BMW X3's - advice required urgently!

[a11y]

My father-in-law's on his way through to a car auction at the moment and there's an X3 listed he's just told us about (we're looking for a 4x4 for the wife's work - she needs to be able to get to work within 25mins regardless of weather, no excuses). Nothign like giving us some notice lol...

I know nothing about X3's so any advice would be appreciated.

Reliability?
Off-road ability? (obviously we'd fit proper winter tyres)
Known issues?
Anything else?

The one we're looking at is a 55-plate 2.0d SE in silver on 46k miles. Should be an achieveable price we think.

Cheers
Ally

[chrismann85]

Get a Freelander

[pvr]

55 pre-facelift, so no where near as nice as the post-facelift materials wise.

2.0d is ok, I drove the 3.0d in X3 format when it came out at about 55 registration time. If you can look through the plastic on the inside (dash same material as the Z4), then you should be ok.

2.0 not the fastest, but fairly economical. Reliability is fine on that model. Off road pretty good on decent tyres (same as the X5 on winters).

On the 2.0d, issues are the breather hoses that needs to be cleaned otherwise you can get turbo failure, in addition the only other item is the Swirl Flap issue that you can do a search on. Some have them and can fail in a catastrophic way, others don't. They can be removed to avoid the issue.

If you have a quick search for Swirl Flap, you will find the biggest single cause of failure.

[a11y]

Get a Freelander

Categorically NO! Her dad won't deal in those due to reliability issues - he seems to know a thig or two about them but unfortunately knows little about X3's...

I know nothing about them as they've never been a car that's interested me in the slightest

[a11y]

55 pre-facelift, so no where near as nice as the post-facelift materials wise.

2.0d is ok, I drove the 3.0d in X3 format when it came out at about 55 registration time. If you can look through the plastic on the inside (dash same material as the Z4), then you should be ok.

2.0 not the fastest, but fairly economical. Reliability is fine on that model. Off road pretty good on decent tyres (same as the X5 on winters).

On the 2.0d, issues are the breather hoses that needs to be cleaned otherwise you can get turbo failure, in addition the only other item is the Swirl Flap issue that you can do a search on. Some have them and can fail in a catastrophic way, others don't. They can be removed to avoid the issue.

If you have a quick search for Swirl Flap, you will find the biggest single cause of failure.

Thanks pvr

Are the 2.0d's the same engine as in the 3-series? I've heard about the swirl flap issue before on those so presume its the same thing. Basically the engines can ingest them if they fail?

This one looks OK to me. Silver with big plastic bumpers so not a great looked, but that's an advantage for where she has to park at work. Cloth seats rather than leather so not ideal, but at least cloth is warmer and it's also dark coloured so practical. Has parking sensors front and rear.

[chrismann85]

Ok I may be a little biased but check reviews.

http://raycee1234.blogspot.com/2009/06/ ... ander.html

Also, you can't judge a car based on past issues, the current model is much more reliable than previous ones.

check the LR forum http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/freela ... 40557.html

[a11y]

Ok I may be a little biased but check reviews.

http://raycee1234.blogspot.com/2009/06/ ... ander.html

Also, you can't judge a car based on past issues, the current model is much more reliable than previous ones.

check the LR forum http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/freela ... 40557.html

With all due respect, I'm trying to find information urgently on X3's due to a car going through the auction in the next hour or so. Freelanders DO NOT appeal to us and I'm following my F-in-L's advice to avoid them. If we bought one and it went wrong we'd never hear the end of it from him!

[chrismann85]

fair enough

[chrismann85]

I just thought you were looking for off road capability. I've seen these things go round the off-road track and they're pretty impressive. But if you want the BMW, go for the BMW though these are not great off-road.

[a11y]

I just thought you were looking for off road capability. I've seen these things go round the off-road track and they're pretty impressive. But if you want the BMW, go for the BMW though these are not great off-road.

I wasn't intending to be harsh or dismiss what you were saying, it was more I needed a quick 5-min review of the basics about X3's due to the nature of my query. I'll NOW be looking at Freelanders etc and more reviews about other 4x4s as it appears this particular X3 at the auction has a knackered turbo!

TBH our original plan was to buy a £1-2k 4x4 now to see her through this winter - we just wanted anything, probably will end up with something shite like a Suzuki Jimny (which are great offroad!) - before getting something better next year.

[paddy wright]

if u have an ipad or iphone download the app for bmw car magazine and the novermber issue (published as the december issue i think!)

[jong]

I'll just quickly pitch in......newbie around here, but have been lurking for a good few months. Might even have made a post. Just bought an Z4 2.5si......anyway, at work and busy so X3's........

My other car is an X3. 2.0dSE, but slightly newer on a 57 plate. So a facelift model. As already noted, the facelift gets nicer bumpers (colour coded), better interior plastics. My car was an AUC, but I didn't bother to renew the warrenty. In 18 months of ownership and 26k miles I've had no problems. Just standard servicing.

I really like the car. I don't find the ride harsh, although it is firm, but the BMW's tend to be.

My Dad had a Freelander.....I know which car I prefer......

If the X3 you are looking at seems straight, full service history etc etc, then it should be fine.

I've used mine exclusivly through the bad weather and left the Zed tucked up at home.

Just my opinion..........

[pvr]

Get a Freelander

When he said "off road", he did not mean "off the road" as in at a garage

[a11y]

Thanks for the advice folks. No idea if we've got the one mentioned earlier as I've not heard anything further from the F-in-L. Even if we haven't, it's provided an option we'd not considered before.

From reading online, X3's seem to be reasonably capable once fitted with proper M&S/winter tyres - we're not looking for full-on offroad ability, just something with decent ground clearance, 4WD, and the ability to cope with snow-covered roads which might not always be cleared. The wife's not keen to give up her Fabia vRS as she loves the economy/fun/handling of it, but in reality has little option due to work. An X3 sounds like a good compromise between 4WD ability, refinement and driving fun. A 2.0d SE sounds the best option too as it retains more ride comfort compared with the Sport spec.

The fact that her dad approves of them is a big plus as he's happy searching for and buying one (although he won't be paying!). he can be, err, not so helpful if he doesn't approve of a car. He wasn't keen on me getting a Z4 so I ended up selling and buying without him. Very glad I ignored him on that occasion

[pvr]

Allow £1800 for the Turbo replacement if you are looking at the 2.0 with the failed one. That is dealer price.