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The killer issue is typically service. Many mechanics are incompetent and/or under too much pressure and/or don't care enough to do the job right. It's hard work, they don't get paid well, and they are under time pressure.
I've had many bad experiences with dealership service departments over 30 years of owning cars. Even the best dealerships didn't offer consistent service. I've had cases where even really simple things like oil changes were screwed up. I've seen everything: rags left in the engine compartment, hoses left disconnected and dangling, coolant sprayed all over the engine, paint damage from tools, botched clutch replacements, wild goose chases with many part replacements without fixing the problem (only causing other problems). The list goes on and on... I've even had a couple of brand new cars that I bought damaged by dealerships pre-delivery. This is not limited to BMW - same crap with all the brands that I owned. It's not as though one brand has better mechanics than others.
This is why I dread even a minor problem in a new car. Once service gets their hands on it, the results are unpredictable, with some likelihood of incurring additional problems caused by incompetent work.
I do all regular maintenance myself now, and don't bother going to the dealer for any problem that I can live with (like rattles) where the cure can be easily worse than the disease.
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