My Mom is looking to buy a car around 15K-18K with low Millage. She likes crossover SUV s and i found that the two cars that interest her are the RAV-4 or X3. I found that you can get a 04-05 BMW X3 for around 18k and an 06-07 RAV-4 for around 18k. So which one should she purchase.
Things we are considering:
- Resale Value
- Gas Millage
- Comfortable Ride

Any Help Appreciated!

Resale Value-Comfortable Ride
yeah i would go for the bmw. the name it self is equal to big bucks
$$

Toyota Rav-4!

The BMW actually has worse resale value than you think.

If you plan on buying a BMW, you should always buy new because of the free maintenace/warranty. Oil changes run you about 200 dollars, depending on make, model and year, and the tires are also extremely expensive, which also applies to repair bills.

The Rav-4 is cheaper to maintain, has a better resale value, longer life, cheaper parts, cheaper gas, and has a pretty good ride, and has cheaper insurance.

if you want something more luxurious, try a Toyota Highlander. Its a little bit bigger, but you can buy more luxury options for it, without paying luxury price for maintenance.

X3 X3 X3 X3 X3! BMW'S ARE THHE BEST..and unbelevably reliable on the snow and just about every weather condition, GO FOR THE BMWWWW!

the RAV-4.

One of big the reasons I chose the BMW over the RAV (like your Mom, I was debating what to do and the RAV was still on my short list) was the hatch/trunk lid. The BMW covers my head in the rain when I'm loading groceries, etc. The RAV has the stupid spare tire on the outside and the door swings out rather than up to load the trunk area. That knocked the RAV off my list.

When I weighed all of the differences, including price, I wound up buying an '04 X3 CPO in October of 2007. I know I made the right decision. I really enjoy driving this car. It's my first BMW. I've put 16,000 miles on it (it's now at 54k) and love driving it. It's got a nice low center of gravity and feels extremely stable.

I've owned maybe 10 cars in my lifetime and I like the X3 as much as I loved my SAAB hatchbacks. I never thought I would ever find another vehicle that I would love as much as my '93 SAAB 900S, but the BMW X3 is the exactly the right size and does what I need it to. Now, if they'd just put a peppy 4 cylinder turbo in it so I could get 25-30 mpg, I'd be happy. ;)

HTH.

Nancy