How to store your car the right way

Whether you are putting a car away for the winter or finally bringing home the project car you waited years for, how you park it matters as much as how you drive it. A stored car is not resting. Fuel ages, the battery drains, tires sit on the same patch of floor, and anything left on the paint keeps working on it. None of that is hard to stop. It just has to happen before the car goes to sleep, not after.

The eight steps

These are the essentials, whether the car spends the season in a heated garage or on a driveway pad. Most of them take minutes. The oil change and the fill-up are easiest on the car's last drive before storage, so plan that trip first.

1. Deep clean before storing

   Sap, mud, bug splatter and bird droppings can damage paint if they are left to sit, and a stored car gives them weeks to do it. Wash the car thoroughly, including the wheels and lower panels, and let it dry completely before it is parked. A coat of wax adds a layer of protection for the months ahead.

   Then do the inside. Vacuum, wipe down the surfaces and take out every wrapper, crumb and bottle. Food left in a parked car invites mice and insects.

   While you are thinking about pests, close the obvious ways in. AAA suggests sealing the tailpipe and the engine air intake with steel wool, or copper wool, which rodents like even less.

   TipLeave a note on the steering wheel listing everything you plugged or disconnected, so nothing is forgotten on the first start.

2. Look after the battery

   A parked car slowly drains its battery, and the goal is to keep it at a full charge until you need it again. You have two good options. Connect a battery maintainer, a charger built for storage that brings the battery to full and then holds it there. Or disconnect the negative cable.

   A maintainer is the easier choice for most modern cars. Disconnecting works too, but expect to reset the clock, the radio presets and any seat memory when you reconnect. If you store the car every year, a quick-disconnect terminal makes this a thirty-second job.

   TipNot every charger is built for months of storage. Choose a maintainer that switches itself to a holding mode once the battery is full, rather than one that simply keeps charging.

3. Fill the tank and add fuel stabilizer

   Gasoline breaks down as it sits. Consumer Reports notes it can start to go bad in as little as three months. A full tank also leaves less room for air, and less chance of condensation forming inside the tank.

   Fill up with fresh fuel, add a fuel stabilizer at the dose on the bottle, then run the engine so treated fuel reaches the lines and injectors. STA-BIL's own directions say five minutes of running. AAA suggests driving five to ten miles to circulate it.

   TipStabilizer keeps good fuel from going stale. It cannot reverse fuel that has already gone bad, so add it to a fresh tank.

4. Save the tires from flat spots

   A tire that carries the car's weight on the same patch for months can develop a flat spot. Raise the pressure above your normal setting to stiffen the tire; AAA suggests about 10 psi extra. Never go past the maximum pressure printed on the sidewall, and cold weather lowers pressure, so check them once a month.

   For a long stay you can take some of the load off. Tire cradles or squares of foam board under each tire help, and a lift takes the weight off completely. If you use jack stands, place them only at the lift points shown in your owner's manual.

   TipSet a reminder to bring every tire back to the pressure on the door placard before the first drive.

5. Cover it with something that breathes

   A plastic tarp or a cheap non-breathable cover can trap moisture, condensation and heat against the body, and under a sealed layer that can lead to paint damage, mildew, rust and corrosion. A good cover keeps dust, debris and bumps off the car while letting damp air escape.

   Match the cover to where the car sleeps. Indoors, the job is dust, dings and the scuffs of a busy garage. Outdoors, the cover also has to stand up to sun, rain and wind while it breathes. The cover goes on last, over a car that is clean and dry.

6. Change the oil before storage

   Used oil carries acids and contaminants, and left sitting in an engine for months it can cause corrosion inside. If the car is due for an oil change, or close to it, have the oil and filter changed before it goes away.

   For a stay of a few weeks this can wait. For a whole season, it is worth doing first.

7. Leave the parking brake off

   A parking brake held on for months can rust and stick in the applied position. AAA's advice is simple: do not use it for storage.

   Instead, put an automatic in Park or a manual in gear, and set wheel chocks against the tires so the car cannot roll out of position.

8. If it lives outside, get it off the grass

   Grass and bare soil hold moisture and give it off all season, right under the floor pans, brake lines and everything else underneath. A concrete pad is the best outdoor surface.

   No pad? Lay heavy plastic sheeting under the car to slow moisture rising from the ground, as AAA recommends, and for a sturdier base set plywood over the sheeting. Then cover the car with a water-resistant outdoor cover that breathes, and secure it against the wind.

   

Choosing the cover for where it sleeps

The single biggest decision in storage is the cover, and it depends on one question: does the car sleep indoors or out? An indoor cover is soft and close-fitting, made to keep dust off and protect the finish from the knocks of a working garage. An outdoor cover is a weather build: it has to shed rain, resist sun and wind, and still breathe.

When it is time to wake it up

Storage is only half the job. Before the first drive, undo everything in the reverse order, and take a slow look around the car before you turn the key.