okay just bought my 07 550i and i found the service screen and i see it's set for 14000mls, how do i tell how many more miles to go before i have to change my oil???? isn't 14000mls a bit much between oil changes???

 

That's what is left according to the factory service schedule - every 15000 miles. Not near often enough. Most people agree on 7k to 10k. And all your other fluids are not really "lifetime" either. Welcome to BMW world! It's fun, but expensive.

 

The 14,000 is an estimate and will decrease based on your driving style and frequency. It will most likely reach zero long before you have actually driven that many miles.

 

Rough idea on maintenance:

Oil 8k
Transmission (auto or manual) 50k
Differential 50k
SMG flush (if applicable) 50k
Coolant 2 years
Brake fluid 1 year where I live; 2 probably ok for you
Power steering fluid 30k to 50k
Fuel filter 80k
Air filter 15k
Microfilters 20k
Spark plugs 50k
Drive belt and tensioner/pulleys 50k
Cooling system plastic parts plus hoses 60k
Battery 4 years

You can skip some of this if you don't plan to run the car to high mileage. I've done all this on my 2004 545i for 166,000 miles, and the result has been zero problems. It's pretty much like new.

 

Wow, every 50K for spark plugs? Are they standard plugs or the platinum type?

 

I've been using OE for spark plugs. About $170 per set.

 

I had Bosch Platinum +4's as OEM when I changed mine at ~55k miles. You can check which ones you have, but typically they are either the Bosch or NGK platinums.

 

is there a way to change how many miles in between oil changes? i bought car with 81k on it so not 100% sure what has been done for work, if i bring it to BMW will they look up my vin and check the sevices that have been done? or will they charge for that?

 

If you take it to BMW they can tell you what services have been done AT a BMW dealer, and they can tell you how often the service inteval was reset, that doesn't mean that the service was performed. Typically they don't charge for that, but you would have to talk to an SA at the dealership.

 

The dealer should be able to look up what maintenance has been done by BMW dealers, although they can't see what has been done by other shops or DIY. It's a near-certain bet that the ultraminimal factory maintenance was done during the pre-paid 50k miles of "free" maintenance. If you can't determine that it was done already, I would at least change all the fluids other than engine oil. Assuming that whoever reset the oil change alert actually changed the oil.