2017 BMW X3 reliability

If you’re still under warranty, are you low enough to get it extended?

Yes, pretty reliable car. As long as you perform regular maintenance, you should be good to go.

BMWs get the "not reliable" reputation mostly because people don't know the difference between being reliable and being neglect tolerant. They can be just as reliable as any other car but they are not neglect tolerant. Skip maintenance intervals and things will break. Ignore small issues when they appear and you will end up with larger issues.

BMWs are nightmares for longevity, because of how they severely overengineered their cars. If you want to keep it for less than 8 years, should be ok. If you want to keep it longer than 8 years then its gonna hurt.

Ok thanks. I am at 78k so still under warranty. I guess I can check to see if the price for extended warranty would be reasonable. I am assuming the extended warranty price is negotiable?

Our 2003 325CI which we owned from 2011-2019 needed an oil gasket, belts and thermostat throughout our ownership period (and brakes but that's a wear item).

Granted it had only 150k on it when we sold it, it was quite good in terms of cost of ownership.

It too was extremely basic (manual pleather seats, no sunroof, etc.).

Our current 2013 328i hasn't had anything outside of a brake job but again, only 88k on it so far and again quite basic (small non-NAV screen). Outside of the sportline and sport springs (I think) that's pretty much it.

Stay on top of the maintenance and you should be fine. Also find a proper independent mechanic outside of BMW so that you're not replacing things needlessly. Some dealerships are pretty rough for that.

Baigle wrote: ↑ Ok thanks. I am at 78k so still under warranty. I guess I can check to see if the price for extended warranty would be reasonable. I am assuming the extended warranty price is negotiable?

It is negotiable, but extended warranty prices have skyrocketed since 2017. I'm guessing it's going to be around $4000 or more and in which case I say skip it.

I worked at a BMW dealership for a few years. I can say they were pretty good in terms of reliability. I am assuming you have a 4 cylinder since you mentioned base model. Early N20 models (engine introduced in 2012) were suspect to timing chain guide replacements. The plastic would break down and the motor would sound like its falling apart. Whether or not it came with age or the parts were updated, I'm not sure. This was a big and expensive job.

I do remember changing were quite a few transfer cases for grinding and leaking differential seals, but a lot of these were picked up during the warranty period.

Another common one were the LED's in the tail lights would crap out and require lense replacement. Oh, and the thermostat would set a check engine light.

Note, working at the dealership, you really do see the a lot of the bad apples and I am sure there are lots of good X3's out there. But to give you an idea, I would never recommend any BMW v8 to anyone

I wouldn't say BMWs are reliable or unreliable, but they are higher maintenance relative to your Japanese car.

Baigle wrote: ↑ Ok thanks. I am at 78k so still under warranty. I guess I can check to see if the price for extended warranty would be reasonable. I am assuming the extended warranty price is negotiable?

yes it is negotiable.

Check Policaro BMW service dept if you are in the GTA. They were recently offering 2yr/120000kms for $800 through BMW. Same package was over $2500 late last year.

It also includes all the scheduled maintenance items...two oil changes , brake fluid flush, spark plugs. Maybe also coolant flush but not 100% sure

1mangoo wrote: ↑ I worked at a BMW dealership for a few years. I can say they were pretty good in terms of reliability. I am assuming you have a 4 cylinder since you mentioned base model. Early N20 models (engine introduced in 2012) were suspect to timing chain guide replacements. The plastic would break down and the motor would sound like its falling apart. Whether or not it came with age or the parts were updated, I'm not sure. This was a big and expensive job.

More on this.

The Guides had a revised part introduced very late 2014 so cars around MY2015 up no longer have the issue.

A class action lawsuit was started back in 2017 for Canadian cars. USA cars got warranty extended to 7 years.

Anikiri wrote: ↑ BMWs are nightmares for longevity, because of how they severely overengineered their cars. If you want to keep it for less than 8 years, should be ok. If you want to keep it longer than 8 years then its gonna hurt.

They really aren't unless you don't bother to keep up in the maintenance. Then you'll be in for some trouble.

bubuski wrote: ↑ yes it is negotiable.

Check Policaro BMW service dept if you are in the GTA. They were recently offering 2yr/120000kms for $800 through BMW. Same package was over $2500 late last year.

It also includes all the scheduled maintenance items...two oil changes , brake fluid flush, spark plugs. Maybe also coolant flush but not 100% sure

Can I buy this and get it serviced in Ottawa? Pretty good deal for $800

Baigle wrote: ↑ Can I buy this and get it serviced in Ottawa? Pretty good deal for $800

l called Policaro BMW to find out more and seems like it was a play of words. They call it the 'Service Inclusive BMW Extended Warranty' but in theory it is just a glorified pre-paid maintenance pack, it is still an OK deal if you plan to service your BMW at a Dealership for the next couple of years. It's directly through BMW Canada so you can service it in any Dealership in Canada.

They are selling the Service Inclusive Coverage in this brochure.
http://websites.edealer.ca/Policaro-BMW ... 992699.pdf