Here's How To Store Your Car For A Long Time
Soumi Roy 09-10-2025
Table Of Content
Before long-term storage, disconnect the battery or use a trickle charger. If you are unsure about the health of the car’s battery, then a vehicle history report (like AutoHealth) can confirm battery life. Ensure the tires are overinflated to the maximum PSI mentioned on the sidewall of the tires to prevent flat spots. If the vehicle will be in storage for more than a month, consider using jack stands. Finally, pest-proof your car by removing all food items from the car cabin and block entry points like the tailpipe with mesh, but remember to leave a note on the steering wheel to unblock it later..
So, you are heading off to that much-needed vacation that you have been planning for a while? That means you have to store your beloved ride for a while now, huh?
Well, fret not. We know that long-term parking almost always has detrimental effects on electromechanical contraptions like cars. But if you follow certain steps, you can minimize or even keep your car completely immune to the ill effects of long-term parking.
What are those steps you ask?
Well, they are mentioned below!
Do Not Forget To Take Care Of The Car’s Battery
Before storing your car long term, make sure that you disconnect and remove the battery from the vehicle and store it inside your home. If that is out of the question, then the least you can do is connect a trickle charger to the battery of your car from the moment you park the vehicle till you come back from your vacation. If you recently bought a used car and don’t know whether the battery is a new one or it is in its last leg of operational life, then you can always refer to an AutoHealth report. A document that can offer all pertinent details of a car in no time!
To Avoid Flat Spots In Your Car’s Tires
When a car is left parked for a while, its own weight will weigh down on the tires, which in turn will lose air pressure gradually.
The outcome is that the tires will start developing flat spots on the tread as well as the sidewalls. You can prevent this from happening by overinflating the tires of your car to the maximum limit mentioned on the sidewalls of the tires. The extra air inside the tires of your car will give you enough time to complete your vacation, come back, inflate the tires to the recommended pressure, and drive off to the sunset, or sunrise, depending on the time of day!
If you will be away for more than a month, then you can suspend your car on jack stands in a bid to prevent unnecessary wear of your car’s tires and its suspension system.
Pest-Proof Your Car!
A covered vehicle has tons of places for critters to build a nest or hide food. Just make sure that something like that doesn’t happen with your beloved car. All you have to do is first block all entry points to your car, such as its tailpipe, with wool or mesh. However, when you do this, make sure you leave a Post-it note on the steering wheel so that you do not forget to unblock the tailpipe after coming back from your vacation.
The next order of business is to ensure that your car’s cabin is completely free from food items – packed or open!
Follow These Steps To Safely Store Your Car
Safely storing your car for an extended period is impossible if you fail to execute even a single step mentioned in this post. You are essentially putting your car on hibernation, and you have to make sure the vehicle can be resuscitated when you come back home! With that stated and out of the way, if you recently bought a pre-owned car and you are going to park it for an extended period, make sure you pay attention to its vehicle history report. Why? Well, in this way, you can refer to the vehicle history and take necessary measures to help prevent it from breaking down when parked for a long time!
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