series is well equipped in Australia. But in the end as good a drive as the 330i wagon was, taking other factors into consideration we concluded our X3 30d was better all-round vehicle. The Merc GLC (just launched in Australia) was another we looked at but the engine lineup is fairly ordinary in Australia compared with the X3. And our 4-year X3 drove better than the GLC.

So after all this we've concluded that we'll be staying with our X3 and keeping it beyond the 5 years covered by warranty and servicing. Our plan at this stage will be to wait for the next generation G01 X3 in 12-18 months - although we wont rule out possibly even getting a new F25 X3 if we feel the G01 isn't to our liking and if there are any good runout deals going at the time.

Its actually going to be an interesting 12-18 months ahead with a number of new and next generation mid-sized luxury SUVs coming. Not only is there the G01 X3, but also the new Jag F-Pace (arguably more of a competitor to the X4), the next generation Q5 and possibly also the new XC60. Time will tell.

Tony
I've been going through the same exercise. My 2012 F25 has just (within the last 2 weeks) gone out of plan, so I'm now on my own. Luckily I managed to get BMW South Africa to pay for a new steering rack and aircon compressor with the last service, after I complained about slight noises

I've decided I'm going to keep mine for at least another year, maybe two, and then see what the options are at that stage.

With how good the F25 has been, I'm already tempted by the thought of buying an almost-new full-spec 2.0d M-Sport at that point...
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      12-17-2015, 04:55 AM   #7
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My intention was to keep x3 for 7 years with EWarranty.
Ended up trading in for a new x3 after 38 months as the numbers were surprisingly more favorable. Dealer said max trade in value is 36 months and winter demand is high.
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      12-28-2015, 08:38 PM   #8
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Picked up my MY2013 in September 2012 and have proceeded to put on 55k miles. The car has held up fantastic (with the exception of the moonroof noise). As I am over the 50k mark I needed pay for my first service but opted to take it to a local shop that specializes in BMW. $124 for an oil change and they recommend it be done every 5k miles which I will probably adhere to. May need to do front brakes within a few thousand miles and was quoted $400.

I considered purchasing the extended maintenance plan for ~$2000 but decided to skip it. Same with EWarranty. Ultimately decided to self-insure the vehicle.


Thanks,
dr
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      01-06-2016, 03:21 AM   #9
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We went along the same route - our x3 is 4 years in April... but we love it and could see no point in a like for like replacement - so we replaced our 2nd car runaround with an i3 - and so have, for us, a perfect pair....cheap to run around town and great car for everything else.... Fun in the week and fun at weekends!
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