Keeping cars outside
Discussion
Hi all,
Firstly, before you read on, I should warn you the following definitely ranks as ‘first world problems!’
I’m fortunate to have a few cars; 911, couple of Landrovers (Series 3 and 2015 Defender 90), plus an E Class daily driver. (Plus my wife has a car).
We have driveway space for all of them and a large single garage. Obviously what I don’t have is space to keep them all inside. I’m not bothered about the E-Class and my wife’s car, but I wonder how much, if any, damage I’m doing to the others keeping them outdoors year round.
The Series 3 lives in the garage at the moment as I’m spending some time working on it, so that’s fine. The 911 and Defender are cleaned regularly and protected with wax / sealant, so will hopefully be ok outdoors all year round.
In summary, am I worrying too much? Or, will they slowly deteriorate by being kept outside?
Thanks all
Firstly, before you read on, I should warn you the following definitely ranks as ‘first world problems!’
I’m fortunate to have a few cars; 911, couple of Landrovers (Series 3 and 2015 Defender 90), plus an E Class daily driver. (Plus my wife has a car).
We have driveway space for all of them and a large single garage. Obviously what I don’t have is space to keep them all inside. I’m not bothered about the E-Class and my wife’s car, but I wonder how much, if any, damage I’m doing to the others keeping them outdoors year round.
The Series 3 lives in the garage at the moment as I’m spending some time working on it, so that’s fine. The 911 and Defender are cleaned regularly and protected with wax / sealant, so will hopefully be ok outdoors all year round.
In summary, am I worrying too much? Or, will they slowly deteriorate by being kept outside?
Thanks all
My SL and our motorbikes are in the garage, Mrs DSs SLK is in the carport (it’s actually more like a garage with sides and a back) but my 159 wagon lives outside. It wouldn’t bother me except that it lives under trees - all the drive and garage is under a canopy of (protected) trees and the mess, plus seeds etc sap etc that comes down means it needs washing every 5 days or so and I need to make careful checks that the scuttle drains aren’t blocked - that’s the real danger as I could end up with a flooded interior.
If it was outside under an open sky then I’d not be too concerned.
If it was outside under an open sky then I’d not be too concerned.
I have a similar problem. Two of my cars I have owned for more than 15 years, and they have always been undercover until very recently.
At shows people have commented on the good condition of the window rubbers. These will degrade more quickly from exposure to UV light. I have also suffered with condensation in the lenses of front & rear lights (cars are over 30 years old) since they have been spending time in the weather.
At shows people have commented on the good condition of the window rubbers. These will degrade more quickly from exposure to UV light. I have also suffered with condensation in the lenses of front & rear lights (cars are over 30 years old) since they have been spending time in the weather.
Arguably, the most important thing with the older cars is to hose the underside regularly to wash the dirt out of the places it likes to accumulate and to oil every couple of years. I keep 1kg silica bags in the older cars as a matter of course. Sunlight also ages the soft bits. In general, I'd certainly make use of the garage for one of the cars.
Modernish cars that aren’t convertibles, will take very little harm from being outside.
Very long term (longer than most people keep a car), UV light will degrade black trim and plastic headlamp glass and even interior bits in some cases.
On long term cars that aren’t used daily I’d advise a half-cover. These just cover the ‘greenhouse’ of the car.
These are small enough to go in the boot, quick to attach and remove, and don’t flap about too badly and are pretty cheap.
I’ve used full covers and they are a massive (literally) pain in the rear.
Very long term (longer than most people keep a car), UV light will degrade black trim and plastic headlamp glass and even interior bits in some cases.
On long term cars that aren’t used daily I’d advise a half-cover. These just cover the ‘greenhouse’ of the car.
These are small enough to go in the boot, quick to attach and remove, and don’t flap about too badly and are pretty cheap.
I’ve used full covers and they are a massive (literally) pain in the rear.
When looking for my latest car - which is not a daily driver - one of the things on my list was that it must fit in my garage. Now, my garage is an integral one in a modern house and is, therefore, rather small. That made my shortlist very, err, short.
I hate having a nice car sat outside on the drive in all weathers. You get that fine rain in the summer which leaves a deposit of Saharan sand on the car, not to mention pollen, bird droppings and so on. Then there's the (small, I know) risk of vandalism and theft. I know this is truly sad, but when the weather is foul, I rather like the fact that my car is tucked up clean, dry and secure.
That said, the daily driver is my wife's RAV4 that we've had for twenty years from new. It's never been garaged, and has been genuinely faultless in all of that time. I do treat it to a proper underbody/wheel arch power wash in the springtime every year though, and it's properly waxed too.
I hate having a nice car sat outside on the drive in all weathers. You get that fine rain in the summer which leaves a deposit of Saharan sand on the car, not to mention pollen, bird droppings and so on. Then there's the (small, I know) risk of vandalism and theft. I know this is truly sad, but when the weather is foul, I rather like the fact that my car is tucked up clean, dry and secure.
That said, the daily driver is my wife's RAV4 that we've had for twenty years from new. It's never been garaged, and has been genuinely faultless in all of that time. I do treat it to a proper underbody/wheel arch power wash in the springtime every year though, and it's properly waxed too.
I think the age of the cars will determine how well they live outside for long periods. Most stuff from the mid 00's onwards will be fine I'm sure.
As said, regular cleaning and even just firing the engine up now and again will keep them ok. I have a 2010 Merc CL which is parked up outside, I clean it every other weekend when I can whether it's been driven or not. I start it up, let it idle for a bit etc. Admittedly I do keep it on a C-Tek charger but otherwise it's fine.
As said, regular cleaning and even just firing the engine up now and again will keep them ok. I have a 2010 Merc CL which is parked up outside, I clean it every other weekend when I can whether it's been driven or not. I start it up, let it idle for a bit etc. Admittedly I do keep it on a C-Tek charger but otherwise it's fine.
Cars left outside are fine as long as they are regularly cleaned and polished to minimise the effect of UV rays which also has an effect on tyres.
Regular use helps but not so much in winter when salt is on the roads. When I wash my car, I hose underneath and in the arches, not obsessively but to get dirt dislodged.
Regular use helps but not so much in winter when salt is on the roads. When I wash my car, I hose underneath and in the arches, not obsessively but to get dirt dislodged.
youngsyr said:
Surprised no-one has mentioned the Carcoon solution?
For classics susceptible to corrosion they are brilliant. Constant airflow in the chamber. For cars with original paint, a cover does help protect from the worst of the weather if sorned outside over a winter. . Never put a resprayed car under a cover over winter as too much risk of the paint getting microblisters.
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