arentz07

I was picky. But honestly, if I drive a 2023 X3 with under 6,000 miles, handing me the keys to a 2019 530i with over 50,000 miles feels a bit wrong. Not to mention one that is filthy and has obvious damage on the outside.

I do think BMW tries to give higher-end loaner cars to customers with higher-end cars. They asked me what I drove before giving me the loaner... why else would they care? And it's like they pretended that the mint-looking X5 with the "Courtesy Vehicle" sticker was not there. What was wrong with that one? Probably saving it for someone else, that's what.

I'm sure that some dealerships don't do this. In fact, I think my Lexus dealer only loans out ES, NX, and RX models. I've never seen anything else as a loaner.

jwong77

Just wanted to chime in also on what a great review that is. There's alot of professional reviewers who aren't nearly as thorough.

I'm also an X3 owner, and wouldn't mind one of these as my loaner as well.

arentz07

So, we got our X3 back! We had it in for a rattle concern with the sunroof. Apparently, they took the whole thing apart, found nothing abnormal, and when they put it back together, the rattle was gone. I'll... take it.

I forgot how refined and nice to drive the X3 is. It rides a LOT better than the X1, and it is slightly quieter on the whole. Also, the auto start/stop is a little less eager to shut the engine off. And, get this - when I hit the gas after being stopped, the car instantly moves. Wow, amazing!

patgilm

The throttle lag is present in my X7 M50i. It makes an otherwise great vehicle unenjoyable to drive. It’s the main reason I don’t have a connection with the car and I don’t think I’ll miss it for that sole reason. Everything else about the car I really like, especially on long trips.

Striker223

Tune it. Totally fixes how it responds

patgilm

I have thought about that but I would be worried about my warranty and if it is something that has to be done with the ECU, it is locked and not easily unlocked because it’s a 2021. If it was something easy I would be all for it. When I had my 2020 M340i those ECUs were able to be unlocked and I still had to take it out and send it to Cali to bench unlock it.

Striker223

That's true, you would have to remove and ship that one. It steps you up to nearly 700 though, the one nice thing about VAG cars is that the tunes can be bought with a factory term matching warranty but it appears that BMW doesn't have that.

Blaze876

iTrader: (1)

Be happy they didn't offer uber credits lol.

I have seen some dealerships asking what you drive currently to either offer the newer model as your courtesy model or the next model above...so in your case an X5. However, you already drive a 2023 X3 so the chances of you being tempted to upgrade to a 2024 or a x5 is very slim. Therefore they decided to give you the beater 530i .

IMO I think BMW has done a far better job in the lower end segment than Mercedes for a while now....and to be honest they are now doing the higher end models better than Mercedes as well.

arentz07

I will say that, on my GTI, tuning it did make a big difference - mostly with the transmission tune. The DSG was a little lazy off the line from factory, but the tune really woke it up and made it feel way less slushy at low speeds. Having a little extra boost was nice, too.

I guess that kind of personality is what I was hoping for from the X1, since it also has a DCT. I do appreciate the direct feeling of the DCT on the X1... once I am rolling, but take-offs were an exercise in patience. The X3, on the other hand, does in fact have some throttle delay, but it sems to be no worse than the delay in my IS 500's pedal.

We had the X1 for over a full week, so I would certainly hope they wouldn't think Uber credits were a fair substitute.

And honestly, I think we both know there are those kinds of car buyers who jump from new car to new car every couple of years - and a lot of those buyers are BMW lessees. ​​​​​​​