[huhtenberg]

Let me tell you how to brick a top of the line 2009 BMW.

Easy-peasy. Lots of small trips, under 5 km, for 9 months. That's it. Apparently the discharge caused by starting the car and a draw from all the packages that are strapped to it are not offset by the charge received while driving unless the distance is at least 10 km per engine start. The only warning that the car gives is an "excessive battery discharge" and when it pops up the battery can no longer be fully recharged. Not covered by the warranty, because apparently there's a one-liner in manual that says "20 minute a day continuous drive minimum". Unlike Tesla's though the battery is "only" $700 to replace, not $40k.

[rdl]

This use pattern damages a lot more than just the battery. You can basically trash the engine if you keep up a 5-10min per day use pattern for long enough. At the very least, a car which would otherwise comfortably last 200-300k miles will probably be worth selling at 50-100k. Certain engines are affected more than others, but basically you are never letting the engine warm up to design temperature, so nothing fits well, accelerating wear. It is particularly bad to do this from mile 0 with a new engine.

[georgieporgie]

Meh. Modern oils are amazing, and engine wear is highly dependent upon load. Provided you're gentle, it's likely that the worst engine-related issue you'll experience from short drives is from moisture and acid accumulation in the oil.

[dhbanes]

$700? I suppose you also have BMW fill up your tank at $20/gallon.

[minimax]

Any car needs to recharge the battery after cranking. Higher compression engines require more energy to crank. The "top of the line" performance of your bimmer is inexorably linked to the time it takes to recharge the battery.

As a BMW owner with a roughly 5km commute to work, I would suggest doing what I do: bicycle to work and save the car for dates and weekend cruises.

[run4yourlives]

Unless BMW's are using some "buy only at BMW" type of design, a battery at costco will probably run you $100.

[huhtenberg]

Yeah, it's an OEM thing with a built-in micro controller, karma enhancer and god knows what else. Available from BMW only.

[jonknee]

$700 for a car battery?

[lhnn]

20 min per DAY? And a $700 battery? To hell with that, I'll slap a Duralast in the trunk and wire the damned thing up. But then again, I am not buying BMWs...