Oil filter OEM BMW or Motorcraft

Actually, I can do it myself for less than half of that. I usually pickup 6 quarts of Mobil 1 at Costco for $25.99, and an OEM Motorcraft filter at Walmart for $3.95. For less than $30, I have a complete synthetic oil change.

My lovely girl friend has a 2 door BMW 1997 325i. It's a very pretty car with 176k miles on it. We drove it all over and one day it hit me, when was the last time the oil was changed? She thought her parents maintained it, but after some digging the oil hadn't been changed in 1 1/2 years and possibly 30k miles. I pulled the filter out and it was worse than this, and just fyi BMW filters like these do it kinda often from what I have read.

Then engine had 2.5 out of the 7 quarts it is supposed to have. (poured the oil in a 4 quart jug to see). I have absolutely no idea how it lasted so long. It was a ticking time bomb. So after 6 quarts of oil and the seventh being sludge cleaner, the engine has no more ticks and runs very well.