If only putting your car into storage was as easy as locking the doors and calling it a day. However, cars are meant to be driven, and they don’t like sitting around. If you need to put your car into storage for an extended period of time, there are some things you should do to make sure your car is ready to go when you’re finally ready for it. You may want to leave your car in storage during the harsh winter months, or perhaps you’re shipping the car across the country and won’t be there to pick it up for a while. Whatever the reason, the process remains the same. We’ll walk you through the best practices for storing your car so you can be sure you can drive it when you’re ready.

Steps to Prepare Your Car for Storage

1) Fill the Gas Tank

It sounds weird since your car won’t be needing gas while it’s in storage, but it’s a good idea to fill the gas tank all the way. This will prevent empty hoses and tanks from creating moisture, which will in turn cause corrosion.

Keep in mind that gas doesn’t last forever. To prevent your fuel from going fowl, make sure to use a fuel stabilizer. These additives pull moisture from the gas and prevent oxidization. That way, it won’t gum up your engine. It’s really easy. All you have to do is pour the recommended amount into your gas tank and drive around for a couple of miles to integrate the compound into your fuel tank. Check your brand of fuel stabilizer for the amounts and how long you can leave them in storage.

2) Search for Leaks

This is a big one that many people forget. If you do have a leak and leave it in storage, you could be on the hook for hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in cleaning costs. In fact, some storage facilities and transport trucks won’t even pick up your car if it has a leak.

Luckily, making sure you don’t have any leaks is a simple process. Just put some cardboard under your car and leave it over night. When you wake up the next morning, check the cardboard. If the cardboard is clean, your car is leak-free. If it’s not, make sure to get that fixed before you send your vehicle to storage or transport.

3) Get a Tune Up

Like we said, cars don’t like sitting around doing nothing. If they’re properly maintained, then you won’t find any funny business when you pull them out of storage. A few check points could be:

• Change the oil (This could also be where you check for oil leaks.)
• Rotate the tires and check the air pressure (Leaving your car in storage could result in tire pressure loss).
• Add coolant, brake fluid, and transmission fluid (If you need to transport your car to the storage facility through extreme weather, then coolant is an absolute must.)
• Inspect the belts and hoses (These parts depend on age, not mileage. They could crack or dry out even in storage, so if you’re leaving your car in storage for a while, it may be best to replace them anyway.
• Replace the Filters

Remove the Battery

Leaving your battery hooked up, even if the car isn’t on, could shorten the life of your battery. Corrosion could build up while it’s in storage. It’s best to unhook the battery all together. The best thing to do is hook your battery up to a trickle charger to ensure everything is in order when you’re ready to reinstall it.

Clean it

Did some French fries find their way into the seat cushions? You don’t want anything inside your vehicle that may cause mold or mildew. If you intend to transport your vehicle before storing it, hose it down thoroughly when it arrives off the trailer. Shipping your car through open transport can cause the car to get dirty. You don’t want to store your car with a lot of dirt and grime on it. Long-term dirt could corrode the paint on your car.

You have Done all You can to Prepare Your Car for Storage

Now you’re ready to leave your car in storage worry free. Your car should be good to go when you’re ready to pick it up again. You don’t want to be miles away from your car and worry about anything. If you need to find a shipping company to send your car to storage Colorado Springs Car Transport is the perfect option. They are a reputable auto shipper that offers door-to-door shipping. This means they can pick it up right in your driveway and drop it off at your storage facility. Give them a call for an instant quote today!