I'm pretty new here and am prepared for the flack on this but I've gotta say this.
What is the problem with bolts falling out inside BM engines?? Not like it's minor **** either. One recent poster had NINE, phuking NINE bolts laying in his oilpan!! The M-30s would regularly wipe out cams because of banjo bolts loosening.
Doesn't Fritz own a torque wrench or have loctite??
I can't believe new buyers would put up with this.And nikasil????
Ford was nearly bankrupted because of a lousy tire problem that wasn't even their fault,nor Firestone's for that matter. Audi was punished unmercifully because some dumbasses couldn't tell the throttle from the brake.
Yet BMW customers seem to take it in stride when told the motor is toast.
"Brilliance" is a term floated out here recently.I don't think brilliant is the word that came to mind when any of you guys dropped the oil pan on your V-8s.
How about cooling systems on these things?

There are so many great things one say about our cars,yet some parts are just utter crap.And here we all genuflect to the Bavarian gods.
I thinks that a good part of our cars longevity is our own willingness to keep fixing them. That perhaps is the best testimony to the enjoyment they USUALLY provide.