Advice on putting a car into hibernation
Discussion
Hello,
I'll be leaving the UK for the next 2 or 3 years and was wondering if you could give me some advice on laying up my car (Volvo XC90).
We don't want to sell the car as we'll be coming back to the UK as a family at least once a year and I'll be coming back perhaps every 4 months or so for business visits. Hire car costs for these visits (each will be 1 to 3 weeks) and the added grief of selling this car and buying a suitable replacement immediately on our return mean that putting the car in storage would be the simplest option.
We'll obviously un-SORN the car prior to each use and return the tax disc after each visit to reclaim the unused element. Continuous insurance cover with a low mileage declaration shouldn't be more than £250 a year, this gives us the added benefit of maintaining an insurance 'no-claims' profile in the UK for when we return. The car is in good order so sorting MoTs as and when they are required shouldn't prove too difficult, I'll just factor the time into the corresponding visit.
I have found an outdoor secure site (caravan storage yard) and have bought a cover to keep the worst of the elements off the car. I was planning on over inflating the tyres by about 25% to guard against flat spots as much as possible and if I can get the radio code out of the dealer I'll disconnect the battery. I can get a family member to check on the car every 4-6 weeks but I've read elsewhere that starting the car can do more damage than good.
Your thoughts on any worthwhile pre-storage/post storage activities would be most welcome.
I'll be leaving the UK for the next 2 or 3 years and was wondering if you could give me some advice on laying up my car (Volvo XC90).
We don't want to sell the car as we'll be coming back to the UK as a family at least once a year and I'll be coming back perhaps every 4 months or so for business visits. Hire car costs for these visits (each will be 1 to 3 weeks) and the added grief of selling this car and buying a suitable replacement immediately on our return mean that putting the car in storage would be the simplest option.
We'll obviously un-SORN the car prior to each use and return the tax disc after each visit to reclaim the unused element. Continuous insurance cover with a low mileage declaration shouldn't be more than £250 a year, this gives us the added benefit of maintaining an insurance 'no-claims' profile in the UK for when we return. The car is in good order so sorting MoTs as and when they are required shouldn't prove too difficult, I'll just factor the time into the corresponding visit.
I have found an outdoor secure site (caravan storage yard) and have bought a cover to keep the worst of the elements off the car. I was planning on over inflating the tyres by about 25% to guard against flat spots as much as possible and if I can get the radio code out of the dealer I'll disconnect the battery. I can get a family member to check on the car every 4-6 weeks but I've read elsewhere that starting the car can do more damage than good.
Your thoughts on any worthwhile pre-storage/post storage activities would be most welcome.
How old is it? The depreciation on a relatively new one alone will more than cover any hire charges if you're only coming back a couple of times a year.
Ideally, you'll cover the car with a breathable cover. Overinflating the tyres is good but the ideal is to have the car up on axle stands so the tyres don't go out of square. Battery wise the bits and bobs in a modern motor can cause the battery to discharge reasonably quickly (a couple of months) so it would be better if you could get it onto a trickle charger.
Starting the car every couple of weeks is only a bad idea if it isn't going to be driven - it needs about a half an hour of driving for the battery to recover the charge used from starting, and also about that long for the lubricant to get properly up to temperature. If the compound is large enough to get up to 20mph it should be ok to just drive around like that. It's worth saying that there's nothing worse for a car than not driving it around, and it's likely you'll have all manner of little niggles with it (sticking/dodgy electrical things most likely) if you leave it.
Ideally, you'll cover the car with a breathable cover. Overinflating the tyres is good but the ideal is to have the car up on axle stands so the tyres don't go out of square. Battery wise the bits and bobs in a modern motor can cause the battery to discharge reasonably quickly (a couple of months) so it would be better if you could get it onto a trickle charger.
Starting the car every couple of weeks is only a bad idea if it isn't going to be driven - it needs about a half an hour of driving for the battery to recover the charge used from starting, and also about that long for the lubricant to get properly up to temperature. If the compound is large enough to get up to 20mph it should be ok to just drive around like that. It's worth saying that there's nothing worse for a car than not driving it around, and it's likely you'll have all manner of little niggles with it (sticking/dodgy electrical things most likely) if you leave it.
The car is nearing the bottom of the depreciation curve, it's an '03 XC90 diesel with 70k so worth £8-9k if I sold it on privately now.
I tried some simple maths, Where C is the 'selling the car' option.
A + B = C
A = £3k (ish), Hiring a car for about 7 weeks a year would cost me approx £1400 x 2.5 years for an Insignia/Mondeo.
B = £1k (ish), Buying a replacement car when I get back to the UK for good would involve an interim hire car, increased insurance premiums, putting the number plate on retention/transfer, general costs of trading a car etc.
C = £4k (ish)
Wet finger in the wind guess suggests an equivalent XC90 diesel in 2.5 years would probably cost about £6-7k which means my depreciation would be about £2k.
Keeping the car in storage is £50 per year (mates rates), tax about £200 over the period stated, insurance about £600 all in at worst.
The 'keeping the car' option looks like a 'cost' of £3k (ish)
So, provided I keep a contingency of about £1k to rectify any 'niggles' it accumulates whilst in hibernation with some infrequent occassional use, I should still be alright financially (or thereabouts), but with much more convenience provided the car works ok each time I need it.
We'd always planned on keeping the car for another 10 years+ if this opportunity hadn't come up, so depreciation was always going to be an afterthought. We just don't need all the hassle of selling when we're busy planning a move to the other side of the world and similarly the jumping through hoops of buying when we've just moved all of our life back to the UK in a couple of years. For us, the storage option looks to be the path of least resistance.
Putting it on axle stands is a good call, I'll look into that!
I tried some simple maths, Where C is the 'selling the car' option.
A + B = C
A = £3k (ish), Hiring a car for about 7 weeks a year would cost me approx £1400 x 2.5 years for an Insignia/Mondeo.
B = £1k (ish), Buying a replacement car when I get back to the UK for good would involve an interim hire car, increased insurance premiums, putting the number plate on retention/transfer, general costs of trading a car etc.
C = £4k (ish)
Wet finger in the wind guess suggests an equivalent XC90 diesel in 2.5 years would probably cost about £6-7k which means my depreciation would be about £2k.
Keeping the car in storage is £50 per year (mates rates), tax about £200 over the period stated, insurance about £600 all in at worst.
The 'keeping the car' option looks like a 'cost' of £3k (ish)
So, provided I keep a contingency of about £1k to rectify any 'niggles' it accumulates whilst in hibernation with some infrequent occassional use, I should still be alright financially (or thereabouts), but with much more convenience provided the car works ok each time I need it.
We'd always planned on keeping the car for another 10 years+ if this opportunity hadn't come up, so depreciation was always going to be an afterthought. We just don't need all the hassle of selling when we're busy planning a move to the other side of the world and similarly the jumping through hoops of buying when we've just moved all of our life back to the UK in a couple of years. For us, the storage option looks to be the path of least resistance.
Putting it on axle stands is a good call, I'll look into that!
Edited by Stu 9-5 on Wednesday 7th March 17:16
If it's really 3-4 months between each use, your biggest concern will be tyres going square. If you can't get it off them, over inflate them by around 10psi (make sure you don't go past the max PSI on the sidewall)
Do you not have anyone you can long term lend it to, and let them rock around in it or use it as a second car while you're out of the country?
Do you not have anyone you can long term lend it to, and let them rock around in it or use it as a second car while you're out of the country?
I think it will be fine if you use it every 3-4 months... I would blow the tyres up hard, disconnect the battery so nothing runs it down, and if you can either remove it, or perhaps buy one of those solar chargers to keep it topped up (not sure how well the work though)
Leave the hand brake off and park it where driving rain wont get on the brake disks, as I have found cars develop brake judder where there is a patch on the disks that stays rust free due to standing.
Modern cars seem less prone to niggles after standing than older ones. I have recently started a Volvo V70 that had stood for two and a half years! With a new battery it started first time, ticked over like it was new. the only problem was all the disks had to be replaced as the rust had really go hold of them.
Leave the hand brake off and park it where driving rain wont get on the brake disks, as I have found cars develop brake judder where there is a patch on the disks that stays rust free due to standing.
Modern cars seem less prone to niggles after standing than older ones. I have recently started a Volvo V70 that had stood for two and a half years! With a new battery it started first time, ticked over like it was new. the only problem was all the disks had to be replaced as the rust had really go hold of them.
I looked at that option very closely. We would still require a large 4x4 when we got back as I frequently pull a 2 tonne trailer around the countryside. Came back to the 'keep the car' option because we 'know the history' of the one we have, so any minor savings accrued could be diminished by buying badly on our return.
Good suggestion though.
Good suggestion though.
My FD2 R has been sitting Since October on a trickle charger, handbrake off and a breathable custom car cover in the garage!!
I do this every year with all my cars, generally 6 months of the road. I have never had any issues and tyres have always maintained good pressure.
I have a mate with An EVO 6. 12 years he has had it, and its spent more time in the garage, year at a time without turning a wheel, and he has had no ill effects.
I do this every year with all my cars, generally 6 months of the road. I have never had any issues and tyres have always maintained good pressure.
I have a mate with An EVO 6. 12 years he has had it, and its spent more time in the garage, year at a time without turning a wheel, and he has had no ill effects.
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