Obviously too late now, but yeah, Japanese would have been the way to go based on the incompetence of BMW service in your location, AND the fact that there is only 1 place.

BMW as a whole are not unreliable, they are average as far as brand reliability. At least here in the US. BMW is right in the middle according to Consumer Reports. You want to talk unreliable: Range Rover/Land Rover has everyone beat, and M-Benz are also at the bottom of the pile (I think they are still reeling from the failed 10-year Chrysler experiment). Toyota and Honda are at the top (no surprise), and Nissan has gotten much better in the last few years, and have pulled even with Honda.