Contemplating a CPO X3 or GLC

[donnyj08]

Wife and I are looking at adding a second SUV and are considering a 2 or 3 year old 20-40k mile X3 30i or a GLC300 4Matic.

I’ve driven several GLC300s as loaners while getting a sprinter serviced and I like them. I also like the X3 as well.

Anyone here have any experience with a 2018+ X3?

 

[atikovi]

Best to ask this on a dedicated BMW forum. Most of the advice you will get here is to stay away from any luxury German make, given from folks that have never even owned one.

X3 G01 (2018 - current)

The third generation X3 starts production in August of 2017 and will include the new X3 M40i top of the line performance model.

www.bimmerfest.com

2003+ X3, X4 (E83, F25, F26, F97, F98, G02)

Bimmerforums is the preferred online BMW Forum and community for BMW owners. At Bimmerforums, you will find technical how-to information maintenance specifics audio advice wheel and tire combinations and model specific details not found anywhere else. Our professionals are here to help make...

www.bimmerforums.com

 

[edyvw]

Get yourself X3 4.0i. 3.0i is exceptional engine, but B58 3.0ltr inline six is in its own class.
Thank me later.

 

[edyvw]

Also, just bcs. I want to be first, get yourself Honda CR-V or RAV4

 

[jstert]

my only euro suv was a cpo 2013 mb glk, so i can’t comment on either the bmw x3 or mb glc. that said, cpo is the only way to buy a high-end euro vehicle, although the current mb cpo warranty is shorter than that of my glk’s. a decent dealer will make a cpo vehicle like new. shop long distance too. enjoy.

 

[OVERKILL]

Wife and I are looking at adding a second SUV and are considering a 2 or 3 year old 20-40k mile X3 30i or a GLC300 4Matic.

I’ve driven several GLC300s as loaners while getting a sprinter serviced and I like them. I also like the X3 as well.

Anyone here have any experience with a 2018+ X3?

I reviewed one that I had for a loaner somewhat recently, nice little vehicles:

2020 BMW X3 XDrive 30i

This is my loaner while the Jeep is in the shop (don't ask please, it wasn't a collision). I was given the choice between an X1 and X3, so I chose the X3. Would have preferred an X5 or X6, but these are the only two bimmers he had. I drove it up to the cottage on Friday, then back home last...

bobistheoilguy.com

 

[BigJohn]

Our first Mercedes was a GLK350, the little Mercedes SUV. We purchased it with 34k miles and 3 years old..... it was coming off of a Mercedes lease. That little car was exceptional. It was the wife's primary driver for 3 years and she rolled it over 100k miles. All I ever did to it was changed the oil and filter.... and a Foreign Car Mechanic did the transmission filter and fluid for $450 when it hit 60k miles. That's it.

We traded it in on a brand new 2015 ML250... the little 2.1 L, Twin Turbo Diesel and it has been outstanding. Once again, I did all the service, except the transmission filter and fluid at 70k miles ($525). We have had it paid off for 3 years now and it has 120k miles and the vehicle is perfect. We hope to keep and drive it until it hits 250k miles, which should be easy on that diesel.

I highly recommend Mercedes as long as you do your own servicing. I don't hate BMW's but every one I have driven and ridden in was a rattle box. Little rattles and noises on a car drive me nuts and Beemers are a No Go for me, just because of that.


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[Ws6]

Get yourself X3 4.0i. 3.0i is exceptional engine, but B58 3.0ltr inline six is in its own class.
Thank me later.

Did BMW ever get away from VANOS?

 

[DriveHard]

Owned an X3, ML350, and a Stelvio - all were my bride's daily

X3 = most problems, my wife's favorite to drive, good transmission and engine. Not fast, but it was fun to drive.
ML350 = most luxurious, most upscale feeling, too soft, electrical gremlins forced sale
Stelvio = sexiest, most dynamic, best handling, fit and finish were 'meh', good gas mileage, lake of dealer network and inability to reset oil change interval forced sale

Now my bride drives a 2021 ZR2 which she loves, and I drive the family estate wagon (Buick TourX).

Of everything listed above, the TourX has been my favorite. I really like the new Genesis GV70 though...

 

[edyvw]

Did BMW ever get away from VANOS?

Why would it?

 

[Wolf359]

my only euro suv was a cpo 2013 mb glk, so i can’t comment on either the bmw x3 or mb glc. that said, cpo is the only way to buy a high-end euro vehicle, although the current mb cpo warranty is shorter than that of my glk’s. a decent dealer will make a cpo vehicle like new. shop long distance too. enjoy.

Don't know what you mean by that. I think the GLK is now the GLC like the ML turned into the GLE. CPO was always a 1 year warranty but you could buy 2 extra years. If the original warranty is intact, you basically get 7 years unlimited miles if you buy the 2 extra years. There are vendors that will sell the 2 extra years cheaper than the seller dealer, you just have to check the MB forums for those vendors. And yes, lots of stories of how some dealers don't do the full CPO on the car and leave off lots of items that should be fixed. For Mercedes, the parts lookup ended in 2018 for EPC and the repair manual, the WIS ended in 2020 and you could get a knock off copy on eBay for under $10. Otherwise it's a bit like $63 a day for Star Tekinfo and $79 a year for ISPPI the replacement.

MBUSA ISP Portal

www.startekinfo.com

 

[Ws6]

Why would it?

Because its trash. Super expensive trash.

Name another method of valve control that insidiously goes bad, slowly, and guarantees less performance as the miles go by, until it finally throws a CEL, and costs thousands to replace because it lives next to the firewall.

VANOS is literally why I won't own an X4 M40i and went electric instead.

 

[dbias]

I had a GLC 450 as a loaner for a month while the dealership sorted out a waterpump on back order for the A4. Really nice but the 9 speed transmission shifted no better than a truck. Constantly hunting gears.

 

[edyvw]

Because its trash. Super expensive trash.

Name another method of valve control that insidiously goes bad, slowly, and guarantees less performance as the miles go by, until it finally throws a CEL, and costs thousands to replace because it lives next to the firewall.

VANOS is literally why I won't own an X4 M40i and went electric instead.

You obviously have no idea about VANOS, same like you never owned BMW bcs. you think Jack Daniels is same as Belvenie 25yrs old. Both get you drunk, same like Mazda goes to 60 as BMW. Difference is, how do you feel doing it.
How many VANOS engines did you open?
VANOS go south bcs. two simple reasons oil and oil filter cage.
1. O-ring on oil filter cage is item that people regularly don’t seat properly and first thing that happens is VANOS code. Another thing is guy in Jiffy lube neglecting same item.
2. Bad oil that eventually creates issue over time. Case in point: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/2015-bmw-n20-x1-uoa-5k-miles-non-euro-oil-round-2.357281/

But, I know your extensive knowledge about BMW’s stemming form 0-60 literature, is going to shed some more light.

 

[OVERKILL]

Because its trash. Super expensive trash.

Name another method of valve control that insidiously goes bad, slowly, and guarantees less performance as the miles go by, until it finally throws a CEL, and costs thousands to replace because it lives next to the firewall.

VANOS is literally why I won't own an X4 M40i and went electric instead.

You obviously have no idea about VANOS, same like you never owned BMW bcs. you think Jack Daniels is same as Belvenie 25yrs old. Both get you drunk, same like Mazda goes to 60 as BMW. Difference is, how do you feel doing it.
How many VANOS engines did you open?
VANOS go south bcs. two simple reasons oil and oil filter cage.
1. O-ring on oil filter cage is item that people regularly don’t seat properly and first thing that happens is VANOS code. Another thing is guy in Jiffy lube neglecting same item.
2. Bad oil that eventually creates issue over time. Case in point: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/2015-bmw-n20-x1-uoa-5k-miles-non-euro-oil-round-2.357281/

But, I know your extensive knowledge about BMW’s stemming form 0-60 literature, is going to shed some more light.

I've owned a couple of VANOS equipped cars and I'm not sure if BMW has made updates since then, but I had one of the very common (and inexpensive) problems on my M5, which was the CPS sensors going bad (and there were 4 of them, all on the back of the heads, but, in BMW's defence, they weren't difficult to replace). These cars didn't suffer from VANOS seal/o-ring issues because the Sxx engines (///M cars) got Viton o-rings while the Mxx (non-M cars) got butyl rubber. As we know with BMW's valve covers, the butyl rubber gets hard, no longer flexes and then leaks. The same thing happens with the o-rings.

That said, my sister has had absolutely no issues with VANOS on her '03 330i, coming up on 300,000km now. The body will be long gone before it appears she'll have any mechanical issues with the engine.

But, from what I read at the time, the M62 guys were having o-ring issues (and chain issues, but that's another topic) while the S62 guys weren't, and this seems to be a "thing" with BMW, using butyl rubber for seals/gaskets that should be silicone or Viton, and you know they know that, because they'll use that material on the M-cars, lol.

Sooooo, there are some legitimate criticisms to be made about BMW's choice of materials with the VANOS systems, at least historically. Perhaps they've stopped using butyl rubber in more recent engines and this is no longer a problem?

 

[edyvw]

I've owned a couple of VANOS equipped cars and I'm not sure if BMW has made updates since then, but I had one of the very common (and inexpensive) problems on my M5, which was the CPS sensors going bad (and there were 4 of them, all on the back of the heads, but, in BMW's defence, they weren't difficult to replace). These cars didn't suffer from VANOS seal/o-ring issues because the Sxx engines (///M cars) got Viton o-rings while the Mxx (non-M cars) got butyl rubber. As we know with BMW's valve covers, the butyl rubber gets hard, no longer flexes and then leaks. The same thing happens with the o-rings.

That said, my sister has had absolutely no issues with VANOS on her '03 330i, coming up on 300,000km now. The body will be long gone before it appears she'll have any mechanical issues with the engine.

But, from what I read at the time, the M62 guys were having o-ring issues (and chain issues, but that's another topic) while the S62 guys weren't, and this seems to be a "thing" with BMW, using butyl rubber for seals/gaskets that should be silicone or Viton, and you know they know that, because they'll use that material on the M-cars, lol.

Sooooo, there are some legitimate criticisms to be made about BMW's choice of materials with the VANOS systems, at least historically. Perhaps they've stopped using butyl rubber in more recent engines and this is no longer a problem?

They don’t suffer from bad o-ring. O-ring comes with filter and you should replace it every oil change. O-ring is at the bottom of filter cage, super small. Very easy to forget (not big deal) but very easy to lose and not install it. Or people don’t properly seat it.
Another VERY common problem I forgot to mention is that people drop filter cap and cage attached to it. Cage gets dislodged enough to throw VANOS code. Then they hunt problem elsewhere instead going first to simplest thing. Of course, there are those that lose cage, don’t put it back, and VANOS grenades if not whole engine.
Still, biggest culprit is non-appropriate oil. But VANOS in general is absolutely non issue. Can it happen? Yes. Anything can happen.
This is what I am talking about. Green o-ring:

 

[OVERKILL]

They don’t suffer from bad o-ring. O-ring comes with filter and you should replace it every oil change. O-ring is at the bottom of filter cage, super small. Very easy to forget (not big deal) but very easy to lose and not install it. Or people don’t properly seat it.
Another VERY common problem I forgot to mention is that people drop filter cap and cage attached to it. Cage gets dislodged enough to throw VANOS code. Then they hunt problem elsewhere instead going first to simplest thing. Of course, there are those that lose cage, don’t put it back, and VANOS grenades if not whole engine.
Still, biggest culprit is non-appropriate oil. But VANOS in general is absolutely non issue. Can it happen? Yes. Anything can happen.

I am talking about the o-rings inside the VANOS units. Dr. VANOS sells kits with the upgraded Viton o-rings:

 

[edyvw]

I am talking about the o-rings inside the VANOS units. Dr. VANOS sells kits with the upgraded Viton o-rings:
View attachment 116211

Those are not common in newer BMW’s, after M54.
But one on oil filter cage is super common issue. It will immediately throw VANOS code if not properly seated, missing or cage is not tight.
Not to mention other issues that trigger VANOS code like O2 sensors, bcs. I don’t want to change both or all 4 sensors, just one.

 

[OVERKILL]

Those are not common in newer BMW’s, after M54.
But one on oil filter cage is super common issue. It will immediately throw VANOS code if not properly seated, missing or cage is not tight.
Not to mention other issues that trigger VANOS code like O2 sensors, bcs. I don’t want to change both or all 4 sensors, just one.

That's why I asked if things have changed in newer cars. All my bimmers have been old, lol.

 

[edyvw]

That's why I asked if things have changed in newer cars. All my bimmers have been old, lol.

Lol. I am more of a believer that ultimate issue with some gaskets is too much heat. Will see how long my VCG is going to hold. It is at 126k, including a lot of track time. But, oil cooler…