The girlfriend has an '04 R53, and the dipstick broke off, and my genius self pushed it down past the curve trying to grab it with a grabber. This has me a bit on the concerned side. I've done some research, and it appears that there are two methods of action - 1, pull off the front of the car, and the radiator, and pull out the dipstick tube, or 2, drop the oil pan.

Now, neither of these are very appealing options. I hate working on this car. Period. And going to a shop isn't a very palatable option either, as anyone in the area who is willing to work on it will probably charge $600+ to do either one. The last work I wanted to farm out was replacing a rear caliper, which would have cost me over $400. I did it myself in an hour.

So, the question is this - what harm would come from just buying a new dipstick and shoving the old one into the oil pan? It's not dry sump, so it'd probably stay out of the crank and rods, it's too big to mess with the oil pump, and I can't see it decomposing...

 

Just drain the oil....then with the plug out....pour some thin oil..like a marvel mystery oil down the dipstick tube....should come right out the bottom...if not...I would run it...and HOPE that the screen on the oil pickup will prevent the plastic end from getting sucked up...
but for $500 you can pour a TON of oil to flush it out.......

 

Well, it's the entire dipstick, besides the top 3 inches, dunno if it'll come out the drain hole.

 

OK...did not realize so much broke...
the tip where the color changes usually breaks off...about an inch long...
I'd just take the 20-30 minutes or so...put it in "service mode", yank the dipstick, and pull it out if it is not in the pan cause it is too long to fall in....

 

When it happened to a friend of mine, I pulled an Alligator Forceps out of my tool box. Worked like a charm.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/8-ALLIGATOR-STAINLESS-FORCEPS-HEMOSTAT-HEMO-STAT-JEWELRY-HOLDING-CLAMP-TOOL-/290626278533?pt=US_Hand_Tools&hash=item43aaad1485
I am a tool hound and have them in three sizes but the smallest was the one I used. Slid it in, grabbed the fibers, gave a little twist and it came out. Search Alligator Forceps on fleaBay and you are golden.

And then get the CravenSpeed dipstick. It is expensive, takes a bit of getting used to but works fine and will NEVER break.

///Rich

 

If the stick is now too far down to grab with forceps I would, as zippy suggested, put the car in service mode (front bumper removed and radiator leaned forward) to access the dip stick tube so that the tube can be removed and stick removed from tube.
I would suggest replacing the crankshaft position sensor o-ring while you can access it with front leaned forward, because that is a common oil leak place.
You can use long screws, instead of BMW tool, to hold front leaned away from engine.
I would also recommend the CravenSpeed oil dip stick.