I am wondering why they needed to drop the rear suspension?

Not sure, when I asked why the high labor hours, it was stated that the rear suspension needed to be dropped?

When I had mine done last year, the tech showed me how the lines were routed. The lines to each rear wheel run on top of the rear suspension assy., and the only way to replace them entirely, is to drop the assy. My dealership will not try to repair broken lines, they will only replace them with new (liability issues I suppose). And he showed me how the connectors between sections of line were the first things to rust, and he said it was very rare that they would separate without breaking. I work for the dealership, so I know they weren't giving me the run-around. The service manager told me that they have done over 100 X5's for the same problem, and apparently, the X5 is the only model with this problem. I wasn't happy about the cost, but I understand why they had to do all that labor.

Holy crap. I would seriously bend new lines, and flare them somewhere to connect to the original.

If it wasn't for the unusual circumstances under which I bought it, I would have. I have repaired/replaced brake lines many times, and have all the tools to bend, flare, and double flare lines. But, because of the way i bought this X5, I couldn't do the work on my own (LONG story), so I had to let the dealer fix it so it would pass the NYS safety inspection before I took it home. At least the brake lines are ONE thing I don't have to worry about going bad on this ride.

Very true. Anyway having brakes is good. Enjoy, keep the shiny side up.