X3: buying/viewing guide or tips needed please.

[Lord lucan]

Hi,

I’m going to view an X3 in the next few days.  As such I was hoping you guys may be able to give me some tips on what to look for on the vehicle and the paperwork if possible?

It’s a 2005 X3 diesel manual transmission with 109k on the clock. The service book shows stamps to 91k and then there receipts for the rest from what the owner tells me.

He also said the sat nav voice doesn’t work and the handbrake needs adjusting. It also only has the one key so I’d need to source a spare. Apart from those bits it runs and works as it should.

He’s asking just under £3k to add some context. What should I be checking and how much should I be budgeting to fix/replace the above?

Thanks I’m advance!

[X5Sport]

Voice Assist will depend upon whether it is actually fitted.  They all got the button on the steering wheel regardless of the option.  Use the last 7 of the VIN to get the build spec from somewhere like BMWvin dot com.

Any competent Indy should be able to adjust the handbrake.

Check the tyres.  If the wheel sizes are different front to back (staggered) then you really do need the correct rubber on them, and that means ‘*’ marked tyres.  The E83 is one of the worst for not liking the wrong rubber.  It can result in a broken transmission.

[Sport160]

The sat nav voice not sounding should bear no relation to the Voice Assist? By Voice Assist do you mean Voice Control? Sounds like a little system glitch to me...

[Neil Jones]

Voice Assist will depend upon whether it is actually fitted.  They all got the button on the steering wheel regardless of the option.  Use the last 7 of the VIN to get the build spec from somewhere like BMWvin dot com.

Any competent Indy should be able to adjust the handbrake.

Check the tyres.  If the wheel sizes are different front to back (staggered) then you really do need the correct rubber on them, and that means ‘*’ marked tyres.  The E83 is one of the worst for not liking the wrong rubber.  It can result in a broken transmission.

Why would a vehicle have two different size wheel sizes on it? Surely they would be supplied with the same size rims?

[X5Sport]

A lot of BMW (and other) models have different width rims front/rear. As standard my X6 came with 20x10” front and 20x11 rear. It’s just something that they do, especially on the higher performance or special trim versions. My E53 was the same as is our E46.

For the X6 the correctly sized front tyres are 275/40 R20 and the rear 315/35 R20 and it’s this difference in profile that needs shaving to ensure the rolling radii are the same. One member on here measured a non-‘*’ set and even though the correct nominal sizes, the circumference was out by 32mm - and that’s per rotation. This is why tyres are so important. Audi, Merc, Porsche and others have the same problem and needs just as careful checking.

It’s more aesthetics I guess, though having a wider rear on a predominantly RWD car (albeit able to shift power between axles when needed) will give more grip.