[malicem3]

Search my posts and you'll see our experience with the 2011. We have a 2013 now and outside of normal maintenance (i.e. valve cover gasket, oil filter housing, plugs) the cars have been very reliable.

I'd highly recommend in buying a used one and keeping it long term.

[woodchuck1]

Originally Posted by atarivers

The extended warranties are very expensive compared to what I'm accustomed to with Mercedes.

Like any insurance, premiums are determined actuarily based on the likelihood of claims. The high cost of BMW extended warranties underscores the near certainty that the car will eventually need expensive repairs even with impeccable maintenance. BMWs (and Mercedes, too) used to be extremely durable vehicles that you could keep running virtually forever. No longer.

[atarivers]

My Mercedes experience (I owned one or more at a time non-stop since the mid 90s and I own one today) is nothing like what I've experienced with my short time owning an X3 and what I've read about others' ownership experiences. I agree however that the days of proudly displaying high mileage medallions on the front grille are behind us. I recently retired my 1989 300CE with 185,000 miles. To be fair, it's hard to compare a daily driver to something that is used seasonally.

Originally Posted by woodchuck1

Like any insurance, premiums are determined actuarily based on the likelihood of claims. The high cost of BMW extended warranties underscores the near certainty that the car will eventually need expensive repairs even with impeccable maintenance. BMWs (and Mercedes, too) used to be extremely durable vehicles that you could keep running virtually forever. No longer.