I had to buy an AWD SUV for constant trips over the Santiam Pass. I went to multiple dealerships, and this vehicle fit my budget, and was AWD SUV. I bought the vehicle for $9,500 with 120,000 miles. Unfortunately during the entire process, my phone was broken, so I couldn't really research much. Afterward I found out the vehicle at the time was worth a little over $6k, but I have had no … buyer's remorse. It gets about 19-23 MPG, which is to be expected on a 2004 SUV. As of Feb 2017, and in Springfield Oregon, it costs me about $45 to fill up my entire gas(premium) tank. The gas tank is 17.7 gallons. The steering is very "tight" feeling, as opposed to other cars I've driven. This took me about an hour to adjust to how tight the steering really is, and now I will prefer tight steering going forward. This car is very comfortable, and easy to ride in. It is really spacious, and NOT cramped at all. Men over 6' have plenty of head space/leg space in the front. In the back, they have the same amount of head space, and plenty of leg space depending on who they are sitting behind. I have almost NO blind spots. The visibility in the vehicle is incredible. I have had 1 incident with this car in Dec 16: the original 2004 starter(the starter was labeled 2004 BMW) went out. So far, no other issues, and I wouldn't really say that a 12 year old starter going out was an issue, it was time! My boyfriend and father were able to diagnose that it was the starter, and they were able to remove the old starter and install the new one for the cost of the starter at $150, from O'Reilly's. I do know, however, that it was difficult for them to do the work, and it took them several hours, as the starter is located in a hard-to-reach spot. I use 5W-30 full synthetic and have the oil/oil filter regularly changed. I use premium gas, as the manual states to do so. My particular model doesn't have a nav system, it only has the "business stereo" which is pretty basic, but not too shabby. There are steering wheel controls: radio/cd and cruise control. Excellent heated front seats. A full sunroof, that extends to the back seat. The back trunk isn't too large, but works well for me, and if I need to haul something that takes up more room, I just put the back row seats down. The battery is very accessible. The battery is located in the trunk area under the floor board, and there are charging posts by the battery in the trunk and under the front hood, so you can be jumped (if necessary) by front or back. Also, the back cargo door can not be opened without the battery in or if it is completely dead. If you have to open the back door, you must climb in the back, lift the back floorboard. In the door there is a small rectangle opening in the middle. Stick a screw driver in the hole and slide it over, then the back door will pop open. My seats are leather, and have no cracking as of Feb 17. There are a few spots(high-use areas) where the leather dye has warn, but not much, and not noticeable at first glance. This car does have an auto-headlight feature, and sensor windshield wipers. The auto headlights work 100% of the time. I haven't quite figured out the windshield wiper sensors, nor have I put time or effort into that.
Not your father's Oldsmobile...
5 out of 5 stars
Carrie, 05/19/2016
2004 BMW X3 2.5i AWD 4dr SUV (2.5L 6cyl 6M)
Love the BMW. Although the car starts out as pricey, $35,000 at the time, I don't think I have spent more than $5000 in the time I have owned it, 12 years! Not a very high price to pay to drive such a responsive automobile. The quality is there and all my standard options are just starting to become standard on new cars today. You feel real good driving such a beautiful car. I think … there is an elegance that is unique to a BMW owner when driving this vehicle. This is a SOLID vehicle that took a hit from a 20 ton drilling truck and suffered $5000 in body damage. The car has been checked and given a thumbs up as to any major, structural damage. This was three years ago. Seems Sarasota Drilling Company does not believe in maintaining their equipment as I do. Their BRAKES went out and the driver warned his supervisor...Go figure. They also do not put drivers with a CDL behind the wheels. It is truly a driving machine. Do NOT skimp on tires. The better the tire, the better the handling. Sound system is outstanding. Visibility is excellent unlike other SUVs I have driven. NO Blindspots! It is just a Nice Car and my 3rd BMW. I have also owned the 2000 X3 and a 1988 740i. These cars are excellent investments as based on the resale value that they hold. Assembled in Austria and the Engine is from Germany. Lots of PEP in this little car! My favorite things about this BMW is the HUGE sun roof and the XENON headlamps that turn with the vehicle.
Best Sport Utility Vehicle Ever Made
5 out of 5 stars
MH, 07/10/2010
2004 BMW X3 2.5i AWD 4dr SUV (2.5L 6cyl 6M)
The old (2004) BMW X3 has the best road feel of any car I have ever driven, that includes, BMW 528, 525i, 540i, 740 iL, GMC Yukon, Jeeps, Cadillac CTS. The X3 is a great car. One feels the tightness of the four wheel drive under all conditions. Do not believe those who criticize the steering and handling of this car, they are off base. The gas mileage is outstanding for continuous … four wheel drive.
Fun little SUV
4.63 out of 5 stars
kaileak, 10/24/2012
2004 BMW X3 2.5i AWD 4dr SUV (2.5L 6cyl 6M)
This is my second BMW, i also own a 2008 BMW 128i. When i first drove the X3, being that it is now 8 years old, i expected it to not be very tight. I expexted a little bit of slop in the suspension, leaks, breaking that wasnt as good as it once was.
Boy was i surprised, this X3 handles like my 128i and still has a nice stiff ride.
![](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="1200" height="588" fill="none" preserveAspectRatio="none"%3E%3Cmask id="b" width="1200" height="588" x="0" y="0" maskUnits="userSpaceOnUse" style="mask-type:alpha"%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23a)" d="M896 513c116 45.015 222 64 304 75V0H0v501c40 36.024 154 76 340 76s344-146.269 556-64Z"/%3E%3C/mask%3E%3Cg mask="url(%23b)"%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23c)" d="M896 513c116 45.015 222 64 304 75V0H0v501c40 36.024 154 76 340 76s344-146.269 556-64Z"/%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23d)" fill-opacity=".15" d="M581.718 62.893c42.993 1.53 86.281 5.888 129.704 13.204 311.828 52.485 552.538 242.016 657.698 483.656-149.97-147.971-450.891-226.33-789.375-232.079-338.534.839-640.434 74.572-792.746 220.292 108.75-240.047 352.255-425.97 664.832-473.803a1041.548 1041.548 0 0 1 129.887-11.27Z"/%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23e)" fill-opacity=".5" d="M611.247 209.93a1458.84 1458.84 0 0 1 139.573 27.692c333.61 83.239 577.16 267.208 668.67 475.188-148.93-138.63-468.279-241.218-835.209-290.421-367.6-43.915-702.265-24.445-881.281 72.561 140.567-178.524 422.355-295.817 766.181-293.074 47.867.484 95.274 3.212 142.066 8.054Z"/%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23f)" d="M735.039 879.394c48.524-6.62 97.023-16.967 145.3-31.2C1227.03 746.059 1475.76 472.327 1564.28 145c-151.17 209.633-482.23 344.436-865.05 388.31C315.515 568.571-35.93 504.564-227 330.342-73.333 632.61 226.169 849.617 586.429 878.604c50.15 3.871 99.74 4.07 148.61.79Z" opacity=".3"/%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23g)" d="M694.222 783.712c50.956 12 103.317 20.27 156.946 24.578 385.102 31.013 738.232-146.76 952.062-439.434-231.22 151.216-613.24 158.795-1012.047 55.796C394.784 312.716 68.643 114.101-55.211-133c37.44 360.528 253.087 691.895 601.449 858.946 48.557 23.091 97.963 42.302 147.984 57.766Z" opacity=".9"/%3E%3Cpath fill="url(%23h)" fill-opacity=".5" d="M896 513c116 45.015 222 64 304 75V0H0v501c40 36.024 154 76 340 76s344-146.269 556-64Z"/%3E%3C/g%3E%3Cdefs%3E%3ClinearGradient id="a" x1="1005" x2="989.087" y1="23" y2="552.522" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop stop-color="%23007EE5"/%3E%3Cstop offset=".333" stop-color="%231561D4"/%3E%3Cstop offset="1" stop-color="%230A4AAB"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id="c" x1="1005" x2="989.087" y1="23" y2="552.522" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop stop-color="%23007EE5"/%3E%3Cstop offset=".334" stop-color="%231561D4"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id="d" x1="675.999" x2="879.999" y1="648.999" y2="120.999" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop stop-color="%23fff"/%3E%3Cstop offset="1" stop-color="%23fff" stop-opacity="0"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id="e" x1="656.5" x2="637.602" y1="213" y2="622.259" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop offset=".115" stop-color="%23fff" stop-opacity="0"/%3E%3Cstop offset=".944" stop-color="%23017D8D"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id="f" x1="398" x2="737" y1="599" y2="387" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop stop-color="%2300ABB5"/%3E%3Cstop offset="1" stop-color="%2300A0B5" stop-opacity="0"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id="g" x1="1051.5" x2="271" y1="567" y2="575" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop stop-color="%230098C2"/%3E%3Cstop offset="1" stop-color="%23033E96" stop-opacity="0"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3ClinearGradient id="h" x1="1005" x2="986.038" y1="23" y2="587.43" gradientUnits="userSpaceOnUse"%3E%3Cstop offset=".813" stop-opacity="0"/%3E%3Cstop offset=".972"/%3E%3C/linearGradient%3E%3C/defs%3E%3C/svg%3E)
