Car has been sitting for 8 months..

[Frankeh]

Due to laziness, the procurement of a bus pass and broken brake lights my car hasn't got much use recently.
I'd say it's been standing about 8 months now.

It's a peugeot 306 HDI.

A few questions.

1) Is the battery dead? I've bought a charger but I read somewhere that if the battery is fully drained and left to stand then they can become useless.

2) I've noticed a build up of rust on the disc brakes. What's the best way to deal with this? I would rather not change the brakes if it's not needed.

3) Any other things I should look out for?

Thanks in advance.

[Jonny671]

Tyres perished.. Flat spotted from sitting and not moving.

[Frankeh]

Jonny671 said:

Tyres perished.. Flat spotted from sitting and not moving.

Is there a decent test for those?
2 of the tyres are flat so it's likely they'll need replacing.
They're both on the side that receives sun too so that makes sense.

[Frankeh]

The Crack Fox said:

Why ask ? See if you can charge the battery up, the discs will prob clean themselves up with some firm use, fix your lights and find out yourself !

Well I just received the battery charger in the post

I was asking because someone might chime in and say "Hey! Don't start the engine after that long without cleaning the filters of the left felangee" or something similar.

[Frederick]

Worst case is the tyres might have flatspotted, and the handbrake could have siezed on (I've had this happen to a 306 before, after sitting a lot less than 8 months).

Try firing it up, if it clicks - battery is flat, if it starts - happy days. Try moving it, if it doesn't move then release the handbrake, jack the back end up, take the wheels off and tt the brake drums with a hammer until they turn freely. If it moves, drive it.

First 10 miles will be a bit uncomfortable until the tyres return to their round shape again but other than that, shouldn't be anything majorly wrong - it's a modern car with a modern engine

[davepoth]

Frankeh said:

Jonny671 said:

Tyres perished.. Flat spotted from sitting and not moving.

Is there a decent test for those?
2 of the tyres are flat so it's likely they'll need replacing.
They're both on the side that receives sun too so that makes sense.

If you have to replace two on one side you will really need to do all four; the difference between the sides will be horrendous. Get some part-worns if you are worried about the expense.