Leaving your car outside for extended periods

[PhillipM]

AshVanguard said:

RIGHT! ive beaten beamers and mercs easily in it and accidentally drifted a roundabout in belgium last week
meet me by the old mine at midnight for a pink-slip race ....

Well, at least you won't have to worry about what to do with the car afterwards

[Pontoneer]

AshVanguard said:

Hi all
im going to be leaving my beautiful Yaris TS on my drive for approx a year as im moving to Japan, what sort of things should i do to keep it in good condition? A good cover? but from where? etc
thanks
Ash

Sell it , and buy another one when you come back .

Otherwise , you will lose a years worth of depreciation . It may be stolen ( are you going to pay a years insurance on a car you won't use ?) or become a target for vandals .

Otherwise it may get damp , tyres may develop flat spots ( unless you put it up on stands , in which C
case someone may have the wheels ) - all sorts of things can go wrong with a car left standing .

Unless it was an unusual or special car , it is best just to sell it and avoid all these problems .

[AshVanguard]

its going in my mum's garage..she will have approx 1 inch space to house her gardening based implementations and hydroponics

[Pontoneer]

AshVanguard said:

RIGHT! ive beaten beamers and mercs easily in it and accidentally drifted a roundabout in belgium last week
meet me by the old mine at midnight for a pink-slip race ....

You could always offer Clarkson et al the loan of 'a reasonably priced car' for the year you are away .

The Stig and his friends would give it a good run round the track once a week to stop the discs getting rusty .

[redgriff500]

Seriously I do love all the "experts" on these threads.

I regularly buy cars that have been left for many years.

The last one being an RX7.

I put a gallon of fresh fuel in, fitted a jump pack and it started up fine.

It hasn't needed new tyres, discs or anything else.

I did change the oil and filter afterwards as I would on any car.

Passed an MOT after just the usual stuff - NO problems due to standing other than mould all over the interior - wiped off in a few hours.

The paint needed T cutting mostly due to being under a fitted cover as if you leave them on for long periods water and dirt get under it and it never fully dries out - far worse than cars left with no cover on IME.

[Jayho]

PhillipM said:

AshVanguard said:

RIGHT! ive beaten beamers and mercs easily in it and accidentally drifted a roundabout in belgium last week
meet me by the old mine at midnight for a pink-slip race ....

Well, at least you won't have to worry about what to do with the car afterwards

TBH, If I were in the same position I'd probably sell the car and leave the money in a 1 year ISA and when I'm back, either buy a slightly newer one with the money or buy a very similar one for cheaper.

Or a different car altogether.

[bqf]

Do put it up on axle stands - £20 a pair off Amazon. No matter how much you inflate them you will flat-spot the tyres.

Even 'fitted' car covers trap dirt and encourage mould - I'd avoid.

If you can fit it in the garage - you must! On a trickle charger....

[wolf1]

bqf said:

On a trickle charger....

I take it you mean a purpose built battery conditioner such as an optimate. NOT a normal battery charger

[nobodyknows]

Try not to park it under/near any trees as it will get covered in sap & bird st!

[Chocky Chockster]

Sell it now and buy an even more exotic Vitz in Japan, then ship it back. If you keep it for six months before you ship it then you can skip the import duty and VAT!

[60]

Fleckers said:

HMP Belmarsh is not normaly called Japan, what you been up to ??

He's going away shooting tigers.