Buying M6 Summer use only
Discussion
Hi guys,
thinking of buying a M6 soon, although had a look at Bentley GTs/Vantage V8s the V10 is calling me and ive been a BMW nut for yonks!
I will be keeping the car for a long time but want to know if keeping the car in the garage will screw up the electrics etc since the car has alot of them?
My garage is away from my house so a trickle charger is a no-go, but will just disconnecting the battery reset all the electronics in the car and work again once re-connected?
I did this in my E36 and ZM Coupe where I would just disconnect the battery then reconnect when I wanted to take it out, but the M6 seems like it wont like that lol
any help would be great.
Thanks.
thinking of buying a M6 soon, although had a look at Bentley GTs/Vantage V8s the V10 is calling me and ive been a BMW nut for yonks!
I will be keeping the car for a long time but want to know if keeping the car in the garage will screw up the electrics etc since the car has alot of them?
My garage is away from my house so a trickle charger is a no-go, but will just disconnecting the battery reset all the electronics in the car and work again once re-connected?
I did this in my E36 and ZM Coupe where I would just disconnect the battery then reconnect when I wanted to take it out, but the M6 seems like it wont like that lol
any help would be great.
Thanks.
The battery should not be disconnected, as the battery would need to be recoded once reconnected. On the other hand, it should be fine during the summer months, and if necessary, you could start it up after the winter hibernation with a booster battery, as well as starting it a few times during the winter and let it run for 10 min. It is a BMW after all, so the reliability is there (as is the complexity, granted)
ady702 said:
Hi guys,
thinking of buying a M6 soon, although had a look at Bentley GTs/Vantage V8s the V10 is calling me and ive been a BMW nut for yonks!
I will be keeping the car for a long time but want to know if keeping the car in the garage will screw up the electrics etc since the car has alot of them?
My garage is away from my house so a trickle charger is a no-go, but will just disconnecting the battery reset all the electronics in the car and work again once re-connected?
I did this in my E36 and ZM Coupe where I would just disconnect the battery then reconnect when I wanted to take it out, but the M6 seems like it wont like that lol
any help would be great.
Thanks.
Sadly it will not work - if you disconnect the battery, then you would need to re-initialise the car when you connect it again. For this you need the dealer software and hardware. Available on eBay for not a lot, but still a pain in terms of having to learn how to use it etc...thinking of buying a M6 soon, although had a look at Bentley GTs/Vantage V8s the V10 is calling me and ive been a BMW nut for yonks!
I will be keeping the car for a long time but want to know if keeping the car in the garage will screw up the electrics etc since the car has alot of them?
My garage is away from my house so a trickle charger is a no-go, but will just disconnecting the battery reset all the electronics in the car and work again once re-connected?
I did this in my E36 and ZM Coupe where I would just disconnect the battery then reconnect when I wanted to take it out, but the M6 seems like it wont like that lol
any help would be great.
Thanks.
In the winter, just start it every other day - it is garaged as you say, so the cold won't affect it - and let it run for a few minutes.
This will allow the alternator to charge the battery, and while you are there press as many buttons as you can to ensure everything is working as normal; windows, CD player, seats, Idrive, dash buttons etc etc etc.
I have a few friends with BMW's and they are garaged throughout winter and this is the m.o they go through fairly regularly.
This will allow the alternator to charge the battery, and while you are there press as many buttons as you can to ensure everything is working as normal; windows, CD player, seats, Idrive, dash buttons etc etc etc.
I have a few friends with BMW's and they are garaged throughout winter and this is the m.o they go through fairly regularly.
Schermerhorn said:
In the winter, just start it every other day - it is garaged as you say, so the cold won't affect it - and let it run for a few minutes.
This will allow the alternator to charge the battery, and while you are there press as many buttons as you can to ensure everything is working as normal; windows, CD player, seats, Idrive, dash buttons etc etc etc.
I have a few friends with BMW's and they are garaged throughout winter and this is the m.o they go through fairly regularly.
Really? Sorry but this sounds like pretty poor advice to me.This will allow the alternator to charge the battery, and while you are there press as many buttons as you can to ensure everything is working as normal; windows, CD player, seats, Idrive, dash buttons etc etc etc.
I have a few friends with BMW's and they are garaged throughout winter and this is the m.o they go through fairly regularly.
I'd take it out on dry days at least once/twice per month and make sure it all gets up to temperature and has a good run.
playalistic said:
Schermerhorn said:
In the winter, just start it every other day - it is garaged as you say, so the cold won't affect it - and let it run for a few minutes.
This will allow the alternator to charge the battery, and while you are there press as many buttons as you can to ensure everything is working as normal; windows, CD player, seats, Idrive, dash buttons etc etc etc.
I have a few friends with BMW's and they are garaged throughout winter and this is the m.o they go through fairly regularly.
Really? Sorry but this sounds like pretty poor advice to me.This will allow the alternator to charge the battery, and while you are there press as many buttons as you can to ensure everything is working as normal; windows, CD player, seats, Idrive, dash buttons etc etc etc.
I have a few friends with BMW's and they are garaged throughout winter and this is the m.o they go through fairly regularly.
I'd take it out on dry days at least once/twice per month and make sure it all gets up to temperature and has a good run.
Schermerhorn said:
playalistic said:
Schermerhorn said:
In the winter, just start it every other day - it is garaged as you say, so the cold won't affect it - and let it run for a few minutes.
This will allow the alternator to charge the battery, and while you are there press as many buttons as you can to ensure everything is working as normal; windows, CD player, seats, Idrive, dash buttons etc etc etc.
I have a few friends with BMW's and they are garaged throughout winter and this is the m.o they go through fairly regularly.
Really? Sorry but this sounds like pretty poor advice to me.This will allow the alternator to charge the battery, and while you are there press as many buttons as you can to ensure everything is working as normal; windows, CD player, seats, Idrive, dash buttons etc etc etc.
I have a few friends with BMW's and they are garaged throughout winter and this is the m.o they go through fairly regularly.
I'd take it out on dry days at least once/twice per month and make sure it all gets up to temperature and has a good run.
Edited by ecain63 on Tuesday 9th October 20:03
Schermerhorn said:
playalistic said:
Schermerhorn said:
In the winter, just start it every other day - it is garaged as you say, so the cold won't affect it - and let it run for a few minutes.
This will allow the alternator to charge the battery, and while you are there press as many buttons as you can to ensure everything is working as normal; windows, CD player, seats, Idrive, dash buttons etc etc etc.
I have a few friends with BMW's and they are garaged throughout winter and this is the m.o they go through fairly regularly.
Really? Sorry but this sounds like pretty poor advice to me.This will allow the alternator to charge the battery, and while you are there press as many buttons as you can to ensure everything is working as normal; windows, CD player, seats, Idrive, dash buttons etc etc etc.
I have a few friends with BMW's and they are garaged throughout winter and this is the m.o they go through fairly regularly.
I'd take it out on dry days at least once/twice per month and make sure it all gets up to temperature and has a good run.

Starting and stopping without driving (ie getting the car up to temp) will also ruin the engine and corrode the exhaust.
Lots of condensation at start-up, rich mixture washing oil from cyclinder walls and corrosive combustion deposits etc etc. BAD idea.
My M3 lives under a cover all winter (since 2007) I drive it once a week in the dry if I can (weather permiting) which has kept engine and brakes in good nick. A good run to dry out the engine bay, heat up the cabin etc etc. I do about 20 miles each run trying to run at higher rpm once warmed up fully to blow out the exhausts.
The cover is OK but a garage would make this winter project even easier
Lots of condensation at start-up, rich mixture washing oil from cyclinder walls and corrosive combustion deposits etc etc. BAD idea.
My M3 lives under a cover all winter (since 2007) I drive it once a week in the dry if I can (weather permiting) which has kept engine and brakes in good nick. A good run to dry out the engine bay, heat up the cabin etc etc. I do about 20 miles each run trying to run at higher rpm once warmed up fully to blow out the exhausts.
The cover is OK but a garage would make this winter project even easier

Thanks, good info there.
Would you still follow the service schedule on the car or just do a yearly service even if the car hasnt done the full cycle?
I didnt do this on my previous cars, apart from my M Coupe since I only did around 3k per year but would a newer M need to be done? Like to keep to the history in correct order
Would you still follow the service schedule on the car or just do a yearly service even if the car hasnt done the full cycle?
I didnt do this on my previous cars, apart from my M Coupe since I only did around 3k per year but would a newer M need to be done? Like to keep to the history in correct order
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