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Wife wants an X3. Any buying suggestions?

3K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  swordsman11868 
#1 ·
Hey fellas,

so the wife wants a new car. Looking at 2016-2018 X3.

I've been searching for bad reviews of the N20 motor but I don't find too many concerns. The older ones had the timing chain guide failures.

What do you think? Any advice is appreciated.

:bow:
 
#3 · (Edited)
Not sure if you have looked over on Xoutpost but it's my "go to" on all questions on my X5. Not as popular as E46F but still some good knowledge specific to the E53/E70/F15/F85/G05, E83/F25/G01, etc. :thumbsup:
 
#4 · (Edited)
My wife has been driving her 2013 X1 sDrive2.8 msport with the N20 engine for several years now and I maintain it. It's been super reliable and easy to work on. I've had some long discussions on the N20 with dealer and indy BMW techs and these engines last if maintained well. Keep an eye on the timing chain slop and guides, walnut blast the intake ports (like all DI engines), fix any leaks ASAP, change fluids, regularly read codes from all modules, etc.

I coded several annoyances off as soon as we got it.
- Make auto start/stop setting stay across drives
- iDrive legal disclaimer removal
- Backup camera disclaimer removal
- Tweaked some cluster display options
 
#8 ·
I did my research on the X3 for a long time. I also drove both the xdrive28i and xdrive35i. The N20 is adequate, but if you want extra power and fun to drive like the E46, get the Xdrive35i, IMO. The N55 is a solid engine, just have to replace the water pump and thermostat around 60K to 90K.
 
#10 ·
My parents have had a 2016 X3 with the N55 for the past couple of years, and they love it. More power than they know what to do with really, but they take lots of trips to the mountains, so it's nice for them to have the extra oomph on command. They had a couple of early reliability hiccups (don't remember what they were exactly, but I can ask if you want), but they were minor.
 
#14 ·
We have a saying around the shop. Friends don't let friends buy BMW V8s. Now that extends to N20/N26 engines.

N20s are pot luck. Some are good, others just garbage. I can find no correlation as to how to figure out how to tell the difference.

Maintenance is VERY important on these, and using Top tier oil to help prevent LSPI.
They had so many issues with the timing chain/oil pump cassettes, they extended the warranty to 7/70,000.

Carbon build up on DI cars is nothing new. Just Google it. Albeit if you're smart, you'll do a BG induction service every 15-20K miles and have zero issues.

The only BMW engine that gets into my driveway anymore has 6 cylinders.
I hate to be a doubting Thomas, but when a good client's n20 528i with good maintenance suddenly completely locks up unexpectedly at 110k, I begin to loose faith.

It's a good low fuel consumption engine, just would not want to own one beyond any warranty period.

YMMV
 
#16 ·
Engines that have port injection (think M54) the fuel is sprayed into the incoming air just before the air enters the cylinder head. Now, if you put top tier gas in your tank that gas cleans the back side of the intake valves, as well as the injectors. When companies switched to DI the gas is injected directly into the compressed air charge in the combustion chamber. The intake valves not longer get cleaned by the gas. Seems BMW had a problem back in the 1980s which required walnut shell blasting of the back side of the intake valves.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Not sure if you get the diesel models but was quite impressed with the little 2.0d with 8 speed auto. Has plenty of torque and enough power . Also drinks diesel at 1/3 of the 35is.

The surround camera option great as well if you need to park in tight spots.

Having said that , the colour choice was limited so the wife brought a red Mazda CX-5 2.2. Turbo diesel.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Hey everyone!

We ended up buying a 2017 X3 sDrive with the N20 engine.

All the new tech is really great to have. I will be babying the engine with 5k mile oil changes, etc.

Of course I'm keeping my E46! :clap:

But it should be a fun adventure wrenching on the new platform. Lots of power but it ain't gonna beat anyone in the twisties. lol :str8pimpi:pimpin:
 
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