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New X3 Owner Here!!

3K views 18 replies 9 participants last post by  Tolland Mark 
#1 ·
Just bought a 2009 X3...okay, well actually it's for the wife. Anyways, we were originally looking at used 07's and 08's, but with the 0.9% financing, the new one was a no-brainer. I live in Ogden, UT, but we actually bought it in Tucson, AZ. I was TDY there with the Air Force and ended up getting a new car in the process. There aren't a whole lot of Bimmers in Utah and the dealership in Salt Lake is pretty high priced and none of the used ones were CPO'd. Anyways, it is a pretty base model...nothing fancy. Black exterior with beige interior. The only thing that it is missing that we would like is seat warmers. Not many BMWs in Tucson had them...obviously!

A couple quick questions. It doesn't have the alarm. How many of you have the alarm and how many of you would recommend it. I see it was about $380, but I assume with installation it will run $500. If I do get an alarm...do I get the BMW one or got to an aftermarket? Anything else I should/shouldn't do as a new X3 owner? We got the dealer to throw in the carpeted floormats after some begging and also bought the all-weather rubber ones. How about the 3M clearbra also? I hate dings and chips and I think it may be very useful here in Utah.

Anyways, thanks for any advice in advance!
 
#2 ·
Welcome to the family! You're going to love the new car! I'm a fairly new member myself... I've had a number of BMW's over the years, but this is my first X3. Mine is an '06 with I think every option you could get on the car for that year. Although, it did not have the alarm, I retrofitted mine myself. I bought it here http://bmw.dealerfit.com/store/bmw-x3-alarm-system-prod1389_13859.php Please be guided accordingly, if you are handly at all, it took me an hour to install it in my garage one night. Also, do a little more homework, I think I read somewhere online that the '09 are not prewired for it, which if, in fact they did, thats kind of ridiculous.
Anyway, good luck with and enjoy the new ride!
 
#3 ·
Rick, thanks for the advice! I assume you are in Chicago. I am from Green Bay.....but I hold no ill feelings toward Chicago. In fact, the wife and I went to college in Madison and we visited Chicago at least once a month...great city. We actually got engaged there at Geja's Fondue Restaurant.
 
#11 ·
To be my normal geek self---102db. I used to use a SPL meter at sound checks as local township ordinance required it to be below 105 at ground zero.

That's about the equivalent of holding that glock next to someone's ear and firing it.

Watch someone on the firing range sometime that isn't wearing ear protection. They will flinch for a split second. Now imagine that same level of sound at a sustained burst. Pretty nasty, hehehe :)

Btw I looked into dc voltage. Apparently it is illegal as someone already did it and the perp sued and won. Pretty crappy.
 
#9 ·
Ironic story...went to a Halloween party last night. Decided not to take the X3....who knows if you have to give an intoxicated friend a ride home...don't want throw-up in the new Bimmer. Anyways, at about 10:30, my friends car got broken into...think they used a coat hanger. There was no alarm on the car. They took the GPS, but left an Ipod and two purses and a wallet. Don't understand the reasoning behind that. If i had to guess, even if the X3 was there, I bet they would have passed it up....assumed it had an alarm. Better safe than sorry though...will be looking into the alarm. Anybody know how much installed?
 
#10 ·
Hey man, welcome to the 'fest. The alarms run around $300 IIRC on ebay (Dealer Stores) and yo can install it your self and just take it in to be programmed. My advice is, just get the clown nose programmed to blink when the car is locked, how would somebody know there's no alarm?
 
#12 ·
Thanks for the welcome! Looks like a great forum so far. When you say "clown nose", I assume you mean the red thing on the rearview mirror? This can be programmed to blink? That is a good idea...I know I need to bring it in to get the doors to lock at a certain mph also.
 
#19 ·
Check your driver's side door jamb for the build date. If it is later than Feb 2009 you like do not have prewiring and it will be IMPOSSIBLE to add the BMW alarm OR to program the clown nose to blink. Mine is June 2009 build. I am still wrangling with my dealer about this issue since my purchase order had the alarm install in writing and was informed 2 weeks after delivery that this was impossible. More to come but if anyone has a different experience on post Feb 2009 production models please help!
 
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