I started looking at SUVs about a month ago and I have decided on the X3. This will be my first BMW. I've always driven Chevy trucks previously and they have been reliable.
Reading all of the posts about issues on this forum has scared me a bit. It's not the money that concerns me, since I'm sure most of these things will be covered by warranty. But is it just kind of understood that with a luxury vehicle like this you will be taking it to the dealer for service regularly? I may be moving to the north-west US and could be as far as 2-3 hours away from the closest BMW dealer.
I would appreciate any comments to reinforce or alleviate my fears
Personally, I would not purchase any make of new vechicle that did not have a dealer within an hour or so's drive from my house. My BMWs (all sedans prior to my X3) have been *mostly* trouble-free, but things can and do go wrong with ANY vehicle. When that happens, especially if the car is still under warranty, you will want to have it properly fixed by a dealer that is a reasonably distance from your home.
From a different direction, if Sat Nav is important, you'll find great dissatisfaction with it, some calling it "not fit for purpose". There's a lot of people waiting for the HW and SW upgrade and i's not clear if it's making it into the MY 14 X3 or not. You'll find a bunch of people on the fence waiting should you choose to.
I've had 6 bmw's and 4 or 5 japanese/American cars, and basically I'd have to say the bmw's do require more visits to the dealership for service/repair/maintenance. Not a massive amount more visits, but some. It could be a good excuse to take a nice 2-3 hours drive in your bmw, though
The real challenge with bmw (or Mercedes - I have both at present) ownership is the cost per service visit, not the # of service visits. Unless one is filthy rich, it's crucial to have a bmw or mercedes under a really strong, exclusionary warranty - first the factory warranty and then later the maximum super duper Platinum warranty as sold by bmw dealerhips. As long as you have a warranty sold to you by a bmw dealer, cost will not an issue so it will just be a matter of how many visits, and I don't think the quantity will be radically different than a non German car unless you just get a bad one, which can happen with any brand. However, one difference is that the local garage can do most of the work on a Japanese/American car on the cheap, whereas BMWs are basically computers with wheels and are way WAY over the head of the local Joe Mechanic.
Scheduled service on a new bmw is every 15,000 miles, basically once a year. Many people (myself included) do oil changes at 5,000 or 7,500 intervals, but an oil change can be done anywhere. So, you'd be committing to an annual trek for the scheduled service. Other trips would depend on things breaking down and so forth.
Sat Nav: I hated hated hated it when I first got my x3 2 months ago but have since gotten used to it. It's not nearly as good as Google Navigation on my android phone, but then again...any time I wanna use Google Navigation I just stream it over bluetooth from my phone thru the speaker, no big deal. In point of fact, while I used Google Nav 100 % of the time the first few weeks, I have not used it at all in the last month. I've gotten used to the bmw nav and I don't think it's too bad.
Make sure it's a good dealer service dept. I'm off for their 3rd attempt at a clear mask tomorrow, a major hassle. I'd be peeved if I had to make a 2-3 hr drive every time. (And I've had 3 attempts by them at window tints, too.)
Thanks for the comments. I'm not as concerned with driving to the dealership as I am about the vehicle just being completely un-drivable. I know they provide roadside assistance but I don't know if there are restrictions about the areas they cover. And unless they were going to bring me a loaner car, that would mean I'd have to get to the dealer somehow, drive back home, then do it all again when the repairs are done.
As others have mentioned, I think I need to be closer to a dealer.
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