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.