I'm about to get a low mileage 2002 BMW. It has been driven with lots of short trips, a few long ones tossed in during its 13k life. It's been in CA all of its life so its never seen temps below 40 deg.
Maint has been kept up, but oil changes probably every 3k, not 3 months. Should I start with the maint program, or should I do a clean/rinse first and then go to maint?
I'm sure other's will correct me if I'm wrong but with such low miles I think you'd be fine just starting out doing a maintenance dose. The first time I'd use 4 oz, then cut back to 3 oz after that.
I agree with Turbo Jim, except for the fact that there was short trips, it would depend on how many short trips which maybe hard to tell. I guess my point is how many miles were traveled on these short trips, this 1 is kind of a toss up and Frank maybe the best 1 too answer this question.
Your miles are minimal just use the Auto-Rx maintenance program (4 ounces every oil change) did you know you can extend your oil change mileage ? Auto-Rx makes the oil better than it has to be as we have our own additive package.
There's quite a bit of debate out there on whether Mobil 1 oils contain some Group III base oil. I would not worry either way since actual performance of the base oil and its additive package in your engine is the most important factor over what exact base oil. Just find an oil that is compatible with what BMW requires and add your 4 oz maintenance dose each oil change. Does your engine hold 7 quarts?
ARX makes any oil perform better and keeps things cleaner than oil alone, even synthetics. This has been my experience.
