pinguhk

it dose not matter what miles you put on every week.
as long as you put mile on every week.

v_therussian

Dude, that makes no friggin sense! Not that too many things about E60 do make sense, but still, what you said can be taken as "it does not matter how many miles a used car has, as long as it doesn't have too many years".

AlwynMike

Firstly, remember that short runs kill cars - whatever the make. It is causing more damage to take your car out for 5 or 10 miles once a week than leaving it for weeks then taking it out properly.
Because of my work schedule, I leave my car standing outside in all weathers for a minimum of 2 weeks in every 5 weeks. Sometimes it may be two months from leaving my car to getting in to start it again (with no precautions other than the normal ones - letting the turbo cool down and the last run being a decent one.) The car has never failed to start or behave properly.
My MG which lives in the garage is often left un-run for 6 months or more over the winter. It always starts but I do notice that if I don't jack the car up, I do get flat spots on the tyres, which even out as the tyres warm up, and don't return unless I leave it for months again.
There was one occasion where I had to leave home on short notice, and the MG had been put away after a particularly spirited drive (the front discs were glowing!!). When I returned, the discs were very rusty and the pads had rusted to the discs. I had to drag the car out of the garage to get the wheels turning. Don't make that mistake again!

Mike

sdg1871

I have left my ride for up to 2-3 weeks without incident. Started up like a charm. But it is still pretty new. And I drive it about 400-500 miles week (largely on weekends):

pinguhk

you say if you put less mile on the car the next following week,would the car start disintegrating while not in use.

"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."

well no the car would not start to disintegrating.
it would not matter how many miles you put on.
you ask a silly question so get a silly answer

pinguhk

I did what you have done and left the car out for over 5 week and the brakes were stuck and the battery was dead, my car was out side not in a garage.
so I dont agree with this.
if you dont warm up the car every now and then, the rubber tubes will get much older and start to harden.
I have seen many car that brack down after a long time not moving.
also the oil stuck in the bottum is not good for the engine.

SilberGrauE60

Mine is not a daily driver in the least. In summer, three to four days a week max. In winter, two to three days. When winter is really cold/icy, it may sit for a week or two before I can get it out. Plus we fly to most vacations, so the car sits in garage for two to three weeks at a time with no ill effects so far. And I am still on my original battery. When I do drive it, I make sure and warm it up slowly and then drive at least 10 miles one way before stopping.

tooltec

Sounds like a silly question?Too true!Have you ever thought how long some used cars sit at dealerships until sold.I have also seen brand new cars that have been in an open-air compound for 12 months before being sold.O.K,the battery needed charging,the brake discs showed a bit of rust,but the cars had not "disintegrated ".
I can leave my BMW for 3 to 4 weeks garaged (in the winter),whilst using our second car,and have no problems whatsoever.Don't forget one basic fact,the rate at which a car wears out is directly proportional to miles driven ,assuming it is properly maintained,and the amount of abuse it receives from the driver.

v_therussian

Dude, let's not bring in dealership sales prep practices into this - I had worked as a salesman for new and used, and had been a GM and finance closer for a "bank" (couple Israelis financing for copious fees, basically). I know a little bit about that

And guys, please, let's remember that the concern is not only the battery - there has been plenty of threads about the battery drains, there's no need to make another one. What I'm trying to figure out is, whether the car is better off when it is driven a "lot" or a "little" (relative terms, but I trust majority of us will have approximately the same idea of either).

Finally, Pingy, you got beef?! j/k

sixcard

The ?Driving Profile? bit, from my experience, may or may not be a myth. But it?s effect is damn sure damn real whatever the cause.

I say ?may or may not be a myth? because, as Rudy has noted there may be some malfunction not easily detected by the driver (or dealer service for that matter). And the SAs may well be stretching our chain. If this is the case then BMW is not doing their customers right. And I am at the mercy of what they tell me.

What I do know is that my 550 has experienced the symptoms, loss of Active Steering and loss of accumulated cluster data and current time when starting after a long time idle or periods of many short, low speed trips. I also know that the problem is solved by my installing a float charger that is connected most of the idle time.

When the car was my daily driver (which never had been many miles) the amp deficiency occurred only on occasion. Now the car is Mrs. sixcard daily and she only uses it weekly (nails, haircut and Wal*Mart).

Rudy may well be right in his analysis, but the issue is still there and it can be avoided with a battery charger?s use. The fact that some of us do and some of us don?t have the problem supports Rudy?s thoughts.

IMO, you won?t ?break? anything. I don't think this issue will have a long term negative effect on the car itself (although sitting idle may). It may be more of an issue with an older battery but my battery was not old when this first happened. But, if you experience this it will be the result of non/low usage. It is annoying and for my part I would have done the charger thing even if it was a rare occurrence.

That's my story and I'm stickin to it!

sixcard