BMW Experience

[ShadySadie]

My son has been driving a 2 litre X3 Diesel and has been offered a very good discount if he was to buy one.

He is leaning towards the 3 litre auto for towing but might consider the two litre manual for overall economy. He knows the car gives a firm ride but is happy to live with that.

He has found the two litre to be very economic compared to the new Freelander and the X3 has far better performance for a young man and knows of 30 mpg plus driving from the 3 lire X3.

Any towing experience of X3 would be appreciated please.

 

[Colinn]

Hi Sadie,

I drove a three litre petrol X3 auto for a couple of years and in general found it a good car. Very powerful and stable but not particularly economical. However, although Practical Caravan rated it as top compact 4x4 for towing, I didn't like a quite pronounced forward-backward pitching motion (felt especially in the back seat) and be aware that noseweight limit is a measly 75k. For a better ride, go for the SE (not Sport) and avoid bigger wheels. (Not surprised he's offered a good discount - 4x4s of this type must be a nightmare to sell in the current climate, so he might do better to go for the more economical two litre which is more eco-friendly and will be a better prospect for a future trade-in.)

Good luck to anyone thinking of buying a big 4x4 right now - but kiss goodbye to economic considerations - very expensive in fuel, excise duty and depreciation, and the eco do-gooders will hate you! Regards.

 

[ShadySadie]

Not many takers, but thank you Colinn. The X3 will be a little more eco friendly than his TVR and I think a bit nore caravan friendly.

I've had a test drive in a X6. Friends pick up theirs next week, they have been offered 10k more than purchase price if they will give it up as there is now a long waiting list.

We are a resilient nation and I think there will be a big kick back re fuel costs due to the way working peoples day to day life and interests are controlled by the need to use the roads.

 

[MichaelE]

The X6 is a very strange car,its like a 4x4 coupe,very cramped inside and a very small boot,fills a gap that wasnt there!

BMW dealer was very keen to sell us one,offered a very good service contract to sweeten the deal,they had 5 build places on order and said delivery 6-8 weeks.

4x4 sales were down 18% in May so some things are starting to bite.

 

[ShadySadie]

Small number crossover vehicle, coupe 4x4 is how it was being sold to me. It certainly has "presence" and I was very impressed.

I don't think it would have any problems towing a caravan ;-)

I see ads today for above list price.

Any more X3 drivers out there?

 

[Colinn]

"The X6 is a very strange car" - how right you are Mike. Thing is there are enough Beemer nuts out there who would buy anything the company will produce!!

It's a new car and the people it's aimed at are probably very well endowed financially so not affected by the current downturn.

However, when the dust settles, it will surely be shown to be a car that will not stand comparison to more conventional rivals. All in all, there'll be a whole new breed of more economical, more efficient and cleaner 4x4s in the next couple of years, so now is not a good time for thinking long-term...

 

[MichaelE]

Im am sure an X6 would tow very well,you just wouldnt have a boot ,i dont think they are after the caravan towing market.

I think you would find it a lot smaller inside than your GL.

Out of interest these cars would have been thought of and designed a couple of years ago,do you think they would still have been made if they knew what the current climate would be like?

 

[ShadySadie]

Re 75KG nose weight. Some give 75KG and some tow bars give 80kg as nose weight for X3. Westfalia give 100kg?

Any thoughts, or could Westfalia fact be wrong?

 

[Philip_374349976]

Hi Sadie

I tow with a BMW X3 2.0d SE and it has a nose weight of 85kg, I am very pleased with the way it tows it has plenty of pulling power. My last outing was a few weeks ago towing our ace award morningstar which weighs 1550kg we travelled 250 miles which we got 26mpg on the way there and 28mpg on the way back we are very pleased with it and we would recommend one.

Phil

 

[ShadySadie]

Thank's Phil.

But, confused or what?

We now have nose weights of 75kg / 80kg / 85kg and 100kg from Westfalia

 

[Philip_374349976]

Sadie

The nose weight is 85kg, this is official as my tow bar was fitted by a BMW dealer and a sticker was put in the boot and also said on the paper work I hope this helps

Phil

 

[ShadySadie]

Thank;s Phil.

But we are still confused. My son found the BMW X3 PDF data sheet on BMW's web site.

Nose weight is given as 80kg.

 

[weejock]

Sally just tell him to buy a ssangsong rodus. They both look the same anyway.

 

[ShadySadie]

Sally just tell him to buy a ssangsong rodus. They both look the same anyway.

Have you been to D&A or Specsavers lately?

 

[Garfield]

I guess x11 don't like beemers, the 530i that I sold at 11 yrs old and 157k was still as tight as our brand new Ford, some don't like the plain interiors but a fancy dash is no good if it's laid in the footwell, no other car we have owned comes close for being well put together and staying together and that includes Audi & VW

 

[Mikey1]

There are alot of people who dislike BMW's. Im running a 3 series for a few months at the moment and some people drive so different towards you,they dont let you out of junctions and sit on your tail on the motorways.

I cant see what the hype is about the 3 series I prefer my old A4 ,but the new Mondeo beats them all its a cracking car.

 

[ShadySadie]

There are alot of people who dislike BMW's. Im running a 3 series for a few months at the moment and some people drive so different towards you,they dont let you out of junctions and sit on your tail on the motorways.

I cant see what the hype is about the 3 series I prefer my old A4 ,but the new Mondeo beats them all its a cracking car.

The new Mondeo is a nice car, but I'm pretty sure that most Beemers will still be going strong when the Mondeo is scrap metal on a boat to China ;-)

 

[Mikey1]

Sadie I dont agree,Fords quality is up with all the German manufacturers now,all the reports have said with a different badge it would the executive choice.

 

[weejock]

Mickey incase you did not know Ford do not build any cars in the UK now.

As to earlier comments about a downer on BMW's its just that I have had 1 5 series with a dissolving engine and then a newer one that I should'nt have bought because I hated the controller, the ride on runflats was shocking and you could never get replacements for them. But in the main I think the likes of the 1, x3 and z4 are ugly and have no place in a car company like BMW.

 

[Mikey1]

x11 im confused by your comment "incase you did not know Ford do not build any cars in the UK now"

Are you saying quality has improved because they are not built in Britain?

 

[weejock]

Mickey no it is just the fact that a lot of them are German

 

[Mikey1]

The Mondeo is built in Genk, Belgium

 

[Garfield]

Unless the build quality of BMW has collapsed in the past 15 years there is no way that Ford are comparable to BMW. Our S-max "sports" MPV is a winning concept and ticks all the boxes for us apart from the badge on the bonnet, if it was built by Honda or BMW it would be near perfect but a lot more expensive.

So far we have had less problems than some but the handbrake lever has fallen apart and the "leather" boot around the gearstick has worn through twice in 29k

 

[Philip_374349976]

Hi every one

This topic started about BMW X3 and has now started going around the houses about every car on the market, I think you have to own a car for a couple of years before you can really comment on how good a car is, for example my last car I bought was a Audi A4 1.8T which I kept for three years and my freind bought the same car a couple of months after my self. The only time my car went back to the dealer was for a service my freinds had his back 12 times in one year and sold it after 18 months so he had bad look and slags it it off to any one that will listen and would not buy another wheres I would recommend it to any one. Ive been driving my BMW X3 now for 18 months and again it tows nice it drives fantastic better than most cars and I would recommend one, it might be a bit more pricey than some 4x4 but if you like cars and you can afford it then why not but there again my dad still drives his maverick and it does what he wants it to do and he has no interest in cars at all as long as it starts and gets his caravan from A to B he's happy. All I am saying after all that(I got carried away a bit!)is that everybodys needs are different and what ever make you buy each car can be different

Phil

 

[Mikey1]

Garfield I do still think Ford has raised its game on build quality.

The symptoms you have on your s max are what i have had with the 3 audi's i have had and the present bmw im running.

All have suffered from broken plastic bits and rattles,but brilliantly engineered and packed with safety stuff.

Should you expect the breaks and rattles?