[Filski]

I've noticed a high turnover of vehicles among bimmer owners. No doubt some of this is to maintain resale values, keep up with technology or simply about staying in warranty.

Since we had our last car for 15yrs and this will be our first from the BMW stable, I'm wondering if an X3 can be held for longer than warranty without dramas? What are the biggest risks?

Fwiw, we'll get 4yrs service on the deal.

[MA78]

It's a gamble. But you can always extend the warranty.

[Nahoa]

I've seen folks driving them longer than the warranty. My personal situation forced sales before the end of the warranty and there was no question the next purchase would be another BMW. I'm really enjoying this new one but facing the question of how long I'll be able to drive it before I get lured by a new model and new features . . .

[Filski]

I guess it's like any car, I tend to be lucky/ careful with possessions so maintenance costs are kept in check. Not sure how I could keep myself in check from enjoying the X3 though!

[DJ Daddy-O]

I can see there is real benefit to the industry of not extending the warranty period. The truth is many of the parts in vehicles are manufactured by third parties and they have to supply warranties to the motor manufacturers for their part. So if there is a warranty claim the cost to the motor manufacturer is in most cases low as they can pass on that cost. If they started to supply cars with a 5 year warranty then they would simply ask their suppliers to do the same and they wouldn't have any room to say no so there wouldn't be any significant cost to the manufacturer of doing this.

But by sticking to a 3 year warranty period most people feel obliged to change the car once out of warranty due to the fear of an expensive bill if something goes wrong.

True there are stories of disaster many thousand of pounds bills arising in the fourth or fifth year of ownership but these are rare.

The cars being built now should last 20 years so no reason to change as soon as out of warranty. The cost of changing is probably way more than any likely repair bill anyway.

[MA78]

Originally Posted by DJ Daddy-O

The cars being built now should last 20 years so no reason to change as soon as out of warranty. The cost of changing is probably way more than any likely repair bill anyway.

That pretty much sums it up. When my wife's car went out of warranty last week I did a little math. The dealership wanted $2500 to extend the warranty 3 more years (or up to 100k miles). A little research showed that the most likely thing to fail on her car were the strut towers and the automatic tailgate. The combined cost to fix those was only about $900. So for us it wasn't worth it. But it would be different if her car wasn't a Mazda.

[Beyu]

Originally Posted by Filski

I've noticed a high turnover of vehicles among bimmer owners. No doubt some of this is to maintain resale values, keep up with technology or simply about staying in warranty.

Since we had our last car for 15yrs and this will be our first from the BMW stable, I'm wondering if an X3 can be held for longer than warranty without dramas? What are the biggest risks?

Fwiw, we'll get 4yrs service on the deal.

I personally don't have much experience with keeping BMWs for a long time but I wound imagine that it wouldn't be any different from owning any other car. My next door neighbor has two vehicles, one is a E46 3 Series and the other a E83 X3 (1st Gen); for cars that have been running 7-10 years both seem to be going strong. As long as you keep up with the regular maintenance and treat the car well it should last for a long time.

One possible reason for the large number of BMW turnovers could be because of the warranty. From most people that I've spoken to the warranty and performance seems synonymous with BMW just as reliability and value are with Toyota. It's understandable that when the warranty expires the reasons for keeping the car might diminish.

[Ranger 6]

Originally Posted by Filski

I've noticed a high turnover of vehicles among bimmer owners. No doubt some of this is to maintain resale values, keep up with technology or simply about staying in warranty....

We've had ours for 5 years and 50k miles, with only 1 year of that having been covered by warranty. I think you'll find that the profile of people who post on forums can be the more affluent ones so there will be a 'boredom' factor in thier purchasing habits and as you mention a technology factor as well as a high disposable income.

The more 'usual' owner just buys one and drives it. The reliability is not a gamble - if it was then BMWs reputation would've been tarnished by more than internet rumours.

Buy one and enjoy it - ours has been supremely reliable and will hopefully be until I can afford one of the new models. Of course depreciation is a factor here as I can't afford a new one so I'm all for encouraging the high turnover of new cars by these wealthy people....

[EmCityXFan]

I have an original 2004 X3 that just celebrated year 7 - 3 years past my original warranty/complimentary service period. It was my first BMW. I have had only one major issue after the warranty lapse and that was a cracked head gasket. Ouch - cost a bit to repair. Outside of that, no problems. I've got about 96K on the odo.

I just ordered an F25 28i on Saturday. (Vermillion/Black) I plan on keeping it past the warranty as well, but will play the wait and see game to make sure quality is ok. I confirmed with my sales associate that you can add the extended warranty up to the day/mileage your new car warranty and complimentary maintenance runs out.

Any car can have mechanical problems, but my experience with BMW quality and service have been fantastic over the past 7 years.

[mstevens]

We still own our 6 year-old X3 and Z4. Neither has had anything expensive come up since they left warranty.

[xDrive35i]

Originally Posted by Filski

I've noticed a high turnover of vehicles among bimmer owners. No doubt some of this is to maintain resale values, keep up with technology or simply about staying in warranty.

Since we had our last car for 15yrs and this will be our first from the BMW stable, I'm wondering if an X3 can be held for longer than warranty without dramas? What are the biggest risks?

Fwiw, we'll get 4yrs service on the deal.

With the exception of my secondary car, I always lease my cars for a 36-month term so I can escape my ownership without actually having to sell the car. My Audi, which I own, had its first real problem the day after its warranty ended, so I don't like taking chances.

[AJWilson]

Had my X5 for over 4 years, no problems. Took extended warrenty from BMW for extra year and half. At £60 per month it's not cheap, but when you consider the price of a auto gearbox it's worth the peace of mind knowing if something does go wrong it is covered.