Update on new X3

So I promised an update on my new to me 2023 X3 after a had done a few miles and towed my boat with it.

I have had a couple of issues with it but these are now sorted, issue 1, it turns out the car had been sat for sale for seven weeks and therefore both front and rear brake discs were heavily corroded, after a couple of hundred miles they had actually got worse with quite a judder under braking. Issue two was I noticed the rear tyres were brand new and the fronts were just over 3mm, having put a deposit down and made an appointment for the test drive the dealer knew I was coming and had had the car freshly valeted so all 4 tyres were covered with tyre shine and I had not noticed the difference in tread depth. Anyway with a bit of persuasion the dealer has fitted new front and rear disc and pads.
I raised the tyres issues advising I understood all tyres should be within 2mm of each other and all four tyres should have been fitted but this was initially declined but thanks to a conformation email from BMW Customer Services that this is their recommendation to ensure the transfer box operates as required these have now also been fitted. I must say John Clark in Aberdeen have with a slight prod been very good.

So what’s the car like, pretty good to be honest, I had run a 3.0d F25 for the last 7 years, being an se spec it was a bit basic but it was bought as a work horse for towing and work and it did every thing I wanted, it was very reliable but did eat front discs at an alarming rate.

I thought dropping down to a 2.0d would be disappointing when towing but it isn’t, yes you can feel the difference but this tows the boat which weighs in at 2300kg with no effort at all and this is much nicer to drive than the old car at sensible speeds but you do notice the difference at higher motorway speeds. The spec in this car is taking some getting used to, the headlights with the auto high beam are just amazing, handling is so much better than the F25 it really is a step up, I have an upcoming trip from Edinburgh to Norwich in a couple of weeks and can’t wait, I am also enjoying an extra 10 mpg over the 3.0d.

 

Fair play to the dealer for (eventually) sorting out the brakes and tyres, an excellent result for you.

Looks to be a proper rig hooked up to the boat!

 

Glad to hear it's going well and the dealer sorted you out. John Clark have a bit of an up and down reputation.

I bet the Bayliner doesn't do 40 to 50mpg Is it a V6 petrol in there on a stern drive?

 

yeah, 4.3mpi 220hp, 4.5mpg is the best I have ever seen. Much less flat out a 50mph. Strangely I did a trip through the Caledonian Canal which has a 5 knots speed limit and I was only getting 2.6mpg.

 

Interesting that you reckon you are getting 10 MPG more than the previous 30d.

I made the same switch and reckon the 20d is only getting me around a 2-3mpg improvement, insignificant really. I suspect this is down to fact mine is a pre-LCI and therefore it doesn't have the mild hybrid tech that yours will, must make a notable difference.

Funnily enough, I too had issues with juddering brakes when I bought mine AUC and the dealer had to replace the discs and pads for me, no issues since.

 

Yeah I do a lot of town driving and the 3.0d gave me an average of 33mpg but did increase to about 38 on a motorway run. This gives me 42 around town, I have only done a couple of short motorway journeys so far but they returned 48mpg. Strangely both cars drop to the exact same 24mpg towing the boat.

 

Probably more efficient when on the plane.

In a previous life (back in 1987 aged 19) I worked for 5 months in Marbella working on ski and American muscle boats in between my years at college studying Yacht and Boatyard Management

 

Now that sounds pretty cool.