Long term car storage....advice please

[take5]

My mum has decided that she is going to stop driving.

Which is a shame as she is a fit and alert 82 years young, and it will make things more difficult for her.

But, it is what she wants.

She wants to give her car to my daughter, which is lovely.

However my daughter is only 15, so another 18 months until she can drive.

The car is a Chevrolet Matiz. Mum bought it new in 2008, and has only done 20k miles in all that time.

So, its perfect for my daughter. Small, fantastic condition, known history etc etc.

All good, except we would need to store it for 18 months.

2 options I think

1) stick it in the garage for all that time, untouched

2) drive it on our driveway regularly to keep things working.

Can anyone advise on the best way to do this storage thing.

We would do the SORN thing. Not sure what happens yet with insurance, but will find out about that too.

Any advice would be most welcome

[CageyH]

Change the oil, stick it in the garage on axle stands.
Put it on a battery conditioner.

It should be fine. If you do start it, you need to run it until it is fully up to temperature.

[brian2957]

Cars need to be driven Brian . A regular short drive won't do it any harm and keep the mileage low . If you put it into storage all sorts of things can seize up and it could cost you a fortune to get it going again for your daughter .

[mikeyb]

You do realise that by the time she's driving she won't want it.

It's too old fashioned, no sat nav, no Bluetooth ( these will be her reasons not mine ) best sell it now and put the money away for insurance once she does start driving.

Trust me, been there, done that got the T Shirt 😉

[walpurgis]

Agree with both posts so far.

If you store it and put it on axle stands, put them under the suspension, not the floor of the car. That keeps the shock absorbers compressed and the shocker centre stem will not be exposed and start rusting. Consider draining fuel if the car won't be used. Modern petrol 'goes off' after about six months and the car may not restart easily. Use a trickle charger on the battery, but not all the time. Never let the battery go completely flat, as that can cock up the electronics on some cars. Keep a couple of windows down half an inch to allow air to circulate, otherwise the car will start smelling inside.

Cheap trickle charger here: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321063486058?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

The Matiz is a great first car for a youngster. She'll want a Golf GTi in six months though. :D

[take5]

Thanks for the good advice. much to think about

[Audio Al]

Bank the money when sold , Choosing a first car is important , your mum will still be the gift of a car as and when your daughter is old enough ,

[rdpx]

Insurance rates for young drivers these days are INSANE by the way. Like three zeroes.

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