Which BMW X3 trim holds its value better?

To get a real-world indication of the X3’s value retention, we went hunting through the 2018-vintage base-model cars, as listed here on AutoTrader. We then compared their current market values to what they cost when new to determine how much they are currently worth in the marketplace, expressed as a percentage of their original value.

We confined our search to cars from 2018, because that was the first full year of third-generation X3 availability in South Africa, and imposed a mileage limit of 15 000 km per year for a distance cap of 60 000 km. Please note that these used-car prices do not include the (new) value of optional extras, and we tried to concentrate our search parameters around base-trim examples instead of the myriad of available trim packages.

Seeing as BMW offers a maintenance plan for 5 years or 100 000 km on the X3, the chances are that the cars we’ll investigate today will still have a year and at least 40 000 km of cover left over, although their warranties will all be long gone by now. That last year’s worth of pre-paid maintenance adds to the overall value proposition, and props up resale values for the time being. Once their plans have expired, expect a massive drop in resale value, though, so bargain hunters should hold out just a little longer.

2018 BMW X3 xDrive20d

New Price: R 710 909

Current Market Value: R 621 861

Value Retained: 87.5%

This is a surprisingly strong showing for a 4-year-old car, and illustrates the popularity of both the X3 in general, and the 2.0-litre diesel entry-level engine in particular. It’s also in line with the general trends of lower-end trims but premium-branded cars, which tend to be quite depreciation-resistant in the medium term.

2018 BMW X3 xDrive 30i

Curiously, there were no 2018-examples of this variant listed on AutoTrader at the time of writing. However, the sole 2019 model on site (in M Sport trim) is listed for 89% of its original value, most likely because it’s loaded with options, helped along by very low mileage (~ 17 500 km). This sample size is too small to draw definitive conclusions, though, and its age puts it outside the parameters of this evaluation in any case, while the data for this specific car may represent a statistical anomaly.

2018 BMW X3 xDrive30d

New Price: R 926 113 (in xLine trim)

Current Market Value: R 729 990

Value Retained: 78.8%

Once again, the sample size for the base-trim xDrive30d variant is too small to be relevant, although the sole example on site does look like very good value at first glance. However, this is a particularly high-mileage example, and on the verge of its maintenance plan running out at ~ 99 000 km, so its value retention of only 66.6% is understandable: At lower mileages, this engine variant holds more of its value, with a 45 000 km-old example of the xLine trim still retaining 78.8% of its original value.

2018 BMW X3 M40i xDrive 

New Price: R 1 038 126

Current Market Value: R 909 949

Value Retained: 87.7%

The most-expensive X3 available at launch (the X3M Competition arrived much later) shows almost-identical medium-term value retention to the least-expensive variant, out-performing its much-cheaper sibling by a mere 0.2%. Once again, there are plenty of M40i examples listed on site, with their market values varying widely, depending on their mileages. 

Verdict

With almost a year still left before their maintenance plans expire, it transpires that all third-generation X3 trims can boast of value retention in the mid-to-high-70% bracket. The low-level variants retain slightly less of their value than their high-performance (or highly-optioned) siblings, however, making them better-value used-car buys. It will nonetheless be interesting to revisit these cars in 2022, to see just how much their remaining Motorplans propped-up their resale values at the time of this article’s writing...