Leaving a car for 6 months in a garage

laissez-faire

laissez-faire

laissez-faire

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For a modern car (2007 Focus) - what would I need to do to leave it off the road for 6 months? Should I bother with a battery conditioner or should I just leave it be?
 
Just disconnect the battery terminals and it should be fine...

Probably best to leave the handbrake off and jam something under the wheels to stop it rolling.
 
laissez-faire said:
That sounds like a pointless waste of money?
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Of course its not. It's an utterly generic car (No, thats not an insult) - there are another 100,000 at least out there on the same plate with the same standard specification and the same engine. It will thus be very possible to buy another one the same as yours in every possible way for the minimum of fuss.

So sell now, buy in 6 months for less money. You'll even 'profit' on the whole thing.

It's only worth storing if obtaining another identical car is more hassle than storage.
 
Sell and buy another as said, you will profit and will even get the chance to change the car's spec or anything else you fancy at the same time.
 
laissez-faire said:
what would I need to do to leave it off the road for 6 months?
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a spell in sing sing perchance?

lots of good advice here

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/laying_up.html

including.....

Slacken the auxiliary drive belts, ie alternator, power steering, air conditioning, etc. Note: don't slacken the camshaft drive belt.

Place the vehicle on blocks or stands (to raise the wheels clear of the ground and unstress the tyres). If you can, remove the wheels and store them flat in a cool dark place. Don't leave a vehicle resting on a hydraulic jack, as it will slowly creep down.

when starting up the engine first time Check that nothing's nesting under the bonnet or has chewed through the pipes/hoses :eek:
 
all that is kinda OTT, unless you are leaving it a LONG time then just keeping the battery in check should do it. I was a little concerned about the tyres on the 300zx which had not moved for probably 18 months but on the drive to it's MOT it was just fine, no hint of vibration even up to quite high speed so I personally wouldn't worry about that. Never slackened the belts or anything daft like that.
For 6 months I'd just run the fuel down to nearly empty, park it up handbrake off and disconnect battery, then when ready to go charge the battery, put some fresh fuel in and drive.

Of course, on a 1 year old Ford the depreciation over 6 months will probably make the sell and buy another option an attractive one.
 
Get one of those automatic food and water dispensers from Pets R Us and that should do the trick, but make sure it's big enough to cope for 6 months.
 
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