I'm sorry to hear about your problems. This is an issue that I have thought about over my years driving BMW's. This car company is known to push new models out the door and in many cases complete R&D while the vehicles are in the owners hands. I had a 1985 325e (eta engine) that wouldn't idle smoothly no matter what the dealer tried. The tach would rhythmically jump to 1,800rpm and back to 700 rpm at idle with no fix in sight. My 1987 325is was a great car (too bad about the accident and resultant frame damage). My 1989 535iA went through 3 camshafts, upper ball joints, control arms, seat material coming apart, etc. It also had problems idling smoothly. After this car, I took a break from BMW for a few years. My next BMW was a 1999 540iA, the best BMW I owned. It had very few problems and was a stellar performer.
In almost every case, buying a car a few years into the production cycle yielded a more problem free car. I'm not sure the issue has alot to do with where the vehicles are built though. My personal opinion is that the design is what drives the quality and fault rate. It is easy to trace faults to poor assembly. If door panels rattle, is it because an American worker assembled it poorly or was the panel designed with inadequate tolerances and a materal that is too thin to have the ridgidity necessary to avoid rattles?
On the other hand, looking at the Japanese cars, the Japanese seem in general to be obsessed with quality where the American car manufacturers seem to be happy with "it's good enough - no one is complaining". Now, with sales dropping due to poor quality product and undesireable models, the American manufacturers are in serious trouble. Another issue I see has to do with the culture of "entitlement" prevalent in the unions of American car manufacturers (Canadian workers included).
My personal opinion is that if the Unions continue on their present course, they'll take the car companies down with them and we'll all be buying foreign cars. I agree with other posts that assembly quality in North America seems to be poorer than with imports manufactured abroad.
To the issue at hand; I mystified as to why you would feel the way you do about BMW, yet give them more of your money!! Based on my experience, you're just as likely to have problems with a German built car (especially if it is an early production model). The I-drive problems on your German built 3 series are likely to be he same as with your E70.
Perhaps the best plan for us is to pay our money, but not expect perfection. I'm prepared to live with a few problems. I lease my cars and turn them in after 3 years. I like to get a new car every few years and don't look forward to repairing the problems these complex cars are bound to encounter during warranty and beyond. Knowing that I only have to put up with these problems over the short term, I don't get too involved with making the dealer do it over and over again until they get it right. I drive it and dump the problem in the dealer's lap when I turn the car in. I enjoy the drive when I have it though!
