BMW X3

markcincinnati · June 2005

The "value proposition" was the final reason my wife went with the X3 over the Audi A4 3.2.

She pretty much loaded the X3 to an as delivered, pre discounted price of ~ $47K. I don't know how much the discount was -- the payment with only $250 down was $581 36 months 15,000 per year. The $44K Audi was $684, same deal.
Her current 2003 (or should I say, ex-2003 Audi TT coupe) Audi was $42K and the mo pay on that puppy was $709 same deal.

The BMW, at that exact moment in time, seemed to offer so much more for considerably less.

The "value" -- as evidenced by the residual and the money factor was there for a 2005 BMW X3, but apparently not so much for either the 2003 TT or the 2005.5 A4.

I think any other color than black would have required the bumper cladding though.

driver100 · June 2005

Come on guys! Real men don't need monochrome body cladding. I said it before and I'll say it again, if given a choice I would choose the black body cladding. It contrasts nicely with the rest of the car and it looks more rugged - it looks like it was made for heavy duty driving. I wouldn't get it painted the same color as the car if I could get it done for 5 bucks!

I can't imagine a better car than an X3. I am a little upset that my windows won't go down when the temperature is below freezing (dealer says it is because of the giant rubber seals for sound insulation) but everything else is so perfect.

bodble2 · June 2005

Real men who feel secure about their masculinity want monochrome bumpers! :shades:

Actually, "real men" in the sense that you're referring to wouldn't be caught dead driving an X3 anyway! They need a Hummer, or at least something that can actually go off-road. Also, "real men" don't need windows that go up and down. Hell, just head-butt the glass to break it! If it's strong enough to smash beer cans, it's good enough to open windows!! Protruding foreheads are good for many functions!! :P

And what "heavy duty driving" for the X3 are you referring to that requires rugged bumpers? Playing bumper cars while parellel parking?

markcincinnati · June 2005

Fresh from being detailed, the jet black X3 with the sport package terracotta leather interior and all the toys my wife put on her new car is, despite much derision from folks on the LPS forum, a quiet comfortable, dressed for success, luxmobile.

A trip from Cincinnati to Columbus (100 minutes) with Sirius channel 16 playing the entire Aqualung album uninterrupted is almost like being chauffeured in the town car with Jeeve's at the wheel.

The only thing that's better, is when I get the chance to get behind the wheel.

I imagine this thing with the new 255 hp 3.0 will be . . . well, instant, permanent, tang!

If I feel half this good about my new M35X, life will be so sweeet!

I would still want the body and the bumpers to match, were this not a Jet Black version.

mvs1 · June 2005

Mark, in your personal example the value is evident. In my comparison, I wouldn't cross shop the two, and I also own an A4. If I was using your comparison as a model, I'd most likely pay at or around 50k for an M35X. I'm looking at comparing like vehicles, relative to feature content, driving feel (for which no other smallish SUV/SAV/SUT compares to the BMW), etc. I grouped the X3, Murano, RX330, etc. and believe it or not the closest to drive feel I've experienced was a manual transmission Forester. Features others describe as must haves such as bluetooth can be added for $70 aftermarket, likewise with audio systems. IMHO, features such as these will be the norm similar to leather a once upon the time lux only feature.

mvs1 · June 2005

I don't want to buy into the whole "Real Man" Philosophy of life, love, killing what you eat in the wilderness, and driving happiness. But my money is real and hard earned. Maybe on a 10k vehicle unpainted cladding is acceptable, but not....GASP on a 45k BMW.

driver100 · June 2005

Amusing replies about "Real Men". Actually, I only drive about 8,000 miles a year, have a 2.5 X3, have never been off the road, live in an urban area, have a maximum of two beers a week, and don't own a gun and wouldn't know how to operate one.

They do have top notch designers designing BMW's and they obviously went for this look. When you are making the cars it wouldn't cost any extra to make the cladding the same color as the car, so it was a conscience decision.

Monochrome cladding would give that all American Pontiac (ugly) look. There is beauty in design by making the car have a functional look.

People who like monochrome bumpers probably like those stereos that look like fireplaces or telephones that look like Mickey Mouse. Bumpers are functional and they shouldn't be hidden so that you think they aren't really there. If you like the monochrome look check out a new M-Series Mercedes. I think the X3 looks much better!

markcincinnati · June 2005

And our personal tastes are what makes the world go 'round. I think the option for either way should be offered as a factory option and be about $999 (like the Audi allroad.)

If you take a new A4 3.2 sport for a drive and then follow that drive with the same drive in an X3, Premium, Sport, Audio upgrade, Sat nav and Parktronic, etc -- the ride stiffness, solid feel of the body as bumps and pot holes are encountered are strikingly similar. The $44+K A4 and $46+K X3 were not considered against each other on paper. It was only after "this isn't just quite right" opinions uttered by my wife that I suggested she consider the X3 since one of her main gripes about the Audi was the lack of a manual transmission.

When she got behind the wheel of the X3, I would say it was less than 5 miles later she remarked, "this is the one." The drive and ride similarities between the X3 sport and A4 sport were not expected, but when they were observed it became a no brainer especially when a $3K more expensive car cost $103 per month less (and had both manual and bluetooth).

Every night when my wife comes home she walks through the door and says "I love my
X3."

Now, my M35X, final price to me was $48K (about $1K more than my wife's MSRP). I know these two cars are not usually cross shopped, but with 2,000 miles on the X3 (mostly as a passenger), if someone told me I had to take the X3 it would not faze me one bit -- the X3 is THAT good.

But only with body colored bumpers. :P

bodble2 · June 2005

"They do have top notch designers designing BMW's"

Oh, you mean like Chris Bangle?

:sick:

I think it does cost more to make body-colored bumpers.

I think they went with unpainted bumpers on the X3 not for aesthetic reasons, but to visually set it one notch down from the X5. And for cost reasons. As it is, X3 prices are already crowding into X5 territory a tad too close for comfort.

I thought Aztec had unpainted bumpers? For that all-American rugged look!

mvs1 · June 2005

I agree....unless paint is now free, it costs more to have body colored cladding. Next year this will be standard, so maybe the X3 isn't for real men???

bodble2 · June 2005

Is it even for manly women? :P

robertv · June 2005

vjohnson, Do you have an update on your mileage? Has anything change/improved on your mileage? I picked up my X3 this week and have been mindful of the mpg based onyour experience with the bad mileage. In my first week I am averaging close to 17mpg in 100% city driving so far at an average speed of 21mph. That is actually a little better than I expected since I'm no where close to completing the "break-in" period yet.

delrick · June 2005

Picked up an X3 today.

Curious about using an MP3 player with the sound system.

Dealer says they can adapt an Ipod to the sound system.

Anybody know if there is any type of adaptor on the market to use an MP3 player with the system? :confuse:

robertv · June 2005

The Ice-Link adapter seems to be the most popular adapter for connecting an iPod to the sound system. You may also want to know that the cd-player plays MP3 files burned to cd. I made a cd yesterday with 7 full cd's of MP3 files and still had room for about 3 more cd's (using 128bit compression).

delrick · June 2005

Thanks for replying.

The issue I have is that we do not use iPod (Apple) MP3 players.

BMW has an adaptor for the iPods.

I was hoping there was a device to adapt other, better, MP3 devices to the radio.

burgermac · June 2005

Went by the dealer. They were very helpful. Tried to punch all of the buttons and when that didn't work, they took the car "into the back" to fix the frozen head unit. When he came back 5 minutes later, I asked him what he did to see if I could do it myself without having to drive 45 minutes to the dealer. He said he just disconnected the battery terminals and held them together for a few seconds! Now the phone works fine. I'm sorry to hear that some people are having a real problem with bluetooth and BMW- I guess it's just the early adopter/buyer beware rule. I do agree that if they offer a feature in a car, then it should work under any and all circumstances. BWM seems to be playing the same game with satellite radio right now- you have to pay for a $75 option (it seemed to be on every car I laid my eyes on at just about every dealer) just so you can pay an additional $600 for the dealer to install the satellite radio accessory. But if you want to use an iPod or a CD Changer, then you can't use the satellite radio feature, but you're still stuck with the $75 factory installed "option." I guess they think they've got a captive audience. We do love the car, however.

rallygirl · June 2005

Glad to hear everything worked out

. Kind of a bummer you had to drive 45 min to get it fixed.
And it is true, I too love my car!!

markcincinnati · June 2005

It would be my guess that I have now put 600 miles on the 2 month old X3. I actually was "allowed" to drive it from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati yesterday. One stop -- for coffee and "Timbits" along the way.

The Sirius Sat radio is FANTASTIC! On the way to Pittsburgh Friday late afternoon, we tuned in to a LIVE Jimmy Buffet concert -- after seeing Buffet about 20 times myself, I must say the radio concert was a real treat.

The Bluetooth (we with the Sony Ericson T637 AND the extra cost BMW part that mounts the phone in the armrest and uses the "quad" antenna on the roof for drop out free reception) works great (unless I forget to turn my Moto V505 off and the X3 captures my phone book before my wife's). I don't know what phones do and do not work, but the T637 ($99) is the obvious "easy" choice if your carrier offers this hardware. Just push the R/T button on the dash, the Sat Nav Screen loads the phone book, toggle up or down and press the button with the "talk" icon on it. The sound comes through the upgraded sound system and actually sounds better than any phone signal has a right to.

The Sat Nav never ceases to amaze -- even when we're "not on a digitized road" it keeps tracking our position and does know the street name. We found a new restaurant in the middle of nowhere (East Springfield, Ohio -- population must be in the dozens) -- JC Wine Cellar. The Sat Nav says "you've arrived!"

The 3.0 with the 6spd manual loves to cruise at 85MPH on the run between Zanesville OH and Columbus. Just set the cruise control and drive on (note to self, when did the speed limit rise to 90? We were passed regularly). Mileage on this run was 23MPG. Overall mileage generally exceeds 20 or 21 now that we're beyond 2,000 miles. We are getting used to high speed cruising in this "little" dude.

The sport seats with the virtually infinite adjustments are comfortable for 2 - 3 hours without any issue.

The A/C seems to have no problem keeping up with the heat and humidity.

The Servotronic steering and the articulating headlights are fantastic.

With nuttin' but a positive intent, if yours does NOT have Servotronic, you don't know what you're missing ($250 list price option). If you are about to get one of these fine machines, insist on Servotronic or walk away. The car is THAT much better with this little, low priced, option.

This is one sheen that keeps gettin' better with every mile.

bodble2 · June 2005

Ok, I'm sold! But I still want those body-color bumpers!!

markcincinnati · June 2005

It is my understanding if you order one now, it will come with the body colored bumpers (2006); and, a 255 HP 3.0!

If you find one (a 2005) that is to your liking you can order the BMW body cladding, make it part of the deal and probably get a decent discount off of the kit.

Or suck it up and get Jet Black Gloss -- the match with the black bumpers is very good. With a grey or teracotta interior (sport+premium) you will think you are in a car dressed in nearly black tie. :shades:

harplayr · June 2005

I use the Aux input mounted in the center armrest. That way I can plug any audio device into the car.
The sound is excellant.

beemcity · June 2005

Is the aux input standard or an option?

timmboj · June 2005

Does anyone know ALL the changes/upgrades that will happen to the 2006 model year?

motorcity3 · June 2005

Hello everyone. I know that this subject has been discussed, but I was wondering if anybody has any updates or any new information on possible creaks coming from the door areas. I bought a 2005 X3 2.5i at the end of April and I started hearing creaks about 5-6 weeks later. I am not very pleased, especially being a returning BMW owner, having a lot of faith in BMW solid build quality. I currently also own a 2001 325i, which I have been driving a bit over 4 years now on very bumpy Detroit-Metro area roads. Whoever lives here knows what I am talking about. I have not heard a creak or rattle in my 325i yet. So I as wondering is this a real problem, or is it something that will go away? It sounds more like rubbing and it is not very loud, but will become very annoying very soon.

Thank you.

robertv · June 2005

This is copied and pasted from another thread going on at another forum for the same complaints.

"It's the door seals.

Go to your BMW dealer and ask them to read a SIB 51 07 04
which tells them to clean the flock covered door seal
that is on the doors top edge - clean it first
with 83.19.9.407.906 BMW Silicone Remover and
let it dry . Then apply 83.23.0.309.627
Cabaflo lubricant to the flock covering
on all four door seals. No additional
treatment is necessary after this
application - such as drying,
polishing the roof...etc

(thanks to Creighton @ BMW of Demerest)"

markcincinnati · July 2005

. . .page 91 of the new Car and Driver magazine.

The new X5 is the slightly bigger brother of the X3. The new X5 is the "spittin' image" of the X3.

Likely to cause attraction in some and revulsion in others, the new X5 simply carries on the "fresh" (that's one word for it) look of the X3.

It took a little time for it to grow on us, but the X3 (without the contrasting bumpers) has become quite handsome to our eye (my wife and me is the limit of the word "our" at this time.)

Of course I think the real looker is the new Audi Q5 -- same issue. :shades:

adamwade · July 2005

Had my X3 3.0i (6 speed manual, premium package - black w/beige leather) for just one week now. I was surprised to get 22 mpg my first tank, with half city/hwy. I kept my shifting max to 4,000 RPM for breakin considerations.

For anyone considering an X3, I got mine at Irvine BMW, CA for a steal - $399/month lease 3 years, with zero down (only DMV, first months payment and refundable security dep. = $1250) MSRP 39,600$

markcincinnati · July 2005

We too feel we got a screaming deal at $581 per month, 3yrs 15K/year. $250.00 down, sec dep+first mo.

MSRP north of $46K. Jet Black Gloss/Terracotta, virtually all options.

Love the look -- the new X5 pictured in the new C&D even has the X3 sport package wheels.

Of course, we still don't like the unpainted bumpers that DO SHOW in any color other than black.

Dealer claims new X3 will be fully painted!

Let's hope so.

stever · July 2005

Please post about your deal over in BMW X3: Prices Paid & Buying Experience (like Adam did - thanks!). Or maybe you did and I didn't go back far enough; you got it in early May, right?

And congrats to all the new owners.

Steve, Host

idagorn · July 2005

Hi!
I agree that painted bumpers look smarter.....at least for a short time...until you park downtown for the first time that is; and then you wish you'd black plastic ones. Remember the days when cars had side protections on their doors? even small cars built for city driving seem to have lost them; or when they haven't, their protections have been...guess what? PAINTED!
by the way why is it that in the US quite a few American Males seem to regard the X3 as a Woman's car?:-)
and -once more- go diesel (204HP, tremendous torque and 31/32mpg, and a clean engine!)

markcincinnati · July 2005

I don't know who thinks the X3 is any gender's car -- but don't say that to the owner of the BMW store here in River City. His personal driver is an X3.

Maybe his feminie side is showing -- nahhhh.

Especially don't tell my wife she is driving a "woman's car" -- she, I'm sure, would diagree with that on so many levels.

Finally look at the new X5 (pg 91 -- as I recall -- of the new C&D): spittin' image of the X3. Can't imagine BMW would produce a "look" of their SAV that would be anything other than gender neutral.

idagorn · July 2005

Hi!
glad you didn't take my remarks about the X3 being a woman's car too seriously; I just noticed reading the messages on the forum that it was the kind of car that seemed to appeal to many American women while here in Europe you will hardly see one being driven by a woman; is it because the average European male is too macho or the average European female too timid ?

tidester · July 2005

or the average European female too timid ?

Not a chance!

tidester, host

cdnpinhead · July 2005

Regarding that gender thing: I drove a (actually two) Miata for four years. I'm 6' 2" & weigh more than the tables say I should, but enjoyed the car a lot -- comparable to my '65 MGB. Somewhere in there I learned that the Miata was considered a "chick" car.

Oh well.

markcincinnati · July 2005

Over the years there have been cars and trucks and other things that have somehow made it to be labeled this or that gender -- the Nissan Pulsar (in hot pink) is the ONLY one that I am dead on certain was a "chick" car. My wife's boss, not female, had one of these things, in hot pink. I guess it was his wife's or his kid's car -- but, so what -- he had no doubt about his gender and the car worked just fine.

It did, however, look a bit goofy to see a gray haired man in a suite get out of the thing.

My wife (who kept her name when we got married -- and I kept mine too) rails on and on about "dude" or "chick" or "guy" or "gal" this or that. She loves stick shifts, likes Black Gloss German cars, collects high end pens and wristwatches and is a lawyer. Although of slight build, she is also a marathoner and takes no guff from nobody.

I just find it odd and sometimes funny to think that the X3, for instance is thought of as a "female" car -- look out when the new X5 hits the streets -- it is the spittin' image of the X3.

You know what? I'll bet the reason for the gender pigeon holing -- the X3 -- as a woman's car has to do with the fact that it can be configured to be REALLY CHEAP (price-wise with the 2.5, stripped, etc.) May I be struck down for saying this but perhaps the "stay at home ____ home maker" gets the "mom" or "dad" mobile and the X3, cast in that light (low cost, but still able to wear the badge) fills the bill.

My wife's "high zoot" $47K X3, however, is a far cry from the strippie in the paper for $29K.

It's all from one's perspective.

I really have grown to like and respect the X3 for being fun, competent, darn near luxurious and "tossable" (at least with the Sport Pack and 3.0 w/stick shift).

There, one of us feels better. Oh, that would be me. :shades:

bodble2 · July 2005

Interesting perspective, Mark, but I've always thought the X3 got the chick car label (probably unjustifiably) because, one, it does have "gentler" styling compared to the X5. Because the X5 and the X3 are quite similar in appearance, I think a lot of people view them as a "matching set", "his and hers" SUVs, so to speak. In that sense, the X5 would certainly be the "male", and the X3 the "female". And two, because it is less bulky, with a lower step-in height, it does attract a larger proportion of female buyers, again, compared to the X5.

Probably the only true "chick" SUVs, amongst the upscale brands, are the Freelander and RX330. I can't see any self-respecting male actually buying one of those for himself. :P

robertv · July 2005

Okay now.....I have both a Freelander and the X3. The Freelander has about 4 weeks left on the lease and I've had it for over 3 years now. If I told you I was going to go on an un-mapped off road trail with nasty rocks, mud filled rutted out holes, downed trees, etc, etc......which do you think I would take? That's right, without hesitation I'd take the Freelander. I didn't really appreciated it's toughness until I got the X3 but that Freelander is rock-solid though!!! Would it go everywhere that a Discover or Jeep Wrangler does....not without damage but it will go much farther than most people give it credit for. MUCH farther. Believe me, I've taken that Freelander through some terrain that I would not even dream of taking the X3 and I never got close to pushing it to it's limits.

The reason that I got the X3 was because the Freelander, and Land Rover in general, isn't as reliable as I'd like them to be. And they are ungodly expensive to maintain. I paid way more money than one should over the 3 years and that's with just regular maintenance. If I had to pay for all the other problems that were covered under warranty there would be a lawsuit in the works. There is no question that the X3 drives better, handles better, is built better, feels better and is pretty much in a different world than the Freelander. But if you're going to say the Freelander is a "Chick SUV" then it better be one bad-@ss chick.

bodble2 · July 2005

" ...then it better be one bad-ss chick."

LOL! Yes, probably chicks from the Prairies, where men are men, and some of the women are too! :P

Seriously, I know the Freelander, despite its appearance, has loads of off-road abilities. But so does the ML, or the Pathfinder, or...., and we all know how much off-roading those vehicles are subjected to.

It's just that I honestly can't remember the last time I saw a Freelander driven by a guy. I think they appeal to women because they are small, easy to park, and makes a bit of a fashion statement because they are, afterall, still a Land Rover, albeit a 5/8th scale one. (The underpowered V6 probably is another factor in it being not as attractive to guys).

robertv · July 2005

"The underpowered V6 probably is another factor in it being not as attractive to guys"

That it is, I will agree there! Which is another reason why I like the X3 so much. But anyway, over at muddyoval.com a good majority of the Freelander forum is populated by guys. Personally, with the people I know that own Freelanders it's about a 50/50 split. AH, who cares anyway! All problems aside, I enjoyed my time with the Freelander.

bodble2 · July 2005

" I enjoyed my time with the Freelander."

That, of course, is the important part -- that you like it. My opinion no doubt is a generalization based solely on personal anecdotal observation. Happy motoring!

delrick · July 2005

(anybody else think the search function here is useless? although the search terms box says search in this discussion, the actual search actually goes thru the entire site and I always have to stop it after several minutes of finding nothing.)

I was looking for this post to thank jimbob533 for the pointer to 51 07 04.

Took delivery on an 05 X3 a couple of weeks ago and thought it was falling apart.

On anything but a glass smooth road surface, it rattled and creaked like a buckboard.

Ran across jims post and when I was able to get into the dealers, after the 4th holiday, I suggested that those issues might be contributing to the problem.

When I picked up the car, the service notice indicated that all they had done was apply bulletin 51 07 04.

The difference is amazing.

No rattles or squeaks...period.

thanks for the heads up....

bargamon1 · July 2005

Hey mark, lurking here at your suggesting!

question to those with Sport option: Is the ride as bad as advertised? I have read a few reviews and most was very good except that the sport x3 was very bad ride quality. Car and Driver mentioned it as one of the silliest vehicles in years, and the worst riding BMW ever! Not to take it all with a grain of salt, but those are pretty harsh words!

While I can appreciate a sport ride as being harsher than its more tame counterpart, is it that severe?

tidester · July 2005

although the search terms box says search in this discussion, the actual search actually goes thru the entire site and I always have to stop it after several minutes of finding nothing.

No, the actual search is confined to just this discussion even though the message reports it's "searching over two million items." I just did a search using the word "creaking" and it took a few seconds displaying results only from this discussion.

The "Advanced Search" option will let you narrow down your search.

tidester, host

rob34 · July 2005

I just picked my 3.0 with sport yesterday. I asked the dealership if they checked the tire pressure and they said yes. Wrong. I checked it right away and all tires were at like 44 PSI. The manual says 32 front, 35 rear. I lowered the tire pressure to those levels and it rides great. I don't find my car to be rough at all, even over bumps. It's exactly as it should be. All, check your tire pressures, and if you still think it rides to harshly, perhaps you should get a town car or something.

markcincinnati · July 2005

My wife and I are NOT experts in ride quality. But we've had dozens of German cars over the past 30 years. We currently have three in our garage right now -- the X3 we have is a 3.0 Sport, Premium, Cold and a bunch of other options to crank this little puppy darn near into the Luxury Performance Sedan class of vehicles.

I can tell you that the 2003 TT coupe rides rougher and is fairly noisy.

My wife's 6spd manual X3 with the all season 18" wheels and tires that come with the sport package "normally" is very quiet, controlled over all kinds of surfaces and rides very well. It is somewhat firm. But, having said that, so is my new Audi A6 which has 245 x 40 x 18" tires and the NON sport suspension.

The ride quality of the X3 is, IMHO, a product of 2 things (well, maybe 3) -- the wheelbase and the stiffness of the X3's chassis (#3 could be spring rate, but of the three, I vote for the wheelbase and chassis stiffness as the main contributors.)

On a washboard road (and there are darn few of them) the ride is more choppy than on normally smooth roads (and there aren't too many of these either), but that would be true of almost any car unless it had a very long wheelbase and an active suspension.

You may or may not like a firm suspension -- the X3 is a BMW, a car based on the 3 series Bimmer.

In its normal guise, the X3 rides, IMHO, worse than the one with the sport package. I think it may be a combination of the seats, the upgrades that go with the Premium part of the deal, the minimal road noise and the precise turn in that goes with the Servotronic option.

Yes, the early early reviews of the 2004 X3 proclaimed it was too harsh -- but by May 2004 BMW had implemented an upgrade or change or whatever you want to call it that addressed the rock hard, near brittle feel of the first 6 month's worth of cars to come off the assembly line.

It is, based on our experience -- with THE largest volume BMW in Ohio -- difficult to find many examples of the X3 equipped with the combination of packages and options that seems to put this car in its absolute best light.

We have test driven X3 3.0's standard and sport (with both stick and auto), X3 2.5's with stick and auto but not with sport. We have driven cars with and without the Premium package and with and without the upgraded sound system, etc etc etc.

The BMW X3, with the above as a backdrop, is very sensitive to how it is configured. It is an absolute chameleon car/SAV.

I would go so far as to say this car can be luxurious/comfortable, sporty and utilitarian -- and you can make it be all three at the same time. In our experience with what is normally for sale at a dealer, the normal course is to "pick two" -- usually the one that seems to have been omitted from in-stock inventory is luxurious/comfortable.

That's our story and we're stickin' to it! :shades:

bargamon1 · July 2005

IN many ways you describe our beloved Allroad!

I will add it to my list.

Did you ever consider the FX35 or the lack of a manual throw it out of contention?

Its not as refined, but its an unusual ride a few years ahead of its time.

Any expectatoins for 0-60 with new 255 hp engine? Should at leaset be sub 7 seconds!

bargamon1 · July 2005

Does anyone really love the big sunroof??

markcincinnati · July 2005

Count us as fans of the sunroof!

mjpollack · July 2005

I would be happy with it, except that it has been incredibly problematic ever since I got the car (2004 X3 2.5i). It has leaked repeatedly, and the repair ATTEMPTS have always left something else wrong with it. It leaked, then it gurgled, then it rattled, then it leaked again, now it rattles again and the wind deflector binds. I have been fairly discouraged by the whole thing.... I don't expect that it is over either. In one year, the car has been in for repair about 12 times.

There are things that I like about it, but I can guarantee that when my lease is over, I will no longer be an X3 driver.

robertv · July 2005

I'm "iffy" on the sunroof. Yes it's huge and has several different positions you can put it in but I think it's more for the back seat people to enjoy. The sunroof seems to start pretty far back. Further back than my previous 2 vehicles that had sunroofs. I guess this is due to the aggressively sloped windshield. Add to this the fact that I am a pretty short guy (oh woe is me) and have to sit closer to the dash the sunroof almost starts right above my head. Well... not quite but it sure seems that way. For me, it's hard to notice when it's open unless the sun is shining directly on me. So I don't get to enjoy it as much as most people would.

That being said I would still get the sunroof if I had to purchase it all over again. It's one of the things that sets is apart from the competition. I have had zero problems with my X3 so far but I've only had it for 5 weeks. I'm hoping it stays that way.

BMW X3

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