oil/grease appears on alloys and in wheel arches

[barlow123ab]

Hi, first post here

anyway, i have a problem with my 2006 e53. A few weeks ago i noticed black splodges on the drivers side alloy, on further inspection it turned out to be oil/grease. so i cleaned it off and thought nothing of it. another 2 weeks down the line, i come to wash the car again and the horrible black splodges have re-appeared! i took a closer look and noticed that it was all-over the drivers-side wheel components and in the wheel arches, i also noticed the steering seems a bit heavier, i took it to an "indie" garage and they couldn't find the cause or problem and said it was nothing . I don't think the car is meant to be leaking grease of any kind, so i haven't driven it since i took it back from the garage. just wondered if anyone else had this problem before i take it to bmw...because they will ingest my wallet. any help is appreciated. pics are of underneath the car by the drivers side wheel.