Question about Long-Term "Garaging"
 

Ok I know this sounds really stupid, but I am actually moving far far away for an extended period of time and will not be able to care for my car during that time.

I was thinking of having it garaged at a friends, storage, or some other facility. I would like to know if you guys have any tips on what I should do.

I will most likely end up leaving it with a close friend, so that he can start the engine every so often, but I am afraid he will drive it like a maniac :burnrubber:.

Besides starting it maybe once a week and covering it, is there anything else you guys would recommend? Will letting the engine run for a few minutes suffice or does he need to drive it still? Are there any other options I haven't considered? I would export it, but I highly doubt I will be driving it over there.

:thanks:

give him a good wash, wax. unplugged the battery, do not start anything. put a stabilizer in your gas tank, put a canvas on it. be sure your garage have heat and close every open hole to make sure the mouse will no go inside . thats what i do with my motorcycle

a car is meant to be driven. it must not be good to put a car off for an extended period of time. just let your friend drive it once in a while in a good weather.

How long is "extended"? Three months is different than three years.

Fresh gas, good fuel stabilizer, fresh motor oil, and a battery maintainer if you'll be gone more than a month or so to keep it in good health.

Yeah, length of time is key here. Starting the car is not good. Either the car is being stored or you should let your friend drive the car so it gets a full workout and come up to operating temp. If you are storing the car, you should remove the battery, buy desiccant for the interior and stick some steel wool in every opening a rat might go in amongst the other suggestions already in this thread. There is more you should do if you're storing for longer than 3 months.

As someone who stores his classic car over the winter, I can give you a few tips.

1) You want a full tank of gas. An empty tank allows moisture from the air to begin corroding the inside of the fuel tank or pump. So fill it up and add Sta-Bil fuel stabilizer.

2) Put the car on jack stands with all 4 tires off the ground and fully inflated. This prevents the tires from flat spotting. If this isn't possible, inflate your tires to their max pressure.

3) Place a wad of steel wool in the exhaust tip to prevent rodents from getting in. They can't chew through steel wool.

4) Pull the battery. Another option is to hook it up to a battery tender if you don't want to pull it.

5) If the car is simply started every once in awhile, but not allowed to run and warm up this will cause condensation to gather in the exhaust piping, speeding corrosion.

6) Get a high quality car cover. Wash and wax the car, put the cover on and leave it.

If you're ever leaving a car for more than just a few months it's just best to get it properly setup for a long nap and not wake it until you're ready to drive it again.

I've done this to me (former) 240Z multiple times for 6-7 month stretches and it started up like a top!

That being said, if you'll be gone for a few years, I'd recommend selling it.:cry:

That way you avoid unnecessary depreciation, you don't waste your warranty, and you don't have to worry about your friend hooning it, storage bills, or any other crap like that.

These are not directly applicable - cars haven't had metal fuel tanks or pumps for quite a while. A full tank of gas is a good idea for other reasons, but corrosion ain't one of them.

Radials don't permanently flat-spot; this was a problem in the bias-ply days, but with radials the flats will work out in a minute or two of driving. If I was storing for years, I'd lift, but if it's just for several months there's no reason to do this.

Maybe ask your friend to pay half the car payment and maintain it and let him DD it while you are away?

And how long is long term?

1) While tanks and pumps are no longer metal, there are metal components and it's still recommended that you store a vehicle with a full tank.

2) They're not supposed to flat spot, and I've actually never had any problems when I don't use jack stands. But once again, it never hurts to be cautious.

Its been known to happen, as far as the flat spotting of tires. BRAND NEW cars that sit on the lot for 6+months get noticeable flat spotting.

As far as the battery goes, you could just pull the IOD(ignition off draw) fuse and call it a day.

In addition to my FR-S, I have a '73 vette stingray that is currently hibernating until April (dropped it off at storage last month). The advice here is good, especially on the fuel level + stabilizer. We pulled the battery, and the only thing I forgot to do was top off the tire pressure. The previous owner of the car (my father-in-law) assured me what was stated above--the flat spots will be evened out by the time I get the car home.

The dealer phenomenon is also tied to something called "dry rot" or "lot rot," where the cars are left in the same place for a long period of time. Had to get tires replaced on a car I bought once (at dealer expense, thank you) because their "almost new" tires were visibly cracking at the sidewall.

rot lot is more-so brakes rusting(rotting) the tires flat spotting depends on the tread wear rating of said tire most of the time. these things happen though.

Thx for the good info!

I should have specified the length of time. I am looking at 6 months being the longest amount of time before I return.

This is very true and surprised I did not see anyone talk about the tires. I have heard of people jacking up the car and putting it on stands to keep the weight off of the wheels to prevent flat spots in the tire. Everything else has been listed above. Just have your friend drive it around the neighborhood a few times varying speed (within legal limits) and park it again. If it is not covered, please have your friend wash it more than 1 time a month if it is sitting outside in the sun or get a nice car cover. Either way the sun will eat the paint alive just sitting there.

Someone has probably mentioned this but, you will wish you never left your car. You will wish you never took that job opportunity ;)

I wanted to garage my car for winter here in Seattle, and how long did I last? 5 days! This car is meant to be driven and I cannot stress this enough.

Good Luck on the venture man.

When it comes to storage, that's not very long. Follow my suggestions and you'll be just fine.

In addition to everything thats already been said, do NOT engage the ebrake. Use 2x4 wood to hold your car from moving and most importantly do not store a vehicle after driving on wet roads because your rotors will get stuck on your brake pads. I learned that one the hard way

I got some wheel chocks at harbor freight for $5 a piece. Rated for 2 ton, seem to be doing just fine for the little car.

If you leave the car with the friend or allow him to drive the car AT ALL...check with your insurance company to verify that the friend will be covered (for liability as well as medical coverage). It will be a lot cheaper to pay a little extra for 6 months to insure the car than wait for a crisis and have a totalled car the insurance refuses to pay out.

Also consider writing a basic agreement if you leave it with the friend. The VIN number of the car, make/Model and registered address. The address where the car will be stored, the property owner (does your friend own the house). Mileage of the vehicle when parked. Insurance company and policy number of the car. Then if you agree to let him drive it specify the conditions, if he's not allowed to do anything other than "lot drive" the vehicle specify that too. Print both your full names and in parenthesis your attachment to the car [ i.e. (owner)]. You each sign above your name. You should consider having it notorized but if he's a good friend he won't screw you over and the paper will just be a formality (that he should understand if he watches any daytime TV judge LOL).

Was wondering about an agreement and you hit it right on the money! Thanks!!

OK, here's a question. What do you do at the END of long-term storage? I'm storing my car over the winter to avoid salt exposure. A friend of mine does the same thing with his 911 & he pullsl the fuel pump and ignition fuses and then turn the engine over a few times to circulate oil before starting up. The Toyota dealer said that wasn't necessary--the Toybaru twins have paper oil filters which allow oil to circulate "instantly" on start-up. So in the spring I plan to just start up the car, let it idle for a while, and then drive gently to wake it out of hibernation. Does this sound right?

"rot lot" is very real.cars are mechanical devices that require them to be in motion.."rot lot" is damaging. sent from tap-a-talk.

My last car I left for 5 months. When I got back it started right up and drove it. If you put a fuel stabil and have him drive it once a month should be fine I imagine. And if you just leave it at home with no driving I doubt it will do any harm either.

Nothing special is needed when you wake it. Check to make sure the ties are inflated and that you didn't have something odd, like a fluid leak. Then just fire it up like you would normally, let it idle for a bit (not until warm, but until the revs drop to normal levels), and off you go.

Many people with classics will pull the spark plus and put a few drops of oil in each cylinder, but that's only if it's been stopped a looong time. Unnecessary with your car.

OK thanks. I once stored a Saab 99 for 18 months and dripped oil in the cylinders before starting it--didn't want to go through that again (besides, it sounds like a bad idea with direct injection).