Are dealers required to do anything for owners of old cars? My car is an 18 year old 740. Here are 3 examples. All 3 instances happened at Evans Motorworks in Dayton, Ohio, US.

1.)I asked the dealer if they have the equipment to do the EPROM update in Service Bulletin #28-102. They said they never heard of it. I asked, "Well, will you look into it? How do we proceed?" He said, "Well, you could fax it in." Then it took him 5 minutes to "look up" the fax number. After faxing the FAQ section twice, I still haven't heard from them.

2.) When I tried to buy the *correct* metric o-rings for the engine dipstick and the transmission dipstick, he told me that both are "discontinued and unavailable".

3.) When I tried to buy the correct metric retaining rings for the shifter, he brought out a collection of retaining rings in a partitioned box. He said, "Our mechanic said I can sell anything in this box for 50 cents apiece". I asked, "Are these metric?" He said, "... uh. Yeah." Stretching across the counter, I read "3/8, 7/16, 1/2."

They use fractional retaining rings and they only service BMW, Volvo, and VW?! I said, "These won't fit correctly. Retaining rings use an interference fit. They HAVE to be right."