actually said:

There is a saying about Bimmers.
If you have to ask how much - for anything - you can't afford to drive
a bimmer.. There are enough things that can go wrong in the front end
of one of those kraut-wagons that I think you are definitely being
penny wise and pound foolish trying to save $100 on the maintenance of
a late model Bimmer. Don't be such a cheap-ass. - or drive a Chevy.

I have multiple vehicles.

My japanese vehicle never breaks.
My bimmer always breaks.

I work on both of them just the same.

You want to know if anything is worn or bent - and measuring CASTER is
required as well to know.

My vehicle has never been in an accident but that's not really the point
because nobody will disagree with you that caster is part of an alignment
equation, and, that caster comes before camber which comes before toe.

This article shows that if you can measure camber, you can measure caster:
http://www.gnttype.org/techarea/susp...alignment.html

Since my bimmer has no direct way to adjust caster, I'm skipping the
non-adjustable caster (for now) to concentrate on camber.

You really don't have your head around the
concepts well enough to understand WHY an alignment check should be
done properly.

I think that's an unfair statement that I don't understand why an alignment
measurement needs to be correct but certainly I am confused about how to
convert a toe specification that is given in degrees to a toe measurement
which will be made in inches.

What matters to an alignment check is simply that the manufacturer's stated
accuracy is achieved.

That accuracy, for my bimmer, is stated he
http://i.cubeupload.com/cfaDWp.jpg

Your "quick check" is just that - and if you are at all
in tune with your car as a driver you will know there is something
wrong just as well by simply driving the car. If you are not "in tune
with the car" the Bimmer is wasted on you --- (as it is on the vast
majority of Bimmer owners)

The bimmer insult isn't really needed here since this is a technical
question, but it's fair to say that what you're saying is that "alignment
can be felt" but I would clarify that by adding "sometimes".

I'm not sure if you can feel the difference, for example, between 2 degrees
of negative camber in the rear wheels and 1 degree.

Over time, your tires will tell you; but waiting the 5K miles for the tires
to inform you of that difference is not a quick check by any means.