Leaving car garaged for a few months - advice needed

[owenjt]

I'm going travelling for a few months and am going to declare my car off-road and keep it stored in the garage, but is there anything I should do it before leaving it for this long? Is it even wise to leave it this long or should I get a friend to go start it once every couple of weeks?

It has been suggested that I disconnect the battery, which seems to make sense, but would this cause any problems?

 

[asasprey]

Either disconnect the battery or just get a cheap halfords trickle charger and leave it plugged in. It will be fine either way, but i would advise against starting it every now an then unless you are taking it for a 20min run at least as it will do more bad then good, mate.

 

[owenjt]

Either disconnect the battery or just get a cheap halfords trickle charger and leave it plugged in. It will be fine either way, but i would advise against starting it every now an then unless you are taking it for a 20min run at least as it will do more bad then good, mate.

So disconnecting it for 3 months won't cause any problems?

 

[jungleman]

as said with the battery, also make sure all the fluids are nice and full
also depending how long a few months is, may be worth putting it on axel stands to save flat spotting the rubber

 

[asasprey]

So disconnecting it for 3 months won't cause any problems?

Not unless resetting your date is a problem lol. You will have a couple dashboard lights on when you reconnect her, but these should go out more or less immediately when you start to drive. Im not sure if leaving it disconnected for so long would cause it to lose the radio code, but thats no big deal either really.

 

[asasprey]

12v TRICKLE CHARGER CAR CARAVAN MOTORCYCLE BATTERY NEW | eBay UK

5 quid posted mate. Ideal i'd say!

 

[a9503128]

Depends upon the age of the battery, my car was parked up for 9months while the previous owner was working the US. He came back to sell it to me and we checked all the levels (oil, water) and it cranked over first time.

Just a dry location with good ventilation, clean and DRY it, anti-freeze and oil check (poss change) make sure the air in the tyres is the right pressure if you can remove them and rest the car on stands (old trick for putting a motorbike away for the winter), DONT put the handbrake on (if possible IE stored in a level and locked garage) and finally lube all the locks, cables, hinges etc and spray WD40 all around the engine bay (gets rid of water) before you put it away. Don’t get tempted to cover it with a sheet that’s how moisture starts.

When you get back check the levels, spray more WD40 and leave to rest, check tyres, and roll the car back and forth to make sure nothing has seized, check the levels AGAIN, if petrol you can get Stale fuel (did on the bike) so a shot of redex will help. All this is BEFORE you start It then take it easy with the car and test your brakes and controls at a nice low speed and then give her a clean and a new car magic tree..

 

[mitch78]

It depends what kind of garage you're leaving it in; what colour the door is; the postcode of the garage; the type of lock on the door; whether there's anyone within sight of it at all times; etc... I'd love to help, but it simply isn't a question that can be answered without giving us a lot more info to go on.

 

[owenjt]

as said with the battery, also make sure all the fluids are nice and full
also depending how long a few months is, may be worth putting it on axel stands to save flat spotting the rubber

Probably about 3 months.

Depends upon the age of the battery, my car was parked up for 9months while the previous owner was working the US. He came back to sell it to me and we checked all the levels (oil, water) and it cranked over first time.

Just a dry location with good ventilation, clean and DRY it, anti-freeze and oil check (poss change) make sure the air in the tyres is the right pressure if you can remove them and rest the car on stands (old trick for putting a motorbike away for the winter), DONT put the handbrake on (if possible IE stored in a level and locked garage) and finally lube all the locks, cables, hinges etc and spray WD40 all around the engine bay (gets rid of water) before you put it away. Don’t get tempted to cover it with a sheet that’s how moisture starts.

When you get back check the levels, spray more WD40 and leave to rest, check tyres, and roll the car back and forth to make sure nothing has seized, check the levels AGAIN, if petrol you can get Stale fuel (did on the bike) so a shot of redex will help. All this is BEFORE you start It then take it easy with the car and test your brakes and controls at a nice low speed and then give her a clean and a new car magic tree..

Think battery is original, car is 2005. Good point checking fluid levels, why not put the handbrake on?

It depends what kind of garage you're leaving it in; what colour the door is; the postcode of the garage; the type of lock on the door; whether there's anyone within sight of it at all times; etc... I'd love to help, but it simply isn't a question that can be answered without giving us a lot more info to go on.

An extremely secure and remote garage that's impossible to find unless you can decipher the hidden map and even then it's monitored 24hrs by security cameras and guarded by huge dogs with big teeth and entry requires a fingerprint and retina scan ;-)

 

[braque10]

We leave cars for up to 12 months around 3 or 4 a year. And a lot of our cars sit for 3 months and start first time and we leave the handbrakes on with no problems what so ever. We leave the battery's on as disconnecting them tends to throw up warning lights.

 

[FranA3]

i think leaving the handbrake on is only an issue if its being left outside but in a garage then should be ok just make sure the car is bone dry even all the brakes otherwise if you leave the handbrake on with it wet or damp it will stick on and is a bugga to free after a day let alone a few months

 

[a9503128]

Re why the handbrake off, brakes dont stick as long as dry (wet they rust) its just the cable will stretch if left on tension for long periods. It just prelongs life of cable and saves you a few quid.