Time to say goodbye to my X3 ?
 

I love my 2007 X3, it is fun to drive and looks great, but 2 oil leaks in 3 months as i approach 90K miles - only 10K left on my ext warranty i'm starting to think about trading it in. Head gasket, oil pan, valve cover gasket and control arms all covered and replaced. Last issue with valve cover gasket had oil leaking into spark plugs - no check engine but stalled all of a sudden... When valve cover replaced the first time, was going 80 on freeway and car turned off and started smoking - burnt oil - was replaced again, seems fine now (300 miles in) - never had trouble til 3 monhts ago

Luckily warrantly covered both repairs - only few hundred out of pocket...what are the chances of continued issues? i'd hoped to keep this car a while... ive done all preventative maint fluids etc - was planning to do trany flush....

I do drive over 25Kmiles a year, mpg has been pretty good as most is highway...any advice?

That's a difficult decision. I will say that all of the items that needed replacing were rubber wear items. Rubber Control arm bushings and rubber seals / gaskets will all eventually wear out or fail. A rubber gasket on any other vehicle ( Honda, Lexus ) will still eventually fail and need replacing.
If your X3 seems to be reliable mechanically and electrically it may be worth thinking about keeping for a long time. Just realize that it'll need attention every now and then, especially the wear items you've mentioned.

Keep it for now. You have more than enough miles left before your warranty runs out to determine the overall condition of the vehicle. Give it another 7-8K miles and then make a more informed decision! Besides, a few more thousands miles isn't going to change the trade in value much, if any.

The Cooling system might be the next item to go!? If you wrench at all, it's not a difficult task. I would keep the vehicle! Like 161 said, any other vehicle will eventually need to have repairs.

I dump my vehicles at 80k for a reason. That is when all the problems seem to start. The things that are not being discussed that are next on the list are mechanical issues such as the struts that in most cases are not covered under extended warranty and go around $2k for replacement.

If I recall someone here just posted that problem.

These kinds of things are not cheap if you have to have a mechanic handle them.

Obviously, I disagree with others here. I have a simple rule of thumb. If I have to make the equivalent of two car payments in repairs twice in one year then the vehicle goes.

Your other option here is to take it to an independent ASE certified BMW mechanic and pay them to check the vehicle out. There is a laundry list of common issues you can develop from reading this site, such as the springs may crack, struts may leak, expansion tanks crack, etc... have them look at these things.

EE

Thanks for all the advice!! Evenglr funny you mention struts when they did the control arm said one front strut was shot which means both so yeah that's on the list, I have a good Indy shop but tired of having my car in the shop so much.... I drive 4oo miles a week, just need something lower maintenance... And not as expensive I can drive into the ground :). Do like the new X3 but will wait another year or two for a good deal on a used one maybe as a second car that I won't put as many miles on.

starting to shop for my next vehicle :(. Maybe a VW? Don't like the Hondas or Toyotas... Anyone try gulp-hyundais- shutter the thought:tsk: I'm sure once I test drive will be crossing many off the list...

VW passat diesel would be the car I would look at if I drove 400 miles per week.
I like working on cars and know what I'm doing with most auto related things. I probably would not have a BMW out if warranty otherwise.

+1

I was actually starting to look around at getting a Golf Rabbit as I too drive 400+ miles a week and have already put 3k on my 1 1/2 month old 2013 S4.

I like working on cars but not so much the ones of today. I spend all day at work playing with computers and using an OBD set up at home is just an extension of work.

The one thing I am really partial to is the way German cars "Feel" when you drive them. The new 3 series not so much as they have swung to far to Japanese side of steering for me.

Always fun finding that happy medium between road feel and too much where it is a rough ride.

Rumor has it BMW is bringing over a diesel for the new x3 :thumbup: whatever you do stay Away from Ford. We ditched out 2012 focus to pick up our 06 x3. We put more miles on rental cars then the actually Focus:thumbdwn:

I never understood the point of dumping a car because it needs repairs due to normal use:confused:. If you enjoy the vehicle & its paid for why not drive it until you really do want something else not just because it needs repair. What is cheaper, fixing your current X3 or purchasing say another newer X3?

At this point...

If you don't have 07 tranny issues and you have fixed all issues, why not keep it. A well maintained BMW will last for at least another 100k...plus you already took the depreciation hit. Those were big repairs but now they are fixed. The only suggestion I have is that at 99k miles, pay $250 for a trusted Indy BMW guy to thoroughly inspect the car for warranty issues to be fixed before 100k.

...but....if your goal is onward and outward I get it.

As a side note my 09 is above
100k miles and has been an awesome commuter. I can see 300k in its future.

Some cars just seem to last longer and have better repair histories than others of the same year, make and model. I am sort of in your position, 87K on my '06 X3 and up until about 60K it was bulletproof -- then things went south. After the last incident with two struts and a recommendation for another $2K worth of soon to be needed stuff (plus tires and brakes) I am pulling the plug. Looking long and hard at the VW Passat sportwagen TDI and also at the new Ford C-Max -- I like the 47 mpg and have read good things about it. However until I actually sit in one and drive it I won't know. All this is a kind of stopgap until the new Q5 TDI gets here because I really like the Q5 and the diesel is just icing on the cake! I was planning a 2 year lease on either of the VW and Ford since there are attractive offers out there now on both. The X3 is never going to be worth any more no matter how much I put into it so it needs to go before the repair bills swamp me.:bawling:

My sentiments exactly!:thumbup:

Both of our sons drive Subaru's and swear by them.

I would not want a first model year for a diesel Q5. The first model year of the gas model had a horrendous reliability record - tons of transmission problems.

I must have a wednesday car. My 05 has been a solid vehicle (knock wood) and is approaching 90k. The only out of warranty repair (other than maintenance) has been an air bag sensor in the steering wheel (clock spring?) a couple years ago

My point exactly about my rule of if I have to spend the equivalent of two months of car payments twice in one year then I dump it. And I dont consider springs cracking, struts exploding, expansion tanks cracking, etc... really "Normal Use" at 70k miles.

So a set of struts, and a roof cassette would do it. However, I also don't want to be one of those folks that have to "Limp" home and I can afford not to. I dumped it.

I can say I really liked my 2008 MT X3, but was getting sick of the games with BMWNA and especially Passport BMW in MD.

However, to reiterate that in this case I would take it to a reputable ASE certified BMW indy mechanic and get the low down from them before I just up and chucked it.

Really? Well than better not own a car out of warranty that is German made:rofl:. I would say struts going bad in 70K could be normal if you drive on some the so called roads in the country. BMW is not the only brand to have cooling system issues, Acura MDX's radiators fail often.

I totally respect your opinion on this issue. I have a good friend that only leases because he never wants to have to worry about his cars. The dealership bends over backwards to keep his business of two new cars every three years.

I've had people call me stupid for buying new. I politely remind them that somebody has to buy new for them to buy used. I drive too many miles to lease a car.

I don't want a "first year" car either -- thats why I was considering leasing something else for two years until the Q5 had some history here with the unique urea injection requirements. And besides, I just like to drive a new car every 5 or so years too. :D Remember the X5 diesel urea problems when they first arrived but now that is sorted out pretty well -- except for some cases of excessive use. VA(P)G has been using urea now for a couple of years and has even uses it in the turbo 4 in the (new) Passat along with their TDI V6's, so they have history on getting it right. One year on the roads here should get the Q5 set up fine.:thumbup:

Everyone has their own standard here, but... mathematically speaking, you're eight car payments to the bad with your strategy.

I dig it, people buy new cars when they buy new cars. There's almost never a real financial business case to do it, though.

I wish leasing had better mileage set ups but they dont so I buy new. And like your reply.

In answer to someone else talking about all vehicles inevitably developing problems at 70k. They all also don't cost $135.00/hr to repair or almost a grand for a set of struts..... . So, I dump them because I cant afford to have a car down, cant afford to have three cars in the house,but don't have the time to work on them myself anymore. And don't dump them all at 70k miles. Just the ones that cost double payments twice in a row in the same year. That is roughly $2-2.2K usd.

Giving some thought to a cheap diesel though since already have 3k miles on brand new car.

Evl look at the Golf TDI, great mileage and of course excellent manners -- along with a huge tuner network. The A3 TDI is no slouch either -- but could not be called "cheap" really.:angel: 45 mpg really sounds good when fuel costs slide up toward $5.!:tsk:

The Golf TDI isn't really inexpensive though, starts around $25k and I personally don't like buying factory leftovers. Chevy Cruze diesel is out next year as is a Jeep Grand Cherokee diesel. Both drive reasonably well (I've driven both in NC) and under the right circumstances, I would actually buy them.

I would think that the JGC TDI (with the very excellent VM Motori Turbo V6 240 hp/406 lbs of torque) would not be "cheap" either. I suspect it will top $40K and be a direct competitor to the usual suspects (ML,X5,T-egg oilers). The Cruze however might undercut the Golf a bit -- but I don't think I would want a new GM diesel the first year of production here -- whereas the Golf has been around "forever" and has a serious tuner base as well as a plethora of dedicated indys. I would love to drive the new JGC diesel, and can't wait for the new Ram half-ton pick up with that engine either. A medium duty full size truck diesel is long overdue here again! In two years we also may see the three row Durango with that diesel as well. None of these will be "cheap" however.:tsk:

Getting slightly off topic here, but the Grand Cherokee is great value and there's usually incentives (albeit not at initial release of the diesel) and wiggle room on the price. I drove an Overland V8 version in Sept and for $46k sticker, you're getting Active Cruise, High Beam assistant, sat nav, and tons of other nice toys that would cost thousands extra in a comparable ML or X5. Of course, it does depend on everyone's needs, but personally I drive a lot of hwy miles in rural areas and frequently wish I had ACC and High Beam Assistant on my X3 (actually, I wish I had more power too).

Not sure which diesel the Cruze will use, but there's been diesel Cruze powertrains in Europe since inception, so it may not necessarily be a "first year" drivetrain here in the US. I know it's likely my favourite compact car in the US; the Focus has a hatch model but the interior is awful and the manual gearbox only has 5 speeds. The Cruze 6MT is one of the easiest to drive, ever, and the interior is pretty logical (to me).