If the shop you took it to couldn't diagnose the issue, I'd try another shop. There's clearly something wrong if your dipstick is dry after only 250 miles, assuming you're warming up the engine first, waiting 5 minutes or so, then checking the dipstick while the car is on level ground (the oil check procedure is described in the owner's manual).

My experience with valve stem seals was similar to those mentioned above. My X used a quart roughly every 800-1000 miles. And after sitting at a long stop light, or sitting in traffic, or sitting in a drive through, I got a big puff of blue smoke out of the tailpipes. But without the idling, there wasn't really any noticeable smoke.

$12k to repair the valve stem seals probably includes removing the heads. There's not much of a good reason to do this anymore now that AGA came out with a tool to allow the seals to be replaced without removing heads. Cost on this repair should be about $2000. Yes, it's not cheap, but it's way better than $12k. When I was shopping around for my repair, most of the shops in my area used this tool. I bet yours would too.

Also, I see you're in NJ. There's a guy who does this repair for about $1500 in NY or NJ with lots of happy customers. Search around here and on other BMW forums - he's mentioned a lot.

One of the X5s I test drove when shopping for mine had a service record for a visit to the dealer about excessive oil consumption. The statement from the dealer on the invoice was 0.8L/1000km was considered within BMW's spec. I read it and laughed.

An attitude like this is why they get away it.

At the very least check whether the engine is drawing oil into the combustion chamber through the crankcase breather system. It would suggest that it's not sealed correctly.

- I have a very slight oil leak on garage floor: 2-3 drops a night. I have to fix the OFH gasket soon. No time yet.
- The CCV is still stock at 115K miles.

My M54 engine sucks about 1qt/1000 miles.

Once I fix the above 2 issues, I will report back re oil consumption.

However, I have gathered over the years (in different forums) that the M54 engines drink about 1 qt/2,000 miles even fresh from the showroom.

[QUOTE=trader4;1035725]Yes, as you pointed out - It's the dealership and manufacturer's attitude towards the situation the consumer is expected to accept. Whereas it will cost the consumer in related repairs that should be considered a result of design/emission defects.
You may have read this article, but it's worth posting again. And while on early port injection model/years may clean the carbon from intake valves, the oil injested from CCV and/or valve seal design flaws still damages the system.
Article from;
Edmunds - Auto Observer
Direct Injection Fouls Some Early Adopters
By AUTOOBSERVER STAFF June 15, 2011

Tony Chick, principal engineer at European Performance Labs in Stratford, Connecticut, has made a career of repairing and rebuilding high-performance engines from Audi, Porsche AG and BMW, among others and his operation has garnered a reputation among car enthusiasts as a go-to place for cleaning DI engines that have become choked with carbon. Chick thinks the problem for most affected engines can be traced to the breathing system – specifically, the design of its crankcase ventilation and exhaust-gas recirculation components.

All modern gasoline engines return some crankcase and exhaust gases back through the intake manifold in order to help control emissions, but, according to Chick, some exhaust-gas recirculation designs are “dirtier" than others. Some, he said, are less-effective at preventing the passage of tiny bits of oil, carbon and other particulates that eventually get baked onto the intake ports and valves.

Chick reached his conclusion after inspecting dozens of different DI engines at his shop and finding some, like the V8 in Boyadjiev’s Audi RS 4, regularly choked with carbon while others, like the DI version of Porsche’s horizontally opposed 6-cylinder, remained much cleaner.

If he’s right, the rapid adoption of DI has actually illuminated an issue, not caused one. A “dirty” intake or exhaust-recirculation design can easily go undetected in a conventional port-injected engine due to the cleaning effect of gasoline passing over the intake valves. When the same engine designs are adapted to direct-injection fueling, however, that cleaning effect is suddenly lost – and the carbon layers can build.

There is no simple fix for engines that are prone to carbon build-up, Chick says. What’s needed is a complete redesign of the crankcase ventilation and exhaust-gas recirculation systems to prevent particulates from getting through. Fortunately, the manufacturers whose engines are frequently cited in carbon build-up reports – mainly VW, Audi and Lexus – appear to have taken this step with many of their latest models. For instance, Audi’s new 3-liter supercharged V6, used in the S4 and A6 models, has so far been free from carbon-related complaints – a far cry from the 3.2 liter V6, which has numerous threads dedicated to the condition.

If Ford and GM engineers and Chick are correct, the carbon-buildup problem now may be relegated to previous engine designs that were not well-adapted for DI. But that’s probably little consolation to some early adopters like Boyadjiev, who must add regular carbon cleaning services to their cars’ ongoing maintenance requirements – a cost that, for now at least, they are expected to absorb entirely on their own as they grapple with the “dirty” secret of this emerging technology.

Audi extends emission warranty to cover carbon build up -

http://www.a5oc.com/forums/attachmen...3&d=1376966072

So - realistically, what would the average N62 with approx. 100,000 miles consume in the way of oil? Would you need to top-up between service intervals, assuming you do these every 5000 - 8000 miles?

I think an "average" would be a guess. I would go by how much consumption of oil is too much. I would be looking for a reason with any engine if I was adding a more than 1/2 quart of oil in the same number of miles. As an example, my oil consumption is about 1/2 quart per 5000 miles. If it changed to 1 quart per 5000 miles I would be concerned and would find out why.