[eli371]

I store my g42 since I have an f39 for winter.
I have always stored my cars with clean oil (i pay out of pocket for this car around November)
I used to change oil on my E89 before and after storage, friends have told me this is overkill
Scheduled oil change is in May and I usually bring the car out in March/April, is the oil that's been in it all for the winter okay to use for that month or so before scheduled service?

sincerely,
consistently paranoid car owner

[Pentland]

I’d have no qualms driving a car that has sat for 6 months. What do you think is happening to the oil that drives the need to change it?

[RockCrusher]

Agree with Pentland.

(And kudos to you for putting the car away with fresh oil!)

Anyhow, I agree with Pentland, with one exception: I would change the oil after winter storage if the factory called for oil changes after 6 months.

I know Dodge Challenger owners were rightly upset that Dodge called for 6K miles or 6 month oil changes and a number of owners put the car away for 6 months and didn't like to be faced with an oil change of oil with pretty much zero miles on it after 6 months of just sitting.

But there's the risk of not following that schedule of invalidating the warranty on at least the engine.

(Funny but the cost of an oil/filter service pales in comparison to how much the car depreciated over that 6 month time span.)

I don't have any real experience with my 230xi yet -- just bought it last Dec. 3 -- but my M2 just alerted me an oil/filter service is due in 4200 miles (the car had 6800 miles on it at the time) or by April 2024. I bought the car a year ago April 14. So it looks like BMW calls for 12 month services if the service isn't triggered on miles driven.

Oh, 6800 + 4200 is 11,000 miles. But the car was in for the CBS "running in service" at 1200 miles.

[kwikit356]

Originally Posted by Pentland

I’d have no qualms driving a car that has sat for 6 months. What do you think is happening to the oil that drives the need to change it?

I agree with this, and is what I do with my older Porsche 981 Spyder. One thing I try to do is put the car away without doing any more than minimal driving (in my case I store the car about 1/4 mile away from where the oil is changed). My sense, or theory, is that doing this will prevent water moisture from contaminating the oil.

If I have to drive a car before winter storage I make sure the oil is thoroughly up to operating temperature, then put it away. Changing the oil before and after storage may be perfect, but so is never ever driving the car for a short distance. Perfect care of anything is most often impossible, just like the rest of living.