i think BMW's free maintance covers everything except new tires, keep that in mind.
Don't say that say that. BMW free maintenance intervals are not to be adhered to at all! I beg you all, think of the poor transmission!
A little history for those not familiar, the year was 1997 and BMW wanted a way to prop up their reputation. Anyone who financed a new first time BMW through select BMW advised financial institutions got free maintenance. The problem is that BMW began to start doubling the time between service intervals and recommended maintenance, preventative work that kept the cars happy. BMW has historically hardly strayed away from their past in terms of the actual mechanics of the cars, how could they suddenly be telling us the same engine/transmission packages they had been using for years were somehow so different? The answer is that they are not.
Follow the factory maintenance schedule and you see things like M5's with carbon buildup issues (exasperating a factory issue) and regularly hesitant automatic transmissions (interestingly sourced from GM :lol

and coarse power steering units. Buying used 90's Bimmers these days from people who aren't enthusiasts, or who didn't follow the old schedules is a problem. You will regularly find cars with abused suspensions and dying automatics since it's hard for the general owner to know there is actually a problem.
Most people will agree BMW has gotten a little complacent in this regard to treatment of new v. pre owned buyers. In the old days before FM, BMW broke the cars in before the 1,500 mile mark (scheduled at 1,200).
The differential, transmission and engine oils were flushed and replaced and all filters replaced. When FM came along BMW all but stopped that on anything but their M cars, select dealers also made sure to "take care" of their valued customers with v12 models.
You can run the car with little to no maintenance for 100,000 miles if you wanted, but don't listen to BMW's advice and expect it to run like new if you are a hard driver.
I like BMW, I dislike Lexus. I would buy the Lexus. A stripper 5 is no fun at all.:hay: