Say goodbye like you mean it: preparing your car for long-term storage
No one likes long goodbyes. And, when the friend to whom you’re bidding farewell is of the four (or two) wheeled variety, you’ll want to do all you can to part on good terms.
Putting your beloved car into storage for an extended period of time may feel like leaving a loved one in a foreign land and having the ability to look after them removed from your grasp. And even though picking the right car storage partner will leave you with little to worry about, you may be wondering if there's anything else you can do to make the vehicle's extended period of rest as trouble-free as possible.
Fortunately, you can do quite a lot to ensure that your car will be in the best possible health when reunited with its owner; if you’re particularly fond of your motor and don’t mind getting your hands dirty, you can play a significant role in its storage by doing a bit of pre-prep that will give you ultimate peace of mind.
In this post, we’ve picked out five key tasks that should be on the to-do list of anyone who is preparing their car for long-term storage. Lay the groundwork now, and your vehicle will rest safe and sound for as long as it needs to.
1. Paperwork
The boring bit first, unfortunately. While your car is in storage, new US presidents will be inaugurated, Britain will leave the EU, continents will shift slightly and there’s a strong possibility something will lapse - like your car tax or insurance, for example.
Before you bid farewell, ensure everything is in check, paperwork-wise, and renew any licences, SORN declarations or insurance premiums that need renewing.
2. Treat it to a service
It’s vitally important that the engine’s fluids are in good shape before your vehicle goes into long-term storage. And, while it may seem counterintuitive to service a vehicle you won’t be driving for some time, in doing so, you’ll preserve the engine in a virtually ‘as-new’ state.
Aside from the engine oil (opt for synthetic - it’ll break down more slowly over time), be sure to refresh the brake fluid, coolant and any other fluids your mechanic deems susceptible to sediment.
3. Lubricate
This step very much depends on the age of the car, but you can do a lot worse than oil every hinge you can find to ensure the doors, boot and hood (if it’s a soft top) don’t freeze shut during particularly long storage times.
4. Spring clean the exterior and interior
Just as we’re regularly reminded to give our houses one particularly deep clean every year, doing the same with your car's interior and exterior is a great tactic if it’s about to be stored for a significant length of time.
A full wash and wax on the outside is just the start; when it comes to the interior, get rid of any rubbish, polish the dash and hoover every single nook and cranny. It’s also a good idea to wash the insides of your windows and the rear-view mirror.
The deep clean you carry out now will ensure a car free of unpleasant smells when you pick it up come check-out time.
5. Drop the PSI
You can rely on a good car storage company to do this for you, but if you fancy doing it yourself, drop the air in each tyre by around 10psi. Doing so will allow the rubber to relax while the vehicle rests in storage, prevent cracks and stop any of the dreaded ‘flat spots’ from appearing (although modern tyres are usually designed to prevent the latter).
That’s it! Carry out the above simple steps and you can safely leave your car in the hands of the storage company before counting down the days until you see it again.
If undertaking the above before storing your car seems a bit extreme, it’s worth bearing in mind that cars are built to be driven - their natural habitat is the open road. They’ll sit in storage quite happily, but a bit of due care and attention beforehand can go an awfully long way.
The petrolheads among us will likely revel in this preparation, which is why you should treat the above list as the car storage preparation bible, rather than a bunch of chores you’d prefer to leave to someone else.
Love your car thoroughly before you put it into hibernation - it’ll be worth it.
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