Agree.

A minor curiosity, perhaps..... but there is no way that a buyer should rely on the fact that "inspections generate service $$$" as a way to be assured 'there are no issues.'

These free service inspections are nonsense- they are not designed to protect against issues, they are simply a waste of paper (if you are buying a car)

Then why is he not calling the dealer and asking them? Get it direct from the horses mouth. What if they claim it had absolutely no leaks when they inspected it three months and 3,000 miles ago? No way to disprove that since the OP cannot prove that the leaks were there prior.

The dealer could have easily provided a separate sheet for the inspection and left the invoice of work done it's own entity for record keeping. Or perhaps the leak started within the last 3k. The OP says it is at least 10k, but let's be honest, a leak can cause a serious mess in a small amount of time, and given the OP's reliance on some wording about inspections on a unrelated invoice, his judgement comes into question.

The x5 is.fundamentally good. I didn't.have time.to get.a.independent inspection. I did assume.the service.records.would point.at.most any problem. The service history docs are good.to have. The transmission leak was.easy to fix and boy does one need.to service.the trans at.100k if.not.sooner. I didn't know about the oil cooler gasket.issue with these cars or.I.would have.looked.for.that. I will plan to.replace.it once.I.am prepared and fully educated.to.do.the work.

I am.surprised.a.world.class.inspection doesn't.always list issues like oil.drips.
So my conclusion is bmw.service.would.let.a.transmission leak to.dry and.fail?

As far as the oil cooler gasket... IF you have an oil cooler it's about a 3 hour job. If you don't have an oil cooler, it's called an alternator bracket gasket and it takes about 12 hours.

If you have an oil cooler you'll be able to see it through the lower grill on the drivers side.

Thanks so much. Don't all 4.8s have an oil cooler? I see.the small lower.grill below.the drivers side fog light is a open grate and.has a radiator like.cooler.behind it. so why does.the fact.I have oil cooler.make.the gasket.much easier to replace? Do you know where a.good posting.is.on the steps.to.do the job?

I had the same leak and put off fixing it for the better part of a year because all the DIY's you run across are for an alternator mounting bracket gasket. Those poor guys that don't have an oil cooler have the same engine block so BMW made the alternator bracket to include a blanking plate to cover the oil cooler line holes with the same gasket. To make it worse, one of the bolts on the bracket is behind the engine mount so you have to lift the engine and remove the motor mount to access it.

For those of use with oil coolers, the gasket is between the oil thermostat and the engine block. The thermostat itself is attached to the block with 2x e-torx bolts. The lower is slightly obstructed and a u-joint is too long but you can get to it with an e-torx socket and a wobble extension. I replaced both bolts with SS socket head cap screws from Orchard Supply that made re-assembly much easier with a ball head hex socket.

Just off the top of my head you'll have to remove:
- air snorkels
- fan assembly
- serpentine belt
- bracket holding power steering line in front of engine and move out of way
- alternator
- follow oil lines with your hand down to thermostat housing, remove the center bolt and the oil lines will come off
- two e-torx bolts holding housing to block

The biggest PITA is that there is no way to see the thermostat housing and you have to do it all by feel.

here's a picture of the gasket and thermostat housing:

RealOEM.com - Online BMW Parts Catalog

And the oil cooler lines have o-rings where they attach so you'll want two of #9 in this pic:

RealOEM.com - Online BMW Parts Catalog

Sure. Didnt you have the time to fly in to buy it?

People get emotionally and transactionally hung up on how to do and manage a PPI. Oddly the fear of spending $250 on an inspection and having to turn the car down drives people to NOT do an inspection.

Absolutely. Every day BMW dealers fail to do their 'jobs' and cost owners money.

Thanks I will be inspecting for detail this weekend. I have a camera probe and maybe I can actually see the thing. With your input hopefully I can get all the right tools and.parts ready before the surgery. Such a job is much easier if one has the right steps and tools. The drip is pretty small right now.and I hope it doesn't turn into a gusher before I have time.to fix it like 3 weekends from now. Should I replace the oil cooler thermostat or not?

On a different subject I certainly.didn't.do the inspection I could have .... I was too committed flying one way to see it scheduling a yosemite get.together with my son in California. How it has turned out I would.do it again .... the cooler leak is.the only not nice issue really and.Thanks to having.the oil cooler and.help here it.seems I will overcome. Just a.opportunity to earn dyi points with my very nice wife .... zowie .... May you all suffer like this ;-)