First Myth I'd love to have busted is that the E60 does not "like" it when you let her sit too long without driving. I've read stories about people getting told by their SA's that you have to drive the E60 at least several times a week, so that it does not develop any problems. I'd love to have this myth busted, because every time I let my car sit for more than a day or two, I'm afraid something's gonna break when I get back to driving it

 

Sorry to say that the myth, well in my case, is true.

 

I sometimes drive my 523 in the weekends only, and every time it handles like a dream.

But since I lack most of the power goodies you guys have on your rides, my battery keeps on going and going and going and...

 

I didn't drive it for about 4 weeks. I tried turning on the car, nothing... So we boosted the car and drove it, figuring that it would gain some charge and it would be stable afterwards. Went to a few shops, I stayed in the car letting in run while my dad went to pick up a few things. Last store we go to, I decided to go in along with my dad. Came back 15 minutes later and the car wouldn't start. Asked someone to give me a boost. Some guy walks buy laughing and says "All that money for a BMW and it won't even start." Ha ha... So on the drive back home, I noticed the car starting to jerk a bit, got a warning on my dash saying a transmission failure. Rolled up to a set of red lights, noticed the care is struggling to keep running. Finally the light turns green and I JUST got rolling before it completely shut off. Drove it home and called BMW dealership. Managed to drive it to the dealership. Got the diagnostic test and was informed of a drained battery. 4 weeks and the battery is already gone? WTF!? Luckily the car was under warranty and got the battery replaced for free. Turns out that if you don't drive it once a week, your battery gets drained because the computers are always running and using up all that energy. SA suggested buying a external charger (forgot the exact name) if I was going to let it sit for 2 or more weeks at a time. Now I ALWAYS take it out at least once a week, even if I have nowhere to go.

 

By power goodies you mean horsepower?

j/k

So seems that weekend-only use is something that an E60 can tolerate - maybe other members will chime in to support this.

Thanks for pitching in!

Thanks for the comprehensive write-up

That charger is called a "trickle charger", and indeed, if you do not drive at least 75 miles per week (I think that's the number I remember having been given by some BMW SA), you'll be really smart to invest into one of them to keep the battery properly charged when you're not driving it.

Finally, hope that you enjoy driving the thing - even if you do not have anywhere particular to go I know you do

Again, thanks for the detailed account!

 

What about in cold weather/climates - doesn't the cooling system tend to fail after the car spends some sleepy-time out in the cold? That's how my return hose went, if I recall.

 

I have left my E60 at the drive for more than 14 days and when I came back it was still OK and started alright.
But I would not leave it too long or some thing will break.
like any car not just e60 you should keep it running at lest 1 times a week even if you dont drive it day to day.

 

I didn't drive my ex 645 for about 6-7 weeks last winter. Came back from my vacation, fired up right away, no problems. Its how the car is maintained/kept that ultimately decides the future fate of these cars... A new battery never hurts either

 

if for a few months I disconet the battery.

 

I do have a new battery well, it was new a couple of months ago, still "new" though

I'm more concerned about cutting down on driving. If I'm usually putting 200 miles a week and then suddenly go to putting 50 miles a week, would the car start disintegrating while not in use? I know it sounds like a silly question, but I am seriously concerned about this.