Advice : leaving my car in -10*C with snow for a week

mr tommo

mr tommo

mr tommo

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On Friday I'm travelling down to the French alps (Val d'sere) in a 2008 Vauxhall Vectra 1.9 cdti. The car will be parked in an uncovered car park for 7 nights.

Conditions are around -10 wind chill and actual temperatures will not exceed 1*C at any time.

Do I need to make any special preparations for the vehicle? Obviously I'll have antifreeze in the jets but what about the radiator? Do I need to cover the bonnet?(as was suggested by a friend)

Can't seem to find the right google search terms to pull up any information on this unfortunately but I know a few of you go across skiing/boarding.

EDIT : it's an auto so figured I'd be best leaving the handbrake off and sticking the car in park?
 
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If you were to leave it there for four months and I could give you all sorts of tips :p

Took me two days (in between skiing, ciggie and beer breaks) to dig mine out as it was encased in solid ice up to the windows, swapped the battery pumped up the tyres and the mighty Saab fired up on the first turn of the key.

Ahh sweet memories :) - Enjoy Val Dizzle
 
It'll be fine. Just remember to leave the shovel and brush outside the car ;)

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Should be fine if the coolant is in good condition - I.e. hasn't, for example, been topped up with water so much that it is water.
 
Wind chill only affects living things.

Anyway, you'll have no problems. Maybe take a booster pack if you've any concerns about your battery, use Gummi pflege on all the seals before you shut it up too and make sure it's got the right amount of antifreeze.

You can leave the handbrake off if you want but it shouldn't really be an issue for that amount of time.

Left my Firebird out in similar conditions and that was just fine :p

 
Liampope said:
Should be fine if the coolant is in good condition - I.e. hasn't, for example, been topped up with water so much that it is water.
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Guess I could just smell it??

thepharcyde said:
Worst I'm going skiing at Val d'sere as it must be colder there than anywhere else in the Alps right lol.

-10 is nothing

Enjoy the skiing :)
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That's what the skiing/boarding thread in Sports Arena is for!

Will Gill said:
If you were to leave it there for four months and I could give you all sorts of tips :p

Took me two days (in between skiing, ciggie and beer breaks) to dig mine out as it was encased in solid ice up to the windows, swapped the battery pumped up the tyres and the mighty Saab fired up on the first turn of the key.

Ahh sweet memories :) - Enjoy Val Dizzle
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Thanks, not been before. Did Val T in April and enjoyed that. Hopefully its not too expensive!
 
Make sure your antifreeze is rated down to -10(more preferably) as quite a few are just down to -4 which is fine in the UK but could be iffy left in the cold for a week without a run
 
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