E60 M5 Ownership
Discussion
Hi everyone.
Newbie here whose a previous E46 M3 owner but is keen to move into the E60 M5 lifestyle. Ive been keeping an eye out for a good deal and Ive really appreciated the posts on this site to help get to grips with what to look out for. However I have a query in reference to my M5 plan. Currently my wife and I have a car each and commute approx 300 miles each per week. When I get the M5 its not going to be a daily driver and will become our third car, to be used occasionally, when the suns out and Im feeling like buring fuel money. I will probably average 500 miles a month max and in winter periods (scotland)Id say much less, if any. Im posting as Im curious to know if its healthy to leave the car sitting for days / weeks and then taking it for decent road trip periodically. When I owned the M3 I went through a period in which I was travelling abroad a lot for work. I was using the M3 less than ever but surprisingly I had to change brakes and discs way sooner than expected. Mechanic told me this was due to the short runs it was getting and the 2 week periods of it sitting doing nothing, as if rust would generate on discs and then Id shred them. Irrespective of whether this was true, can you advise if you think using the car occasionally would have an adverse effect on it. Do any of you currently do this? I appreciate taking the car for frequent journeys is better but as you all know, they arent cheap to run and although affordable, I really want to keep the costs down by making the car an occasional 'treat' to drive, rather than for ducking out to Tescos etc.
Newbie here whose a previous E46 M3 owner but is keen to move into the E60 M5 lifestyle. Ive been keeping an eye out for a good deal and Ive really appreciated the posts on this site to help get to grips with what to look out for. However I have a query in reference to my M5 plan. Currently my wife and I have a car each and commute approx 300 miles each per week. When I get the M5 its not going to be a daily driver and will become our third car, to be used occasionally, when the suns out and Im feeling like buring fuel money. I will probably average 500 miles a month max and in winter periods (scotland)Id say much less, if any. Im posting as Im curious to know if its healthy to leave the car sitting for days / weeks and then taking it for decent road trip periodically. When I owned the M3 I went through a period in which I was travelling abroad a lot for work. I was using the M3 less than ever but surprisingly I had to change brakes and discs way sooner than expected. Mechanic told me this was due to the short runs it was getting and the 2 week periods of it sitting doing nothing, as if rust would generate on discs and then Id shred them. Irrespective of whether this was true, can you advise if you think using the car occasionally would have an adverse effect on it. Do any of you currently do this? I appreciate taking the car for frequent journeys is better but as you all know, they arent cheap to run and although affordable, I really want to keep the costs down by making the car an occasional 'treat' to drive, rather than for ducking out to Tescos etc.
Edited by 1r1sh on Friday 8th August 15:30
Not dissimilar to my situation.
I'm based in the Scottish Highlands and laid up my E39 M5 Beast last winter in a dry and well ventilated garage. The car became a 'garage queen' at the end of October 2013 and only came out to play during May 2014. Absolutely no problems with corroded rotors. The car got a hot run on a dry day immediately before it was put away so the rotors were rust-free from the off and stayed that way over the winter.
However, I was more concerned about the calipers seizing (fully or partially) so had a proper brake service prior to the lay up when the pistons got pushed back & everything de-scaled, lubricated etc.. The handbrake was left in the off position. Had an engine oil and filter change too.
In May the car fired up and drove perfectly with no worrying graunchy noises or 'grabbing' from the brakes when applied for the first time. The VANOS was slightly noisier for just a few seconds on the first start but has been more or less silent ever since.
If you are going to take this approach then I would also advise that you get a 'smart' battery conditioner (CTEK is the manufacturer of choice - circa £60-£75) and leave the car connected to it throughout the winter. Much cheaper than replacing a dead battery! Also, increase the tyre pressures to max 'fully loaded vehicle' values and put 'wheel savers' under each tyre (prevents flat spots).
Wheel savers: http://www.fiammastore.com/Fiamma-Levellers-for-ca... You might need to double up on the wheel savers for the rear of the car if you have a staggered wheel/tyre set up similar to mine.
Hope this helps!
I'm based in the Scottish Highlands and laid up my E39 M5 Beast last winter in a dry and well ventilated garage. The car became a 'garage queen' at the end of October 2013 and only came out to play during May 2014. Absolutely no problems with corroded rotors. The car got a hot run on a dry day immediately before it was put away so the rotors were rust-free from the off and stayed that way over the winter.
However, I was more concerned about the calipers seizing (fully or partially) so had a proper brake service prior to the lay up when the pistons got pushed back & everything de-scaled, lubricated etc.. The handbrake was left in the off position. Had an engine oil and filter change too.
In May the car fired up and drove perfectly with no worrying graunchy noises or 'grabbing' from the brakes when applied for the first time. The VANOS was slightly noisier for just a few seconds on the first start but has been more or less silent ever since.
If you are going to take this approach then I would also advise that you get a 'smart' battery conditioner (CTEK is the manufacturer of choice - circa £60-£75) and leave the car connected to it throughout the winter. Much cheaper than replacing a dead battery! Also, increase the tyre pressures to max 'fully loaded vehicle' values and put 'wheel savers' under each tyre (prevents flat spots).
Wheel savers: http://www.fiammastore.com/Fiamma-Levellers-for-ca... You might need to double up on the wheel savers for the rear of the car if you have a staggered wheel/tyre set up similar to mine.
Hope this helps!
I work offshore and subsequently do up to 6 weeks away at a time, in this period my e60 M5 does not get driven.
Never once had an issue with it due to this, will fire up first time every time. I took it off the road last winter as well, as it is a bit much for Scottish roads in the winter, and again it fired up without so much as a cough or splutter after 4 months (which shocked me!)
Never once had an issue with it due to this, will fire up first time every time. I took it off the road last winter as well, as it is a bit much for Scottish roads in the winter, and again it fired up without so much as a cough or splutter after 4 months (which shocked me!)
I have an E60 M5 which has only covered 2900 miles in the last 10 months, not started it for nearly 2 weeks mainly because I'm having building work done on the house and their is a skip & bricks in front of my garage door !!
We use a V70 as our main car,my wife has an office at home or train into London so no car needed to go to work and I use a van. Never had any issues with my M5 leaving it for a few weeks, just make sure I keep the battery topped up with intelligent charger.
Buy one you'll love it !
Simon.
We use a V70 as our main car,my wife has an office at home or train into London so no car needed to go to work and I use a van. Never had any issues with my M5 leaving it for a few weeks, just make sure I keep the battery topped up with intelligent charger.
Buy one you'll love it !
Simon.
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