Taking car off road

Skywalker

Skywalker

Skywalker

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Joined
3 Dec 2003
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brighton
On Wednesday I shall be taking the car off the road for 3 month due to me not being able to drive after Thursday . My question is what do I need to do to ensure when I do drive it , is it safe to drive after not being driven for 3 months ?

Is it best to disconnect battery when I take it off road ? Anything else to do when first taking it off road and anything when I start driving it again ,

Thanks Luke
 
Not sure it'll matter in the slightest for 3 months but ideally you want the wheels off the ground with handbrake off. If it was going to be offroad for a significant amount of time you'd probably want to drain all the fluids but you're talking years not months before that even presents itself as an issue.

To be honest I'd just park it up somewhere flat, leave it in gear with the handbrake off and forget about it
 
rodenal said:
To be honest I'd just park it up somewhere flat, leave it in gear with the handbrake off and forget about it
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This tbh. You could go one step further and run the fuel down low so that you can top it up with fresh stuff when you come to use it again (but not too low).

Will you be suspending the insurance and SORN'ing it too?
 
I have let fuel run down as wasn't sure what to leave in it incase and bits settled at bottom . It will be due a service when I am fit to drive again in 3 months .

Insurance runs out day of my operation so perfect timing and still has tax remaining so will sorn it as well
 
Surprised you didn't ask me given the status of mine!

Just start it every now and again and perhaps roll it forward. Where are you going to keep it?
 
Everytime I talk to you on facebook I get no reply lol

You are probably the only person that I would let look after the car David if you want to use it for 3 months you are more than welcome

I can put it on dads drive over the road as its the only place I know I can put it but its still out in the open , garage would be better but no one has one spare haha
 
Just leave it, don't start the engine up unless you're going to drive it up to temp. All this will achieve is bore washing it and rotting out the exhaust. 3 months is nothing really, only thing to be concerned about is the brakes rusting if it's left outside. Leave the handbrake off and cover the brakes if this is the case.
 
No, because if the handbrake rusts it could stick on.

If I were you I'd listen to all the above advice, only adding to maybe cover the wheels somehow so that the brakes don't rust too badly.
 
All tucked up on dads drive , left in gear and handbrake off , 1/4 tank of fuel , couldn't do the wheels as I cant do it , only down side its next to where mum parks so hopefully she wont hit it in her 20 year old Nissan lol
 
3 months is fine - don't start it, maybe roll it forwards or backwards to avoid flat spots on the tyres, but really 3 months is nothing. You might want to get a decent trickle charger to keep the battery in good condition, but again, for 3 months I wouldn't bother - you may have to jump start it when you come to drive it again though :)
 
I'm going to gate crash this thread rather than start my own... I'll probably lay my car up for a bit (up to 6 months) and won't be able to get the car on stands as it will be parked up close to the house. My drive is gravel, would it be beneficial to park it up on some old carpet tiles or will the gravel not cause any additional issues?
 
lordrobs said:
I'm going to gate crash this thread rather than start my own... I'll probably lay my car up for a bit (up to 6 months) and won't be able to get the car on stands as it will be parked up close to the house. My drive is gravel, would it be beneficial to park it up on some old carpet tiles or will the gravel not cause any additional issues?
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My car was off the road for three years and that was on gravel. I just rolled it about every couple of months to avoid flat spots on the tyres with no problems :)
 
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