Good Afternoon all. I'm classing myself as a newbie to your forums. I will be soon looking to purchase a E83 BMW X3 for at least a year or so, in order to drive a a vehicle with some extra height to accommodate a minor spinal issue.
I'd like to find out some basic issues to be aware of and to look for whilst viewing a second hand vehicle so that I can avoid buying a money pit.
The initial vehicle that I've found to look at is a 2004 X3 3.0i Sport. Automatic petrol engine
I'd be very interested to hear some of any major issues, concerns, things to look for and also any things that are beneficial.
This particular vehicle has a panoramic roof. I've always been wary of cutting holes in roofs of vehicles!!
Any advice would be greatly welcomed from the X community.
I have experience of driving the X5's from 2014 onwards through working on the motorways of Cheshire.....
I'll be trawling the forums to try and find any issues as well.
Many thanks to all.
Have a great evening!!
Neil Jones
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New to the X's
Re: New to the X's
Hello and 
One definite area to look carefully at is tyres. The 3.0i is likely to have a staggered set up and there is a known weakness (as in many xDrive cars) connected with wrong tyre choices or having more than about 1.5mm of difference between axles. Ideally the car should be shod with ‘*’ marked rubber - denotes meeting BMW diameter limits (amongst other things) and avoids transmission windup. Square setup wheel sets are less of an issue as the tyre sizes are all the same.
Sunroofs need to be checked to make sure that they work. White metal castings used by the manufacturer do have a bit of a bad rep for snapping leaving the wiener to either lock the rear section or have the whole thing replaced at significant expense (£2k ish).
Gearboxes at that age are weak, so listen for noises or lumpy/notchy changes.
As with any car that age, all electrics need looking at.
One definite area to look carefully at is tyres. The 3.0i is likely to have a staggered set up and there is a known weakness (as in many xDrive cars) connected with wrong tyre choices or having more than about 1.5mm of difference between axles. Ideally the car should be shod with ‘*’ marked rubber - denotes meeting BMW diameter limits (amongst other things) and avoids transmission windup. Square setup wheel sets are less of an issue as the tyre sizes are all the same.
Sunroofs need to be checked to make sure that they work. White metal castings used by the manufacturer do have a bit of a bad rep for snapping leaving the wiener to either lock the rear section or have the whole thing replaced at significant expense (£2k ish).
Gearboxes at that age are weak, so listen for noises or lumpy/notchy changes.
As with any car that age, all electrics need looking at.
Never anthropomorphise computers. They hate that.-
Neil Jones
- Newbie
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Thu Jun 11, 2020 5:43 pm
Re: New to the X's
Many thanks for your welcome and your advice.
-
lezmtaylor
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- Posts: 967
- Joined: Sat Jul 31, 2010 11:25 pm
- Location: Gloucester
Re: New to the X's
If available, top of my list was comfort seats, I have rods in my spine and find I can do 200 mile journeys with no discomfort whatsoever.
Lez
Lez