High Mileage X3

[demogorgan]

Hi,

I am looking to buy an X3 for the other half but I have a few questions

I have a budget of around £2k so am looking around 56 / 57 plate, she doesn't do huge mileage maybe around 6k a year so I am not overly concerned about the mileage

Do they handle mileage well ? all the ones I am looking at are between 120k - 190k with fairly clean MOT history but obviously on the higher end of the mileage.

Anything I need to look out for when looking for one?, looking at the 2 litre diesel manual as it's the smaller engine.

Any tips or suggestions would be appreciated.

Regards
Demo

[helix402]

Get the 3l d. If you must have a 4, avoid the N47, not sure what year the X3 got it. Most others got it around 2007.

[g3org3y]

I think you could also get them with an N52 2.5 or 3.0 iirc.

I browsed a few of these on Autotrader for use as a cheap winter hack. Majority had very sparse spec tbh.

They do seem cheaper than an equivalent E91 Touring tbf.

[demogorgan]

helix402 said:

Get the 3l d. If you must have a 4, avoid the N47, not sure what year the X3 got it. Most others got it around 2007.

Hi,

Thanks for the reply but now I'm lost, a 4 and n47 ? What are they and how do I tell please?

I was avoiding the 3l due to the power and potential insurance costs for her tbh her biggest car is a 1.4 206

Cheers
Demo

[demogorgan]

g3org3y said:

I think you could also get them with an N52 2.5 or 3.0 iirc.

I browsed a few of these on Autotrader for use as a cheap winter hack. Majority had very sparse spec tbh.

They do seem cheaper than an equivalent E91 Touring tbf.

Hi,

Thanks for the response but I am afraid you have lost me an n52?
Could you tell me which ones have the better spec please or is it a case of reading through the ad and working it out ?

Cheers
Demo

[helix402]

demogorgan said:

Hi,

Thanks for the reply but now I'm lost, a 4 and n47 ? What are they and how do I tell please?

I was avoiding the 3l due to the power and potential insurance costs for her tbh her biggest car is a 1.4 206

Cheers
Demo

4=4 cylinder
N47: diesel with lots of problems

[g3org3y]

demogorgan said:

Hi,

Thanks for the response but I am afraid you have lost me an n52?
Could you tell me which ones have the better spec please or is it a case of reading through the ad and working it out ?

Cheers
Demo

The N52 is and 6 cylinder petrol engine fitted to cars of that era. It's a good reliable engine. Of course, not as economical as the diesels.

The spec depends on what the original buyer chose. I did not see many with xenon lights or heated seats (which may or may not be important to you).

[Touring442]

If you must have one, buy old but lower mileage petrol so 53/54 with the M52 2.5i manual and around 120,000 miles. 2.0d's are all w@nked out scrappers at that age.

[gf15]

We ran a 2002 x3 with 100k miles when we bought it in 2016. It was a very high spec 3.0i. It was my wife's car and doubled as the tip run car. Engine was lovely ( we also had a 2002 330CI convertible at the same time).

We kept it for 3 years, but it was regularly going wrong. It had bonkers original wide alloys, which we chopped out for winter wheels and tyres. They cost less than 2 tyres for the original wheels. It averaged18 mpg over the time we had it.

Loads of little issues, that cost 100's to put right. Only car I ever owned over 30 years that I was deighted to see the back of. I would not reccommen sorry.

[Touring442]

A RAV4 is a much better idea.

[g3org3y]

Touring442 said:

If you must have one, buy old but lower mileage petrol so 53/54 with the M52 M54 2.5i manual and around 120,000 miles. 2.0d's are all w@nked out scrappers at that age.

Sorry, you're quite right, the earlier ones did come with M54 engine which was then replaced with the N52.

gf15 said:

We ran a 2002 x3 with 100k miles when we bought it in 2016. It was a very high spec 3.0i. It was my wife's car and doubled as the tip run car. Engine was lovely ( we also had a 2002 330CI convertible at the same time).

We kept it for 3 years, but it was regularly going wrong. It had bonkers original wide alloys, which we chopped out for winter wheels and tyres. They cost less than 2 tyres for the original wheels. It averaged18 mpg over the time we had it.

Loads of little issues, that cost 100's to put right. Only car I ever owned over 30 years that I was deighted to see the back of. I would not reccommen sorry.

Out of interest, what kind of issues?

These always struck me as a lot more simple than the E70 X5 for example with a lot less to go wrong. Plus the petrol engines are fairly robust.

Touring442 said:

A RAV4 is a much better idea.

Yes, if you want to avoid bills, X3 might not be the correct answer.

Edited by g3org3y on Thursday 22 July 12:18

[DaveZed]

I'm not sure that I completely concur, from my experience here in S Africa. My 2009 X3 MSport 2.0d manual is now on 270 000 km (around 170 000 miles) and has been far from problematic. N47 2.0d engine. I've owned it the last 8 yrs, Bought it in 2013 with 100 000 km (60 000 miles) on it. I have done the following in terms of repairs:

Diff output shaft oil seal at 171 000 km.
Replaced inlet manifold (carbon fouling caused swirl flap mechanism issues, probably from first owner using it for mostly short trips in heavy traffic) at 187 000 km.
Windscreen washer pump at 195 000 km.
Glowplugs at 203 000 km.

Wear items:
Rear brake pads at 191 000 km.
Front brake pads at 240 000 km.
Still on original brake disks - very little wear on them.
Tyres every 40 000 km or so.

Transfer case fluid has been changed twice, at 191 000 and 263 000 km.

Apart from that, one new battery, a few globes, air filter every 50 000 km, brake fluid every 2 yrs and oil/filter changes every 10 000 km (oil and filter bought from BMW). Idle is lumpy currently for 10 seconds after starting, so I suspect the glowplug control unit may be faulty, but apart rom that there are no other issues whatsoever. Everything still works, and even at this mileage the exterior and interior really does still look new. Extremely pleasant vehicle to own.

Average consumption overall: 7.8 litres/100km (36 mpg)

They are sensitive to using the correct tyres (same tyres all round), and ensuring tyre wear front/rear is similar to prevent transfer case issues, especially if you run the staggered (wider rear) tyre setup. The transfer case on mine had been replaced before I bought the vehicle, at around 80 000 km.

Hope that helps.

Edited to add: I do own 2 other BMW's with the N52 3.0 six cyl petrol engine, and I'm sure it must be lovely in the X3 and even more trouble-free, but your fuel consumption would likely be close to double, unless you're only using it on the highway. My usage is around 60/40% split highway/city.

Edited by DaveZed on Thursday 22 July 14:10

[demogorgan]

Hi,

Apologies been busy last few days.

Are they really that bad ?

I read about plenty of happy people with them - what kind of issues would i be expecting? I don't think I have owned a car yet that has had no issues & can handle spanners when I need to.

I have seen an 05 plate with full history 135k on it for just over 2k and seems a good buy, that I was going to look at.

The Rav 4 seems to be roughly the same price just bigger engine which I was trying to avoid with what seems like a less nice car, surely they will have there issues as well ?

I am unsure as to what to do now - I thought BMW is a good brand and the X3 I see a lot on the road so thought it was reliable, comfortable and safe for my other half and kids.

Thanks again
Demo

[DaveZed]

Just to add, I did own a RAV4 briefly at one point too, thinking it would do nicely as a trouble-free daily commuter. I found it to be a particularly unpleasant thing. Uncomfortable, lousy handling, and not trouble-free at all. Absolutely nowhere near the X3 as a package, if you actually enjoy driving. Didn't keep it very long.

[Ranger 6]

demogorgan said:

......Are they really that bad ?

I read about plenty of happy people with them......

I'm another one of those happy people - I've had 3 of them and am looking for another. All were changed for the simple reason off better spec, bigger engine.

My first was an 05 2.0d
Took the swirl flaps out and had some new glow plugs at about 80k miles and the rest was just normal servicing. The only exceptional thing was a broken back spring.

The 2.0d is a decent thing - I've just sold my 35d and am going back to an early X3 to use during some building work as I really don't fancy a van with all the tip runs that will be needed.

[g3org3y]

demogorgan said:

Hi,

Apologies been busy last few days.

Are they really that bad ?

I read about plenty of happy people with them - what kind of issues would i be expecting? I don't think I have owned a car yet that has had no issues & can handle spanners when I need to.

I have seen an 05 plate with full history 135k on it for just over 2k and seems a good buy, that I was going to look at.

The Rav 4 seems to be roughly the same price just bigger engine which I was trying to avoid with what seems like a less nice car, surely they will have there issues as well ?

I am unsure as to what to do now - I thought BMW is a good brand and the X3 I see a lot on the road so thought it was reliable, comfortable and safe for my other half and kids.

Thanks again
Demo

At the price point of 2k, depends on the example. Could be problem free, could be a niggly wallet drain. You have to go into this kind of purchase (cheap/old BMW) with your eyes open.

N47 engine does introduce an element of uncertainty as failure = car scrap.

As mentioned, the petrol 6 cyl models are robust and very unlikely to cause you significant bother.

(I'd choose an X3 over a RAV4...because fanboy But I'd also choose the 3.0Si model)

[demogorgan]

Hi,

Appreciate that about the price point but it's the max I can stretch for a second car currently, as for the engine I thought an 05 plate would miss the dodgy engine?

Getting her anything bigger than a 2 litre would be a bit overwhelming I think not to mention the insurance costs lol.

So I'm eyes open what else should I expect at this price point, I only have 12 for sale within 60miles of me, 3 of those are petrol and look in bad condition compared to the diesel I found - so don't exactly have a lot of choice in the ones available

Really appreciate people's input so far
Demo