Mike - all those points are valid, but BMW is losing ground with the group that put it on the map - enthusiasts.
Car and Driver just UNseated the 3 series to a Lexus, with the other car in the test (a Caddy ATS) being given the ‘most fun to drive and best chassis’ moniker as well (over the BMW). And that lovely steering is one of the biggest reasons - I’ve driven the F90 & F92 and that steering is a problem - not to mention the little 4 cylinder that is being implemented in turbo form for the lower models for CAFE standards is buzzy. BMW = high dollar = buzzy?
The dipstick thing was coming, everyone saw it…but new and tech-y doesn’t equate to better. Sensors are great - until they fail. The more troubling issue is second-ownership. When you’re looking at a car with 50K miles on it that has been ‘dealer maintained’. that USED to mean something. Now that BMW has to pay for those first 4 years of maintenance, they’ve reduced the frequency of oil, coolant, brake, steering and diff fluid changes - without changing the component designs or the quality of the initial fluid fills at the factory - that makes second ownership a BIG issue. 'When you go to buy a performance car it is wise to check the dipstick (as well as checking the exhaust when tromping on the throttle) and now we can’t do that either. Sadly, even the Tech guru at the BMWCCA says we’re not going to want to buy used BMWs coming into the market starting …right…about…now.
When you make cars for everyone, you can dumb them down for everyone but the BMW brand is not the VW or Chevy brand but it sure seems like they are driving it that way. Don’t get me started on VW/Audi - I’m not a fan! 