Preparing your car for storage

Are you thinking about putting your car into storage for a while?

Moisture, temperature, unwanted creepy crawlies – These are all things you’ll want to keep in mind before you store your pride and joy away for long periods of time.

Storing your car isn’t as easy as locking the doors and leaving her to sit quietly – but rest assured and read on, we’ve got a checklist for you.

This is the list we use when your vehicle comes to us for storage, adapted slightly for you to follow if you’re looking to store your car at home.

Whether storing in your garage or a rented unit, the checklist will help you preserve your car properly when storing for long periods.

To retain a vehicles value over long periods of time, it will be important to preserve paintwork, interior and small components alike.

Proper preservation will also save you money on parts that can be costly or difficult to source too – especially for anyone who has an older or fairly rare car or motorbike.

Let’s dive in.

1) Safe wash to remove dirt and road grime

Before you do anything else, make sure both the exterior and interior have a high quality safe wash.

This includes arches, underbody, paintwork and interior hoover. Ideally you’d dry the exterior with a forced air blower but we know not everyone has one of these hanging around in the garage so instead:

2) Leave your car uncovered for 48hrs (indoors) to ensure moisture evaporation

The last thing you want is to cover your vehicle or enclose it in your storage space too soon and humidity increase higher than recommended levels

If you do want to give your car the 5 star detailing treatment you can book in with the Classicwise detailing team, just pop over here to see our maintenance wash packages

3) The Damage Report

The purpose of the damage report is to check for scuffs, scratches and interior dirt.

You might just want peace of mind that no-one has caused any damage whilst in storage

Or you might come across something that will only get worse whilst stored away – in which case you can take it out to the relevant service provider to get fixed.

For example – You notice a particularly deep paint chip that might begin to rust without attention. Pre – storage is a good time to get that corrected, to preserve the paintwork.

4) Apply a battery conditioner

Why is this important?

Lead-sulphur deposits build up inside car batteries when a vehicle is left unused for a long period, which reduces a battery’s ability to hold charge.

The battery conditioner increases the ability to hold charge by targeting these deposits, preserving the life of the battery and reducing the likelihood of needing a replacement when you’re ready to get back on the road.

A battery conditioner ranges from £40.00 – £100.00+ depending on the brand and retailer. We use the Ctek range

5) Levels checks – oil, coolant, fuel, tyre pressure

We check and log all levels when your car enters our storage facility.

Oil, coolants,brake fluid, fuel and tyre pressures – mainly to ensure they meet manufacturers levels and ensure there are no issues when running the vehicle up to temperature or moving after long periods. If there appears to be any visible leaks we can identify and fix any problems quickly. Any changes in levels are logged in our system on a fault report.

It’s also useful to keep note that vitals are in good shape in case you decide on an impromptu Sunday drive out – the last thing you want is a flat tyre or low oil ruining your drive.

6) Get a good dust cover

Your cover should be soft and breathable to prevent moisture build up and rust. We use a soft fleece material with elasticated edges, they protect your car and look good too.

7) Last but not least. Routine checks

Prepped and ready to be stored safely, the final steps on your checklist are to keep an eye on your car.

Our storage team is on site daily to carry out battery checks and regular run up to temperature on each vehicle.

Depending on the individual needs of each car, we may also take vehicles out for a spin on a dry day to keep things ticking. This is all dependent on the car in question and always a favourite part of the job (who doesn’t love the opportunity to take a beautiful car for a spin)

There is a lot more to storage than just the car itself – the environment has to be right too of course. For more details about this head over to read our blog The best conditions to store your car here

What about when you’re ready to get back on the road?

Once you’re ready to take the vehicle out of storage, it’s good practice to check levels, tyre pressures, MOT/service dates and valet to make sure everything is in tip top shape.

Need some advice about your classic or prestige vehicle?

The team at Classicwise can help with more than just storage. We’re specialists in sales, brokerage and detailing too. For any advice about your vehicle – give us a call us on 01636 375 911 or send us a message