[949]

ok, so here is a very dumb question. how will everyone deal with the maintenance on the new cars with no dipstick and no real way to maintain these new engine at home?

[m6pwr]

You can do regular oil & filter changes without being a certified tech. Same for air filter. Maybe a little more involved for spark plugs (you'll need a special deep socket to get to the plugs - sold at BavAuto etc.). Coolant changes and brake fluid flush is nothing different or high tech; same for brake pad replacement. If you have an auto trans I would leave the flush and refill to the dealer. All the BMWs have hydraulic valve lifters so you don't need to measure valve clearances anymore. That covers most of the periodic maintenance I can think of.

Not sure about your concern with the dipstick. You can measure the oil level electronically whenever you want thru the iDrive display.

If your question supposes no tools, no place to do the maintenance, and no desire to do it all anyway, then you are in the same boat as with any other car new or old, you take it to the dealer or wait until something breaks.

As for maintenance intervals, they are covered in the Warranty and Maintenance Manual delivered with the car. Currently 10k for oil & filter, 3 yrs for brake fluid, 5 yrs for coolant; around 50k for auto tranny (ZF says can go longer I think); frankly not sure about the rest - - it's in the manual. My other car is an '09 VW TDI diesel and its maintenance schedule is about the same. BMW's are not any more or less maintenance intensive than any other modern car. The trend is toward lengthening the maintenance intervals.

[Safety2213]

I think the biggest difference with these cars is that the DME software gets updated through a recall effort on a regular basis. It seems every year I go to the dealer the car's firmware is updated and actually does improve drive-abiity. For that reason, it may be a good idea to go back to the dealer for basic services. BMW has recently introduced value pricing for the e90's and I am sure soon for the f series, an oil service is $79.95 at my dealer.

For other services such as brakes or repair I would not go to the dealer and head to a reputable independent. However, I think you will probably need to do some combination of dealer and independent service because of the BMW only software if cost is an issue.

[949]

this is what I found when I was just surfing. it makes no sense to me why there is no dipstick. for myself I am pretty seasoned with doing engine work. I have rebuilt engines before and I modify and tune engines as a hobby. but to use a computer inside the car to tell me if I just added enough or not doesn't make sense.