Taking car off the road - Advice

Freakbro · 23 Mar 2020 at 13:24

Due to the Coronavirus and a drop in income I'm going to take the Zed off the road and store it in a friends garage for the foreseeable, as it's a luxury and running two cars at the moment is an expense I don't need.

So I'm going to SORN it and cancel the insurance of course, but I'm wondering what's best for storing it medium to long term.

I was intending to disconnect the battery, take the wheels off and put it on axle stands.

Anything else I need to think of?

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · 23 Mar 2020 at 13:26

Worth running the fuel down so you can top up with new as soon as you want to run it if it could be off the road for some time

Freakbro · 23 Mar 2020 at 13:32

Good shout, cheers

Thankfully Hastings insurance are waiving the £45 admin fee to cancel the policy!

sovietspybob · 23 Mar 2020 at 14:11

I'd run the fuel as low as you can or use a bottle of fuel stabiliser which will probably have its own directions regarding how much fuel to leave in the tank.

I'd leave the wheels on but jack it up and leave it on axle stands so you don't get any flat spots, then disconnect the battery. Depending on the environment maybe leave the windows down a bit so you don't get mould or anything growing on the inside as that is pretty horrible to clean up.

That's all i've done on cars left 12+ months before, when you come to start for the first time i'd probably disconnect the crank sensor or similar so you can crank it over a few times to get oil to everywhere before firing it up.

keylion · 23 Mar 2020 at 14:19

What are you doing about insurance whilst it is in storage, such as for fire or theft? It is something you are just going to take the risk on?

Scythe · 23 Mar 2020 at 14:21

https://www.theaa.com/driving-advice/laying-up

^ this summarises nicely.

Basically:

Put car on axle stands & increase tyre pressures a bit.
Windows slightly open to vent interior.
Add some concentrate to washer fluid if you use dilute or water to ensure the washer tank won't freeze (unlikely as we're going into summer).
Fill the fuel tank to the brim, this reduces the volume of air in the tank to induce corrosion, if storing for longer than 6 months then I use a fuel stabiliser.
Disconnect the battery & store it in your house (warm temperature), alternatively consider investing in a smart charger (I recommend CTEK chargers) and leave it plugged in.

Joe T · 23 Mar 2020 at 14:43

keylion said:
What are you doing about insurance whilst it is in storage, such as for fire or theft? It is something you are just going to take the risk on?

This is my question too. With Fire and Theft policies often costing about the sames as Fully Comprehensive, I dont see a saving here (for me anyway)

Shawy · 23 Mar 2020 at 14:43

As above, but with the handbrake left off.

Freakbro · 23 Mar 2020 at 16:48

keylion said:
What are you doing about insurance whilst it is in storage, such as for fire or theft? It is something you are just going to take the risk on?

Just take the risk, it's not that big a risk tbf but one reason I thought about taking the wheels off, more hassle to knick

Shawy said:
As above, but with the handbrake left off.

I generally do that anyway and park it in gear, it's not a daily driver so it helps a bit with the brakes binding

Thanks for the replies

sigma · 23 Mar 2020 at 17:14

If you have any silicone lubricant I’d spray it on window seals and maybe other trim to help stop them drying out.

I’m sure you’ll do it anyway but I’ll say it. A good wash and polish would do no harm as long as it’s dried nicely before going in.

sigma · 23 Mar 2020 at 17:16

Freakbro said:
Just take the risk, it's not that big a risk tbf but one reason I thought about taking the wheels off, more hassle to knick

You could always remove a coil as well.

andicole0 · 23 Mar 2020 at 17:25

I would look for stored vehicle insurance, when I was building a kit car cover was not very expensive.
Andi.

wingman · 24 Mar 2020 at 08:49

We're a two car family with very little need for either at the moment, but I'm thinking of removing the insurance and SORN'ing my car as that should save £60 a month. It's only worth £2k market value, and in a few weeks probably 50p.

Anyone else doing similar?

ci_newman · 24 Mar 2020 at 10:27

wingman said:
We're a two car family with very little need for either at the moment, but I'm thinking of removing the insurance and SORN'ing my car as that should save £60 a month. It's only worth £2k market value, and in a few weeks probably 50p.

Anyone else doing similar?

Yep, I did the same with my Leon last week. SORN'd and insurance cancelled, we'll do the weekly shop with the wifes car until all this blows over.

~ £1k market value too, so risk with no insurance is quite low.

wingman · 24 Mar 2020 at 10:51

ci_newman said:
Yep, I did the same with my Leon last week. SORN'd and insurance cancelled, we'll do the weekly shop with the wifes car until all this blows over.

~ £1k market value too, so risk with no insurance is quite low.

Thanks chap. My thoughts too.

Just ringing my insurance but the queue is up to half an hour, I guess many others are having the same thoughts.

Easy enough to SORN online nowadays?

ci_newman · 24 Mar 2020 at 11:11

wingman said:
Thanks chap. My thoughts too.

Just ringing my insurance but the queue is up to half an hour, I guess many others are having the same thoughts.

Easy enough to SORN online nowadays?

You'll need your V5 for the document number, but yep SORN was easy peesy online.

Del Lardo · 24 Mar 2020 at 16:14

Any issues with using a battery conditioner (Ctek plugged into cigarette lighter socket) on a BMW with Stop/Start? Car has already been sat for 3 weeks and likely to be sat for much longer.

Scythe · 24 Mar 2020 at 17:05

Del Lardo said:
Any issues with using a battery conditioner (Ctek plugged into cigarette lighter socket) on a BMW with Stop/Start? Car has already been sat for 3 weeks and likely to be sat for much longer.

I had my F30 320D on a CTEK for 9 months by the jump start point under the bonnet (I ran the CTEK under the car so it remain connected with bonnet shut), no issues.

Regarding the cigarette lighter, this website suggests charging devices are not suitable for the cigarette socket on M4's, I imagine other modern BMWs will be similar. https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1045637

Is there any particular reason why you don't want to use the crocodile clips?

Del Lardo · 24 Mar 2020 at 17:54

It's very easy to plug charger into the garage and the charger into the socket in the boot. I'll have to see if I can find where I put the crocodile clips in the garage and dig out an extension lead

Frozennova · 24 Mar 2020 at 21:48

Del Lardo said:
Any issues with using a battery conditioner (Ctek plugged into cigarette lighter socket) on a BMW with Stop/Start? Car has already been sat for 3 weeks and likely to be sat for much longer.

Double check the battery label as some of the F-Series chassis cars have a lithium battery

Scythe said:
I had my F30 320D on a CTEK for 9 months by the jump start point under the bonnet (I ran the CTEK under the car so it remain connected with bonnet shut), no issues.

Regarding the cigarette lighter, this website suggests charging devices are not suitable for the cigarette socket on M4's, I imagine other modern BMWs will be similar. https://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1045637

Is there any particular reason why you don't want to use the crocodile clips?

Most likely due to the above. The M4 has a Lithium-ion battery