Mechanic talking rubbish? "You don't use your car enough"

[LookatmyFatArseDP]

I have a 10 plate BMW 3 series M Sport (included that wanky M Sport as may be relevant). Shes my pride and joy and whenever she so much as squeaks she's in the garage to be checked. She's immaculate.

A while ago I had "low oil pressure warning stop immediately" warning flash up then disappear. Obvs I cried (nearly anyway).

Took it to my proper German specialist garage. They replaced the oil sensor as it was covered in crap, all good.

Except, it happened again a few months later 😩 warning on then off straightaway. DP took it back and mechanic clocked it had only done about 5k miles in 1.5 years 😳 he asked DP about my driving habits which are rather Miss Daisy - few miles to work, mway for about 0.5 mile, never really get up to 70mph expect maybe once a month for a few mins.

He said he'd love to take our money but the problem isn't the car, its because I never get it fully warmed up with my pootling about and if it was genuine low pressure the warning would appear a lot more regularly and stay on for a while. His fix was for us to ensure it goes on a "spirited drive" at least once a month on solid mway driving for 30 mins to clear stuff out as that's causing the oil sensor to, I dunno, get covered in shit or whatever?

Now cars been fine for about 8m. It did it again a few times last week. No i hadn't "spiritidly driven" it for ages. DP took it out for 40mins. Its been fine since.

While mechanic seems to have been right I guess (he's really old school, loves BMWs, in particular, is always doing training etc). I just find it incredible that a car can throw out such a scary warning every now and then because I don't drive it much??

Does this sound right or do I need another mechanic? I'm so worried about my prize possession 😩

Another 'agree with the mechanic' here.
DH has a diesel transit. He also drives like Miss Daisy. A week or two before the MOT, I always have to take it on a motorway run to get the engine revs up and some good temperature in the engine to clean the injectors so that it'll pass the emissions test. It just doesn't do enough miles the rest of the year.
Also, a BMW M sport is designed to be driven quite hard 😊.

Known as an Italian tune up, let the engine rev to the edge of the red line in every gear,but with an M series BMW that might not be easy In the higher gears and stay legal.

Seems a shame to waste a car like that pootling about.

Yes, that’s why ultra low mileage cars owned by old people aren’t the good choice they appear to be.
I’ve just traded in my 5 year old car with 12k on the clock, we always gave it a decent run once a month.
My FiL killed his beautiful big Jag Sovereign Diesel, the engine never got properly warm and it was always in the garage for some warning light or other. A member of the Jag club bought it after he died and had to spend a fortune getting it right.

Oh it is very wanky and high spec. I fully admit its wanky. Especially inside. I love it. Its the first car like that I've ever owned!

Honestly I'm usually fairly clued up its just for some reason this low oil pressure thing makes me irrational.

When I first got it I drove a lot more with work but I mainly WFH now, and I've got on a bit of an irrational cycle that if I drive it, REALLY drive it, the warning will come on 😩 but I know the warning will come on if I don't 😩

I might just keep it in the drive as a very expensive neighbours cat warmer and just get a Focus. Know where you stand with a Focus 🤣

Ah thanks everyone ☺

Just popping to the shops is the worst thing that you can do . It needs a good run regularly

Seems a shame to waste a car like that pootling about.

It really does doesn't it. I mean it's not designed to occasionally nip to the shops it's meant to be driven hard and with enthusiasm.

"Neighbours cat warmer" 😄😄😄

Sold my car recently as it had covered under 1k miles in the previous 12-months however I knew the importance of when it was driven, it was taken on a decent journey to get the engine thoroughly warmed up and operating as designed.
Used only every few weeks, I would make sure my journey was at least 20-miles and I drove it in a "spirited" manner.
Diesel, owned for donkeys, it always passed the MOT well within the limits and never gave a single problem.

Yeah it's right
I do about 2000 miles a year in mine but instead of just going to the supermarket or whatever, I go a long way round and make sure it's running for a good while and I get a decent speed up
So I might go via the motorway, stop at the Starbucks drive through, then go shopping! Run it for maybe 40 mins

I agree with everyone else. My car can get very little usage sometimes so when DH and are are going out somewhere further afield we always use my car to give it a good run or DH and I swap cars for a few weeks as he does a lot of miles during the week.

Get rid of it and get something more suited to your driving habits.

Cars need a good long drive at a faster speed every now and again.

Yep, drive it like you stole it occasionally.

I have a VW van & one or more of the (many) known faults is related to short journeys.

In the end, I bought a runaround too, tho we did actually need it for other reasons & ensured it was petrol.

Love that boy racer comment.

I did think yesterday "wow DPs took it out loads more than usual and saved me a job"...guess he's also just enjoying pushing it to its limits 😬 (in MY car 🤣😡)

My SIL is changing her car for same reason some swanky audi
My friends done the same with his BMW M4
Short commutes or wfh and not using them knackers these cars
My husband might have to do same with his Golf R though will be glad to see the back of the thing

Yeah you need to open it up pretty regularly.

Mechanic is right.

Years ago, my parents did most of their driving locally. I can remember my Dad regularly saying “I’m taking it for a spin” and he would take one or other car up the motorway for 5-10 miles and back, just so it got properly warmed up. He did both cars, every few weeks.

Yes, engines don’t get warmed up on short distance drives. Batteries don’t charge etc. long distance drives with the engine opened up a bit is beneficial for the car.

My 09 plate barely does 1k a year. I end up having to take it for a drive of around 45 mins at least once a month but there are no motorways here to give it a decent run. I barely get over 40mph because of our roads! It does seem to be happier when it has its bi annual trip to the mainland and has a proper run.

So yes, your mechanic is no doubt correct.

Yea DP said the mechanic gave him a "look" and said "that BMW needs to be driven....HARD..." 😳

it makes no sense to have such a high spec car though and not drive it. (I live in Germany, red lining it every now and then would be zero problem for me here. Give it to meeee!!!)

Aside of anything else (including unnecessary mechanic fees) the insurance must be quite high?

Yep we had a 2l suv, nothing fancy but we only used it for school runs, pottering to the shops so it never got it's full power going. It was too big a car for what we used it for. It ended up that diesel was mixing with the oil, and it fucked the engine big style.

He’s right, get out there, put your foot down and open her up!!

You’ve got me thinking now, whether the same applies to EV’s. My suspicion is not, because the battery and motor don’t need to warm up and there’s no oil to get gunked up. Brakes can still seize, though, if you left it static for a long time.

If it's a diesel engine then yes you need to give it a good run out every so often