Used 2017 BMW X3 xDrive28i 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8A) Consumer Reviews
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Owned it for 2 hours and then brought it back.
Pete R., Warwick, RI, 05/15/2018
BMW X3 xDrive28i 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8A)
61 of 77 people found this review helpful
I owned this car for two hours. That's all. The X3 is a beautiful vehicle with a gorgeous interior. I especially like the dashboard design, the instrumentation and the interior lighting. I had been shopping for months for an X3 with the upgraded Harmon Kardon sound system because the base sound system is lousy, especially for a premium vehicle such as the X3. I found one, a nice '17 model with only 11K miles (the salesman couldn't tell me where the car came from, whether it was traded in or an off-lease, which I found surprising). I took it for a test drive, then I negotiated a decent price. During the test drive, I noticed the ride was firm, but it didn't seem overly so. The X3 comes with either Goodyear or Pirelli tires, and the ones with the Goodyear tires seem to ride a bit smoother, although both brands are run-flat tires since the X3 doesn't come with a spare. During the time I was signing papers, I was surprised to find out that the warranty is very limited and in fact, they give you a four-page document listing everything that is NOT covered. That was kind of an eye-opener. Once I signed all the papers, I spent about 40 minutes with a young man who reviewed all the options and features with me. It was a bit overwhelming, but I figured with time it would all make sense. Once I left the lot, the trouble started. The first thing I noticed was that I felt every crack and bump in the road. The ride was jarring and uncomfortable. Then, once I hit about 70MPH on the highway, I heard a whistling sound coming from the area of the sunroof. Uh-oh. "Is this why it was traded in so soon", I wondered. Then, I tried to listen to a song from my iPhone, but it wouldn't play, I fiddled with every logical option to get it to play, but no luck. I was miserable, thinking I had made a big mistake trading in my trusty '13 RAV4 for this rough-rider. Once I got home, I sat in the driveway and wondered what to do. Would I get used to it or was a making a compromise that would prove difficult to live with? I decided the latter and promptly returned to the dealership. Luckily, they had not registered it in my name yet, so after some probing questions from the salesman and the manager, they refunded my deposit, tore up the paperwork and gave me back my RAV4. I felt relieved and feel that I made the right decision. My advice is to take the car, any car, for a long test drive before making the decision to buy. And, if something doesn't seem right, trust your instinct.
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It's no Saab
Rob, Grand Lake, CO, 03/14/2017
updated 03/18/2019
BMW X3 xDrive28i 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8A)
41 of 57 people found this review helpful
Update after 24 months/54k miles of ownership: The seats (even the back seats) are still comfortable, the leather is still beautiful, the heated seats & backs are great, the cabin is still quiet, the steering is still solid & responsive, the traction control system is excellent. In many ways, it's a pleasure to drive. A persistent idling valve-click developed at 49k miles, but BMW says that's normal for their engines. The accelerator pedal position forces my right leg and ankle into an awkward twist. It's ok when I can use the cruise control; but on icy roads without cruise control, the crabbed leg posture is tiring. The driver's seat also won't go back far enough for me (6'2") to be comfortable unless I set the seat down low, but I didn't buy an SUV to sit down low. Acceleration is every bit as good as a KIA rental sedan - I think the engine is the reason the air conditioning is marginal. Oddly, from time to time the car fails to sense the key fob (and won't start), until I rub the fob against a picture of a key conveniently printed on the side of the steering column. When the BMW service rep first explained this procedure, I thought she was joking - but no, it's a feature. The first time this happened, night was falling on a deserted logging road in British Columbia, I didn't know the secret handshake, and it was alarming - I'm used to it now. And resale value? I paid $46k two years ago and Edmunds says it's worth around $20K now - all 3 of my Saabs held their value better. Oh, one more thing - the menu display I complained about? My routine now is just to turn the stupid thing off (2 clicks) as I head down the street. It's really not a problem - I wouldn't use the screen to read the owners manual while driving anyway. My review shortly after purchase is below: The menu system on a BMW dashboard is not intuitive - it’s just a random annoyance that’s the most consistent feature of this vehicle for a driver. With three clicks, you can turn it off, but it won’t stay off. Every time you start the vehicle, it will come back to annoy you – first with a legal disclaimer and then an array of meaningless menu choices. It’s impossible to make the screen display something useful like a digital clock (a Kia will do that, but a BMW won’t). I’d settle for a BMW logo on the screen, but even that’s not an option. The menu is loaded with choices leading quickly to lots of useless information, but changing the audio source for the stereo is 3-4 clicks and a couple of knob-spins away. You’ll find the FM/HD radio choice is in a different section of the menu than the CD player and Bluetooth devices. Perhaps it’s just German humor. Info that’s more easily accessed includes the owner’s manual (should you be reading that on the dashboard while driving?) and contact info for the BMW complaint center (maybe BMW owners use that one a lot?). You can also schedule a service appointment with a random BMW dealership with just a couple of clicks. But they can’t fix your menu. Want to “search by picture” and learn more about “screw thread for tow fitting” on this car’s front bumper? That’s literally choice #3 of 12 on an image of the vehicle, just two clicks and a quarter-spin away. But once again – is this info you should be using while the vehicle’s moving? However if you need to call your spouse, plan on pulling over to the side of the road and scrolling through the alphabet, because the “favorites” from your iPhone will not upload to this system and the voice-dial feature is erratic at best. I like a lot of things about my 2017 BMW – great steering and acceleration, quiet and steady ride, nice lines, quality trim everywhere. But the stupid, amateur-designed, useless menu stuck in the middle of my dashboard is a daily irritation that won’t go away. Yes, I’m a little obsessive – but how many non-obsessive people buy BMWs? I owned three Saabs. This is my first BMW and my last.
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2017 BMW X3 for sale near you
3 of 39 listings
- xDrive28i 4dr SUVMSRP: $12,99024 mi away
- xDrive28i 4dr SUVMSRP: $15,97715 mi away
- xDrive35i 4dr SUVMSRP: $14,805In-stock online
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Great handling SUV
Charles, New Hyde Park, NY, 01/27/2023
BMW X3 xDrive28i 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8A)
4 of 5 people found this review helpful
Bought the 2.8i xdrive M Sport from Freeport BMW brand new with 50 miles on it but they made me sign papers that state there's 5 miles on the odometer. Didn't like that too much but the car is solid. 33K miles and 5 years later and it still drives brand new. Other than maintenance and 2 recalls, there isn't much else done at the dealer. Handles well around corners and I think the brake based torque vectoring has something to do with it. Don't really know for sure as there's no indication lights or messages, it just works quietly in the background. Tried to dial in the Sport setting on the suspension and steering but didn't seem to make any difference. Just the engine shifting and hovering higher on the rpm. Not sure why it's even available to select! My guess is maybe it requires the handling pkg and variable ratio steering options? There's no way to plug in trailer harness? I had to splice into the wires to the taillights and brakes. Installed a hitch myself and saved a fortune. The dealer wanted $600 for the hitch PLUS installation. Had to take off the bumper to do it. Not sure if you want UHALL to do that when all the rivets has to come out and the bumper had parking sensor in them. Took a whole day to do the install myself. Car drives great and shifts are smooth. Steering is too light and putting setting in SPORT or SPORT PLUS makes no difference I can feel. Seems to like 60mph for the best gas mileage, I was able to get 33 on the hwy. Avg about 28 with mix driving, meaning leave my house and drive 3 minutes local to the highway and then 3 minutes local to my destination. Don't drive local. At 33K miles, the factory tires require replacement, minor cracks in the threads after 5 years. Had to get bimmercode to get turn signals to show in the HUD. Why not put it there, it's so convenient to see. Oh, Edmunds is right about the child seat anchors... very hard to remove the child seat harness once you clip it on, assuming you can find it in the first place. I don't even see it, just feeling for it. The rear hatch is improvised to make it electronic closing, basically a motor slams it close. Not classy at all. Should be slow close. The black plastic trim is not glossy in some spots, not sure why but warranty wouldn't cover it. One fog light is more blue than the other, dealer said they replaced it under warranty the first month we got it but still the same. I just live with it. Still on the factory pads and rotors, I do mostly hwy driving to florida and back. At 90mph on I95, I got around 27 mpg on the hwy. Yes, people drive fast on I95 on the left lane. Any slower, people had to cut around you. Lane departure warning works well. A few times, the forward collision warned me and it helps. Never had to wait for the car to apply the brakes which can be scary I think. It does have that feature. My 128i had the valve cover gasket leak at 85K miles, oil filter housing gasket leak at 93K miles. My Z4 has the oil filter housing gasket leak at 105K miles. Only time can tell if these N20 engines are any better in these aspects. Not looking forward to the turbo replacement. At least the other two BMWs I had had the inline 6 naturally aspirated. Yes Toyotas and Hondas are reliable but they're boring SUVs. Driving in NYC areas, we need fast acceleration to get on the hwy with the short entrance and exit ramps. When I see a little eco car getting on the hwy I get scared and I always move over to the left lane so they have more room get onto the hwy. I don't want to be in that car. I used to be in that car with the cadillac cimeron, honda civic and geo prism. Not to mention the brakes on the X3 is awesome, unexpected traffic on the hwy, I had to ease up on it because I was scared the guy behind me might rear end me. My 2019 Odyssey had much weaker brakes. I might get EBC slotted and dimpled rotors on it as it helped in my 2005 Odyssey. BMW great engine, great brakes, gear handling, bad for leaks and repair costs. My 128i is in for both control arms as it's popping noise when I get on and off driveways at 93K miles. My honda accord EXL V6 was 17 year old and 190K miles back then and no repairs of any suspension or leaks of any kind. Only repair was for something that was caused when I didn't use the car for a year, it was like $500 at the dealer. Trying to sell the X3 but the buying price was $24K when I paid over $63K with tax. Warning, depreciates a lot. Cost twice as much as hondas and toyotas when new but when it's time to sell it used, it will fetch the same amount as a used honda or toyota for the similar year and mileage.
What a monumental letdown
Duane Adam, Gilroy, CA, 11/22/2017
BMW X3 xDrive28i 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8A)
23 of 39 people found this review helpful
This is not a swipe at the price of the car or the dealer. I got a very good deal and the dealer was entirely professional. This X3 xdrive is an enormous disappointment though and honestly borders on feeling unsafe to drive. Why? The steering is so bizarre it's hard to keep the car in your lane without having it wander unexpectedly. After it does you correct but small corrections do nothing and larger ones over compensate so you need to correct again. This is constant and driving takes a ton of concentration as you're always fixing the direction of the car. Ever have a bicycle where the steering stem was loose and when you turned the handle nothing happened? That's what driving this car feels like. There's also no digital speedometer and a hard to read analog one so you never really know how fast you're going. Oh you can pull up the trip mileage MPH so you know how fast you went last year but you can't know how fast you're currently driving. I guess that's not important. Then there's the low on gas warning light which is a small triangle (about 1/8") that's so dim you'll never see it in the daylight. The fonts on the dash are small and hard to read, the heater seems to only heat at the highest setting and anything below it blows cold air. Mine has rattles and squeaks. I'm shocked that any car company let alone BMW would put out a car like this in 2017 and shame on me for not doing more homework before buying. Not my first BMW but certainly my last.
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A mediocre car in drag as a luxury vehicle.
Craig Eldridge, Seattle, WA, 09/14/2017
BMW X3 xDrive28i 4dr SUV AWD (2.0L 4cyl Turbo 8A)
16 of 27 people found this review helpful
What happened to BMW? The steering is dead numb, the handling is ponderous, and the interior is cheap. And they want how much? Other than acceleration, I can't think of one thing this does better than a Mazda CX-5. And the design is clunky. I'm no BMW hater; I have bought 8 new BMWs over the past 20 years. But this one does nothing for me. Ultimate Driving to the Mall Machine.
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