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There's nothing to be embarrased about, the Camry does exactly what it is designed to do-provide reliable, comfortable, and economical transportation. However, as you've discovered, driving pleasure isn't a part of the Camry's playbook. Try to spend at least an hour behind the wheel of an X3 and then let us know your impressions.
Owning a German premium car/Suv does require more patience.
Many first timers feel that paying alot of money entitles them to better reliability. That is not always true, or false, but beware to get performance and driver feel, sometimes things go wrong.
Japenese cars are very reliable, but can be boring. For many, the utlity is the most important. My wife could care less about a "teutonic revelation" and being one with the road. For me, its all about that!
Look at all the Escalade drivers. Things like status and being afraid are higher priorities.
Kudos for interest in the X3!! Its a drivers auto and not high on the bling factor.
I might suggest you drive an Infiniti FX35 which is good value in terms of amenities and it drives pretty nice.
Its different than the X3, but its the only small premium Sport Utility vehicle I can think in this segment besides the awful boring lexus.
This segment will expand with a new mercedes offering and the Q5 by Audi still not due for 2 years. The X3 has about 2 years left before a new model replaces it. Thats fine as they are refined now and because its not a hot seller, you can get a good price!
Good luck, and happy miles
She got the 3.0 with the 6spd manual and
Premium
Sport
Cold Weather
Sound system upgrade
Bi Xenons
Servotronic
Sat Nav
Sirius
Chrome tail pipe extensions
In car built in/removable Sony Ericsson T637 Bluetooth and mounted phone.
BMW specific (dealer sold) Kleen Wheels
And probably a couple other things I forget right now.
MSRP including shipping and the three accessories mentioned above ~$47K; we put $250.00 down (for the Servotronic), sec dep and got a 36 month 15K per year lease including tax (state of Ohio) for $581/mo.
We custom ordered the car, it took 7 weeks to come in -- black gloss (at the time the bumpers ONLY came in black, now they are body colored) with the Terracotta Leather Sport seats and the light birch wood.
We have had the wiper blades changed once, it has over 13,000 miles on it and we have had to add one pint of oil during this period of time. Picked up the car in May 2005, car was built in April 2005. Only other visits to dealer are for weekly free car washes Starbucks and choc chip cookies avail to all customers all day Saturday.
I assume there are changes in the 2006's beyond the dressed up bumpers.
We thought the vehicle with the 5spd auto was adequately powered as the transmission seemed to hunt a lot (Cincinnati is the city of "7 Hills.") With the 6spd manual it was a blast and the mileage is good (~24 highway around town; in the city ~20; on long trips over 25mpg even with the A/C on.)
Regrets: we didn't get the home link transmitter option (didn't know it didn't come with it); we didn't get the privacy glass option (the only one we've seen without it is ours); AND MAYBE the power folding mirrors, but frankly this has never been a problem so for $350 or whatever, we might re think that one.
Encourage others to: ORDER the car with SERVOTRONIC it is "only" $250 and it transforms the steering and feeling you get via the wheel. It was here in Cincinnati a sold order option only. Beats me why. The stock sound system is lame. The upgraded system with Sat Radio and the single CD in dash is very nice.
It is a BMW -- it is NOT based on a truck. It is NOT really an off road vehicle. It rides higher than a BMW sedan and has a firm suspension. It handles, therefore, like a somewhat taller sport sedan from Germany -- the ride is firm, at slower speeds on a "washboard" surface the sensation can be one of being jostled. This happens, to us here in Pot Hole Central, less than 5% of the time.
This is a relatively quiet vehicle, but there is a bit less isolation than in a similar Lexus -- some people love this (my wife) some don't want to hear or feel the road -- hell, some don't even want to see the road. The X3 needs a slight upgrade to the material covering the dash. This has not been and I suspect it will not be a durability issue, it is an appearance issue. It seems to look better in black which hides the coarse pebble grain of the dash.
With a high contrast interior, like Terracotta, it is not really too much of an issue, but for $47K you'd think they would take a page out of the book of the 3 series or from an Audi A4 for Pete's sake.
Confidence inspiring is what my 50 year old lawyer wife says after 3 Audi TT 225HP coupes and a dozen Audis of various ilks since her first Fox in 1979.
She likes being slightly higher off the road and the feeling of the X drive when we have one of those nasty but brief Cincinnati Snowstorms (luckily only 1 this year.)
Hope this helps if you are a shopper at this moment in time. The deals, too, seem to be quite good as the residual (subvented or not, who cares?) on these cars seems impressive.
Drive it like you live.
:shades:
They point out that perhaps the interior will get touched up a bit and show the smoother front end, changed light lens, and describe the rear also gets smoothed out.
They also assume the new motor will make it this time.
I had read previously that there would be two years before the new X3 wouild be released. Makes sense as it would be 5 years old at that time and the competition in this segment will get crowded.
It would appear the X3 is going a bit more upscale to strengthen sales and shore up pricing.
I hope they do this sooner than later and in my timeframe of purchase.
I always thought that the 2.5 was too small of an engine for the X3, but this is a pretty nice little rig.. Plenty of acceleration.... Even though it doesn't have the premium package, I can't think of much I would really miss.. I usually like all of the options on a luxury car, but this isn't bad, at all... The improvement over my normal ride (CR-V) is tremendous, obviously..
One question.. The big moonroof has two upholstered interior panels covering the opening.. I didn't have a lot of time this morning.. Can you slide these back manually? Or do they only move when you open the roof? I don't remember seeing these before.. are they an accessory item?
regards,
kyfdx
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Seriously.. for what was probably a $35K MSRP vehicle, it is pretty nice.... and better acceleration than I expected... even though I've had the same engine in a 3-series..
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My wife had come from a 225HP Audi TT coupe and it was "spunky."
The 3.0 X3 did the trick, but not the 2.5.
We drove it too, with the auto which near the BMW store made it seem to "hunt" at lot to compensate for its lower torque.
Moot now, since only the 3.0 is offered.
Shame is they could put the 255HP 3.0 in it in a heartbeat, but that would surely kill the X5, and, well, that isn't about to happen.
The marketing and the manufacturing are lagging -- one or the other.
I would think they could sell as many of the X3's as they could mint with the 255HP engine and the 6spd step or manual. But only if they kept reasonably close to the price.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
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As someone informed me about a month ago, apparently the 2.5 is still available in Canada....
Silly Canadians. :P
So now it's confirmed that BMW has ditched plans to put in the 255hp motor and 6-sp steptronic until the new X5 comes out?
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Most BMW engines require anywhere from 5000-10000 miles of driving before they are fully "broken in". At the US press introduction of the X5 4.6is the BMW engineers told us that the engine would not develop maximum power until it had 6000 miles on the clock. Car and Driver long term tests have almost always found BMWs to be a bit quicker at the conclusion of the test period.
German engines (and others for all I know) seem to improve in power and economy after 5,000 to 10,000 miles and sometimes again although less dramatically after an additional 5,000 - 10,000 miles.
The BMW X3 will probably be marginally better after the first oil change -- especially if your oil is particularly dirty.
I would say the impact of this, however, would be far more likely to be psychological rather than real. Yet, it has been, I have read, measured (can't remember if this was in a BMW though.)
Yes, BMW states that an Oil Service must be performed when indicated by the SI or at one year-whichever comes first.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
The two iPod hookup options for my X3 thatI looked at were much more expensive -- including labor -- than I'd anticipated. And the radio unit itself will NOT display song information with either of them.
So, what I've started doing is burning RW .mp3 disks out of iTunes.
An RW .mp3 CD will hold about 12 CD's (or 150 songs) which I find is an adequate substitute for having my whole iPod collection available. At any given time, I'm most often listening to just 8 or 10 CD's anyway.
With the heavy stop and go traffic here, the auto would clearly be more convenient for commuting. On the other hand, one of the main reasons I'm buying a BMW is for the performance and driving fun, so I'm trying to weigh the two issues in making a decision. I drove a Saab 900 Turbo with a 5-speed manual transmission for about 11 years and don't remember being particularly bothered by it in traffic, but I've been driving an automatic for about the last 10 years.
I'd appreciate input from anyone who's driven both, or just general level of satisfaction from folks driving either one. Thanks
Then one day the phone rang, the BMW sales rep said she had one to drive that had the two things we wanted to test: manual transmission and sport package.
Night and brilliant day difference. The BMW automatic like so many other intelligent autos has a propensity to upshift early and downshift late. The goal one assumes is a slight improvement in mileage. The newest BMW autos (not on the X3's, yet) are 6spds (as are the manuals.) The 6spd auto is OK to pretty good, the 5spd steptronics are afflicted with a "feature" that is usually termed transmission name here-lag. A BMW with this feature is said to have step-lag, that is.
The X3 with the 225 HP engine and 6speed manual is very much like a BMW Sedan -- the edge so to speak is somewhat dulled by the automatic, on the other hand. The car seemed (in D) to be frequently "hunting" for a new gear -- it would do its best to get to fifth and the moment a mole hill was encountered, downshift to fourth which was often right on the upshift point and back to 5th it went only to discover there was a slight grade and back down again, and so on.
We ordered the X3, took 7 weeks to come in exactly as we wanted.
Premium
Sport
Cold weather
Navigation
Sat Radio
Upgraded sound
Upgraded lights (xenons)
Phone cradle in arm rest
Jet Black gloss w/Terracotta Leather sport seats
and second only to the manual transmission in being a transformation of the driving experience:
Servotronic Steering: a $250 list price option that, too, changes the dynamics of driving this almost secret sports sedan that happened to have an SUV as a grandparent.
Please understand we don't think the car is bad with the automatic -- it is just much different and we think better (performance, control, fun, safety, etc.) with the stick.
Servotronic -- they probably won't have any to drive, but if they do, try it. If they don't just order yours with it, you will not be let down, indeed you will be rewarded.
They WORK. Who cares what they look like?
They work.
They will save the carpet and the carpeted mats from premature wear.
They work.
After not getting them for several cars, I found the cost of getting them was cheaper than the alternatives.
And, they. . . .
Well, you know. :shades:
tidester, host
I have a Honda CR-V, and my first thought on seeing them was, "These would be nice in my car"...
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Do they give the SAV a more "utilitarian" and less "luxurious" appearance? Yes.
Am I glad I have them? Yes.
One note: The BMW mats aren't as "solid" as the Volvo mats in my wife's XC90. But what the hey -- they do the job.
I would appreciate if I could get some insights and advise or if you can share your experience on a scenario like this.
Our X3 was involved in a accident as the car was trying to make a left turn and we didn't see the car heading down and it crashed onto the front right side. Fortunately no injuries but the front was damaged considerably, no roof/door or windshield damage.
It is a 05, 3.0, black with about 5k miles on it.(Yes we bought it only in Apr 05 .
I spoke the body work place (reccoed by BMW dealership) and the initial estimate is about $15k, and they are replacing all damaged parts, they want to check more after taking the engine and transmission so may be we are looking at a $20k damage may be not. He says there is damage to the right frame (folded) but since it is ahead of the suspension on the chassis it is very repairable.
We bought the the X3 for about $39k + taxes (WA state) saved some money as we took european delivery.
The question I have is, what impact will this kind of repair work have on the resale value if we sell in about 3-4 yrs, say 1 yr after the warranty is over ?
Also is this damage/costs significant enough to push for totaling the car given the chassis/frame damage ?
Should we be looking to trade-in or sell the repaired X3 well before warranty ends to get the best deal ?
Any other things we should either take care of or plan for ?
Thanks
Steve, Host
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Peter
Well, as I said, my dealer only charges $192-with my CCA discount-for the bumper cover. And-based on information I've gathered on a couple of other boards-the R&R is a painfully simple process. What is the itemized breakdown on your dealers estimate? For $800 bucks they better kiss you and send flowers the next morning...
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
I'm trying to find that on bmwusa.com.... Where is it on the site?
Don't forget, though, that to accomodate the Sirius receiver, the X3 also has to have been "pre-wired" for Satellite Radio. BMW charges an additional $75 for that option. See the "Options" tab/"Entertainment" subtab in the "Build Your Own" page.