Prepare Your Car For Winter Storage

Many people have cars they only drive for part of the year. Being from a northern state I put my car inside to hibernate for the winter months. There are a few things you should do before calling it quits for the season to make sure your car is in tip-top shape when the weather turns nice again.

Don't fill up with gas

Gas goes bad really quickly and if you are going to just let it sit in the tank for the next few months you will have that much more crummy gas going through your engine when you start it again. Try and aim for about a quarter tank left before you store your car. Many people put Sta-Bil in their gas tanks. You can find it at any hardware store, it acts by stabilizing the gas and preventing it from going bad. It works for any gas engine, including lawn tractors and lawn mowers. Follow the directions on the bottle for how much to use.

Give it a good wash

Make sure to wash your car well before putting it away. Any acidic things left on the paint will eat through the clear coat. Tree sap and bird poop are worst things you can leave on your car. Plus, you want to enjoy your car when you get it out again, not spend time washing it.

Cover it up

Getting a decent car cover is a good investment, they will protect your car from dirt, scratches, bugs, rodents and other pests. If you don't want to spend that much just use some old cotton sheets.

Don't forget the battery

One of the most important things to save is your battery. You can either take the battery out of the car for the winter or hook up a maintenance charger, sometimes called a trickle charger. Many modern maintenance chargers have a circuit that monitors the voltage and only charges the battery when it needs it. If you take the battery out, don't leave it on the garage floor set it on something like a 2x4. A battery charger is a small investment to make to keep a battery healthy for longer. It saves you money and potentially keeps another battery out of a landfill.

Those pesky mice

I've had mice make nests in my car over the winter and it is a nasty mess in the spring. Set some traps or mouse poison around in the garage to keep the mice away if you won't be going in and out frequently. Some people recommend putting mothballs under or around the car. I made the mistake of putting them in the car and believe me getting mothball scent out of a car is really hard. Putting the hood of the car up will keep them out of the engine bay because they like the darkness and small spaces.

I hope this helps you enjoy your car and helps keep it nice for years to come.