Regardless of who said what and when, I can only speak of what I 've seen with the E46 & E53 when it comes to plastic failure.

As for someone using what's been seen in a shop as indicative of BMW quality.......

1) Does the shop use Genuine BMW parts exclusively?

2) Do they verify failed parts are Genuine BMW?

3) Are they the exclusive shop doing repairs to vehicle?

4) Do they have access to full vehicle history?

Don't see how anything posted prior is "shooting myself in the foot".

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'03 X5 4.4 Sport, last of the M62s (8-03 build date)
I believe in deadication to craftmanship in a world of mediocrity!