Storing my Aston

[higpots438]

Hi I am having a hip op in the near future , so cannot drive for six weeks. I leave my car in a garage on trickle charge . What is the best procedure for leaving the car for this length of time . Will I need someone to take it out every couple of weeks . Any info will be much appreciated.

[TR4man]

Leave it on a trickle charger with the handbrake off if possible.

That's it.

They are stood much longer on dealer premises.

Perhaps have a photo of it by your bedside as an incentive to get better quickly.

[Dewi 2]

In my experience of storing during most winters, you should normally not have any trouble leaving your car untouched for a month and a half.
With trickle charger on, everything should be fine. Don't let anyone start the engine, because that will just create internal condensation. They could drive for a minimum of 30 miles and put away hot, but I would not do that when only 6 weeks are involved.

Best wishes for a good recovery.

[cayman-black]

I leave mine for longer than that! Trickle charger connected, handbrake off, in gear, some extra pressure in the tyres and then covered.

[GingerMunky]

Maybe get some wheel mats if you are going to leave it longer.

[Jon39]

GingerMunky said:

Maybe get some wheel mats if you are going to leave it longer.

A good idea to avoid tyre flat spots following several months in store, but I think I could spend £760 (Aston Martin brand) on something more enjoyable.

Alternative - every two months, just push the car a foot or so, to put the weight on a different portion of tyre tread.

[Auto810graphy]

As above many cars are left for months on end, I know mine was parked up a couple of months over winter with just the battery conditioner and cover on.

Only think I do is the oil pressure thing by turning the engine over before starting.

[stevenotwet]

Mine is left like this constantly not through choice, my work period is 6 weeks stints with 19 days to play with it.

The day before I leave it is thoroughly washed dried, polished, battery conditioner on, handbrake off, covered in a dry garage,

On coming home I do the oil start procedure, then let it sit ticking over
while warming up I check the tyre pressure,

Nothing changed so far

[hornbaek]

I have a couple of cars and most are store if not for the entire winter than at least 3 - 6 months. My best experience is to leave them with a trickle charger and possibly overinflate the tyres a couple of psi and nothing more.

I would advice against giving the car a wash and then put it away. If it is not bone dry when stored you can end up having a number of issues such as sticking brakes or condensation in some electrical parts etc. If you want to wash it before you put it away you need to go for as long drive afterwards to let it dry properly. When you get back, the procedure should be to turn on the oil pump ( pressing down the accelerator all the way and then turn the key) then start it up and drive to the nearest petrolstation and fill it up as modern petrol has a tendency to go off and then check tyre pressure and you are ready to go. I wish you a successful operation.

[Phil74891]

hornbaek said:

I have a couple of cars and most are store if not for the entire winter than at least 3 - 6 months. My best experience is to leave them with a trickle charger and possibly overinflate the tyres a couple of psi and nothing more.

I would advice against giving the car a wash and then put it away. If it is not bone dry when stored you can end up having a number of issues such as sticking brakes or condensation in some electrical parts etc. If you want to wash it before you put it away you need to go for as long drive afterwards to let it dry properly. When you get back, the procedure should be to turn on the oil pump ( pressing down the accelerator all the way and then turn the key) then start it up and drive to the nearest petrolstation and fill it up as modern petrol has a tendency to go off and then check tyre pressure and you are ready to go. I wish you a successful operation.

Perfect advice. Works for me too.

I’ve been abroad, are we still in the EU?

[higpots438]

Thank you all for the info. Much appreciated. Will leave on charge ,handbrake is never on in the garage .

[Emilio Largo]

hornbaek said:

If you want to wash it before you put it away you need to go for as long drive afterwards to let it dry properly.

... and then of course you can start washing it all over again - it´s a dilemma obviously and I don´t have the answer to it.

My method last October: I washed it, towelled and blew it thoroughly dry with my AirForce Blaster Sidekick and put the AM indoor cover on. As it is a larger special garage for collectors´ vehicles it took me 10 - 15 min. anyway to get the car on the elevator and manoeuvring it back and forth on to its parking space. My main dealer said this should be o.k. to get the condensation out of the exhaust system and I should not worry. Having done this, I put the cover on.

Three months later I detected this:


All of the three little screws in each of the four wheel arch liners are rusty. Strange for a new car that has never seen rain or snow, isn´t it? No rust anywhere else. Inferior quality of these particular screws or too much humidity or did I possibly put the cover on too early? I don´t know.

Phil74891 said:

I’ve been abroad, are we still in the EU?

Yes, you are still in the E.U.

[PatCub]

Get the screws replaced with stainless before they give any trouble later on.

[anonymous-user]

The best thing i found for ensuring a car (or bike) is bone dry for storage is an airchamber. Great bit of kit.

https://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/air-chamber/ai...

Put anything in it with the fans running and a small radiator for heat and it does the job perfectly.

[stevenotwet]

I didn't mention, that as part of the washing and drying its blow dried and the garage is also dehumidified. So I don't worry about missing bits,
I also put a light spraying of ACF50 under the bonnet on electrics and other bits.