How to store a car for 1 year????? HELP!

xpguy · 05-30-03, 04:31

I am planning to store a manual transmission Toyota Tercel on my father in law's property for 1 year. I would like to get non-operational status from the DMV so I can cancel insurance on it and save some money (approx $270 a year).

Has anyone ever stored a car long term like this before? Is starting the car once a week and letting it idle in the driveway sufficient? Or does it have to be driven? BTW this is in Southern CA so I will not be expecting freezing temperatures or other unusual temp changes that might freeze something. Any help, experiences, comments, suggestions would be greatly appreciated, and thank you in advance for answering my questions.

medic · 05-30-03, 04:49

there are a few posts about car storage, but here are some suggestions:

jack up the car to avoid pressure spots on the tires. If you can't do this, over inflate the tires to their maximum PSI

use a gas stabilizer or drain the gas from the vehicle

keep some baking soda or other odor absorber in the car to avoid that nasty smell

idling a car can do worse then just driving it...it takes about 15 minutes of driving to warm up all the components (especially the exhaust). Anything less is a bit of a waste and can casue the vehicle parts to rust from inside out, but honestly, that's not really likely to happen in a year

other people will have more thoughts

where are you storing the car - a garage or in a field?

xpguy · 05-30-03, 05:05

The car will be stored on a driveway outdoors. Should I buy a car cover or will this do more harm than good?

I have done a search on car storage and the 2 threads I found they were for short term storage (a few months or for the winter), but there was a lot of useful information in those threads.

So I guess my final question is: Is there anything else that I should be considering or concerned about if I want to store a car for 1 year that isn't mentioned in the "storing a car for winter" threads?

Or is storing a car for the winter pretty much the same as storing a car for 1 year?

Brad B. · 05-31-03, 08:20

Absolutely get a car cover. You want to protect the paint and interior from UV rays which are very damaging. Get a quality cover that breathes, don't use plastic or nylon.

Store the car in gear but do not put the emergency break on. It can rust in place.

Choose one of these options:

1. Would it be possible to run an extension cord to the car and run a trickle charger to the battery? Do this and your battery will last a long time. You can then just drive the car once a month to keep the fluids moving and keep the tires in shape. (Keep the tires near the max inflation level on the sidewall. Change your oil and top off fluids before storing car. Wash and dry car well before storing and at each driving period.)

2. If you cannot trickle charge your battery then you must plan to run the car twice as often.

3. Remove the battery and keep in a garage or basement on a trickle charger. Put in car one a month and use plan #1.

Fskof · 05-31-03, 09:26

1.Change the oil
2. Top off fuel tank. Pour Stable into the tank and run it for a few minutes (to get it into the fuel lines) Do not drain it. A empty tank will cause condensation and your tank will start to rust!
3.Top off all fluids
4. Clean the interior of the car. Make sure there are no fast food wrappers, candy bar in it. Use a box of baking soda or odor absorber.
5. Close all windows, trunk, hood. (Prevents rodents from entering and building nests.)
6.. Jack up the car and put it on blocks (this will prevent flat spots)
7.Store the car in gear. DO NOT put the emergency brake on. (It will rust in place.
8.. Pull the battery out of the car and put it into the basement, garage, shed.
9..Stuff a rag into your tail pipe. This will prevent rodents from building a nest in your muffler. ( I have seen it happen!)
10.Cover the car with a good quality car cover. If you decide not to then use a uv sunshade on the windshield and rear window. This will keep the car cooler inside (prevents the dash from cracking)

11. (Optional) Keep a viscious dog chained to your car to keep burglers away)

You will be able to store your car for years by following these simple steps.

Accumulator · 06-02-03, 10:15

You're getting good advice, but one suggestion makes me nervous. I'm not familiar with Tercels, but I'd be wary of putting a car "up on blocks" without checking with someone who really knows those cars. Some vehicles SHOULD NOT be stored with the suspensions unloaded, others don't mind. This can be a really big deal with some cars, so look into it. You might need to do SOMETHING to put some load on the suspension if the car's off the ground.

FWIW, I never had too much trouble with flat-spotted tires on my XJS (fairly heavy car). I still have the original 1985 wheels/tires, and I've stored it for very long periods (well over a year at times) on them. The minor flatspotting always went away after a little driving. Over-inflate the tires (I usually use at least 50 psi or so), or look into the tire pad things made to prevent flatspots.

It might be overkill, but pulling the sparkplugs and shooting a little oil down into the cylinders might not be a bad idea if you're not going to drive it the whole time. On some cars it only takes a few minutes.

Inspect the car from time to time. Make sure no critters are living in your engine compartment, for instance.

When time comes to start it up, pull the fuel pump relay/fuse and crank the engine WITHOUT IT GETTING ANY FUEL for a while to prime the lubrication system/circulate the oil. You don't want to wash down the (by then) dry cylinder walls with gas before it fires up.