Not surprisingly, we've seen some proper rubbish at dealers being presented as great condition.. (worst was a shockingly bad one with bad oil leaks from engine and diff, a really rough engine note, jerky clutch, a terrible MOT history for a few years where the advisory was that it was so overdue for a service he could hardly get it past emissions, then the following year it still wasn't done and failed and he put in capitals about it causing engine damage, it was showing several warning lights, AC was feeble and it was proper tatty all round - still up for 2.5k!)
We ruled out the 2.0d and the 2.0 petrol, along with any automatics, and narrowed the focus to 2.5i petrol manuals, and set the autotrader search alerts accordingly! we were looking for proper histories, not mad miles (though if the history was perfect we wouldn't have ruled out a higher mileage one) and as clean as possible - she didn't want a battered school run special. Not that we're fussy or anything
Though its frustrating how very few adverts actually resemble the truth - Immaculate shouldn't mean every panel is scratched and dinged!Having ruled a few out, this one popped up on AT yesterday, and we were all over it - a hasty 230 mile round trip last night, and she's now a very very happy lady indeed!
It's a 2.5i petrol 6sp manual, full history right up to date with all the paperwork, really good mot history too and a brand new MOT with no advises (again), almost new tyres all round, new discs and pads all round, bone dry on diffs and gbox and engine, no knocks or clonks or rattles (can see it's had a couple of new lower arms/bushes), brand new 5yr guarantee battery, and is absolutely immaculate both inside and out. No parking dings, no scratches, couple of (tiny) stonechips on leading edge of bonnet. Has bluetooth as well. Has clearly been very well looked after indeed! Private sale, very nice older chap, and I reckon this was a bargain at £2.6k.
Issues? Passenger side folding mirror doesn't, and a fingernail sized patch of bubbled plastic cover on the window trim by one rear window. ummmm.. That's it. Drives absolutely beautifully, nice clutch, great brakes, everything silky smooth and everything seems to be 100% working.
It was interesting for me to compare with my X5. I definitely prefer the ride quality of the X5, as the X3 seems not quite as unruffled by poor surfaces. I prefer the brakes on the X3. I prefer the stereo in the X3. I like the low boot floor in the X3. I prefer the 'spacious' feeling in the X5, the 3 definitely feels more cramped in the cockpit, while not being a small car at all! I reckon I'd be very happy with an X3 - but would want the 3.0 diesel version. She does very few miles, so the fuel figures of the 2.5 petrol were not an issue for her.
Immediate plans:
- Install an Aux cable for the stereo
- Work out how to pair hew iphone to the bluetooth unit
- do the same LED headlight upgrades we did on the X5
- maybe replace the bootlid bmw badge as it's a little blemished
- replace the number plates as both are looking a little tired.
think that's it!
Looking forward to seeing how this works out for her.
) , and I've often thought that option would solve the issue...