winter is around the corner and I dont want to drive my car thru the lovely salty new england roads so I bought a beater for the winter now its a 2010 550i with 55k new dealer installed batt. and the car will be in a parking garage and will prob. be driven on clear days and or mostly weekend weather permitting till spring....what do you e60 owners suggest i should also do to avoid potential storage/sitting around issues? thank you in advance!

 

For starters:
#1 = Battery Tender A MUST!
#2 - Avoid short trips during winter storage period - they don't permit the car to get to operating temperatures
#3 - RODENT-PROOF that includes underhood, interior, exhaust system (stuff steel wool in tailpipes)
#4 - Use Stabil or similar product in gas tank.
#5 - oil and coolant should be fine for storage periods of 6 months or less
#6 - increase tire pressure 5-6 psi above normal (when you drive readjust)
#7 - After winter storage enjoy the two weeks of summer and return to storage (or move South!)

 

No need to do anything special, since you do intend to drive the car once in a while.

A battery tender is a good idea, however. Since I leave my car outdoors during the winter, but don't drive it much, I have used a small solar panel as a battery tender. Just have to remember to clear the snow off the rear glass where the panel is located.

Salut, Bob P.

 

This guys gives good advice

 

Sounds pretty nice..I will try to use solar power and hope it works well..

 

The car draws up to 80mA all the time.

To keep the battery fully charged you'll need a panel that provides an average of 80mA, At night you're getting 0mA. Some days won't be very bright so you'll want a panel that produces at least 240mA or 3 Watts.

 

Quite correct. My panel is a 3 watt panel. Since I and the OP still end up using the car once a week anyway (in my case it is for over 2 hours on the highway) and, although the panel in not functional at night, it still does serve the purpose of slowing the discharge due to the small 50mA draw.

Salut, Bob P.

 

I asked the same question yesterday to the SA. His opinion was similar to Luigi525d's. My case is maybe three years not just the winter and I would be driving the car a couple times a year. The SA said that for long storage that you should change the oil before you begin driving since synthetic oil has more moisture. I have no idea and I was asking just in case I decide to keep my car while we are out of the country.