Okay,
I finally decided to put my car in storage for four years while I'm in Germany (Army). I found a place that will store it inside for a pretty cheap price.
Couple of questions.
1. They say they can start the car up once a month and drive it around their inside warehouse so the seals won't all go bad. That sounds good to me but it is okay to only be started once a month for that long and not really be driven? I will come back a couple times in four years where I could get it and drive it for a couple weeks but only two or three times. Should I tell them to start it or leave it alone?

2. If they just leave it alone, what should I do to the car before letting them get it?

3. What kind of insurance coverage should I get for this. They say they have liability coverage. Does this just cover them or do I need insurance also? I would guess I need it too.

Thanks for the input in advanced.
Scott

 

Scott....

I'd think letting them start it once a month and drive it around inside would suffice. Just ask them to take the time to get it up to operating temperature and use both forward and reverse and use the brakes semi-hard a few times.

If you are thinking about setting it up for the 4 full years you might think about doing the following:

1) Get a good car cover that breathes. I only say that as you should probably leave a window vented under the cover to help the interior breathe.
2) Check your local automotive places and find out all of the preservatives you can put in your liquids(gas tank, radiator, brake master cylinder, etc).
3) Plan on putting the frame(A-arms) up on blocks of some type to keep the tires from flat spotting(or deflating).
4) Pull the plugs and shoot some kind of oil preservative in the cylinders. Replace the plugs.
5) Take the time to clean the car good before you store it.
6) Also cover your engine with old towels just to keep it from gathering dust.

I'm sure I missed some things, but a good start.

 

Thanks bgrice

 

I believe the only thing you need to worry about is the engine...and if you plug up all the places that air can get in then you won't have to worry about it or have someone start it up. If it just gets started and driven like 100 feet every month then after about a year the battery will be dead, unless they charge it up each time. But, here's what you could do to store it without having to start it:

1. Make sure the radiator is full of corrosion protecting anti-freeze.
2. Make sure the engine has fresh oil.
3. Take the plugs out and squirt some oil into each of the cylinders and crank it over for about 1 second...make sure you don't press on the gas pedal cause you don't want any gas getting into the engine. Replace the plugs afterward.
4. Plug up all places that are open to the air. The best method would be to disconnect the vacuum fittings and stick plugs on them, and take the carburator off and cover the hole with a block off plate. Also, disconnect the AIR injection hose and plug it too so that there's no air getting into the exhaust from that end as well as plug up the exhaust pipe. But, if this is too much to do then just cover the air cleaner inlets and the exhaust pipe. This should protect the engine from rust.
5. Disconnect the battery and wrap the terminals with electrical tape.

Everything else should be fine...there's no need to move anything around that I know of. Ideally, it would be nice if someone could drive it for like 10 miles each month, but that's up to you. Also, you should maintain car insurance on it...that will be enough to cover any problems in a garaged situation...talk to your agent. I doubt that the liability that storage places have would cover damage to your car. Be sure to take a lot of photos in case you come back and there are scratches in the paint or other damage.


[Modified by Rockn-Roll, 9:30 AM 5/3/2003]