Going out of town for a month, car parked outstide..checklist?

[5Toes]

Cover vinyl in this for protection

http://www.303products.com/shop303/index.cfm/category/65/303-aerospace-protectant.cfm

It is great stuff buy it here

http://www.autogeek.net/303aerprot.html

[nrubenstein]

My perfect dash cracked within a couple weeks of using 303. I've come to the conclusion that these old dashes do not welcome any chemicals at this stage if their lives. It probably would have been great from the beginning, though.

That said, clean the car and close it up. Do not crack the windows, no matter where you live. Maybe fill the gas tank and disconnect the battery if you feel like being enthusiastic. Other than that, there's not much that's worth doing short of a car cover or at least a dash visor. 5 weeks just isn't long enough to think that hard about it.

[TurboJake]

Put car on car bricks and remove wheels. Then it looks like it has already been fucked with, and no one else will do anymore fucking.

^QTMFT^

Fill tank. 5 weeks doesn't merit stabil at 10+ gallons, Throw in a can of seafoam instead. When you get back it will also clean your injectors and valves.

Car cover. So sun doesn't destroy dash, this will also negate the windows open (Get a gray cover, it won't get that hot inside then), and will prevent water from getting in.

Disconnect battery, never good coming home to a dead one.

Remove stereo faceplate.

Lock up. Be merry.

[TimR]

How bout a heavy wax job, and leave the wax on til you get back, cover, even the $40 autozone would work, does the RV centers sell a storage wax??? they sell 303

[BrooklynMW]

Once again, I can't afford a cover. But fortunately the car will be out of the sun in a covered spot. Also, like I said, I'm not really concerned with the exterior as it currently looks like shit anyway. I was mostly concerned with the interior, and the mechanicals.

Can a seafoam, hadn't thought about that, that's a great idea.

[Mossman]

am I reading this wrong? Are you leaving the car for 5 weeks or 5 years? Me leaving my car parked for 5 weeks would be the best/easiest 5 weeks it ever had.

Disconnect battery and go enjoy your trip ya silly goose

[CHIF8008]

the wax idea would only be good if you had a show car, and if you were gonna be gone a looonng time.

olive oil on a crack free dash will prevent cracking

[BrooklynMW]

am I reading this wrong? Are you leaving the car for 5 weeks or 5 years? Me leaving my car parked for 5 weeks would be the best/easiest 5 weeks it ever had.

Disconnect battery and go enjoy your trip ya silly goose

HAHA!! Very good sir, very good. Also reassuring. Just asking all the questions I can because it's the first time since my driving life began that I'll be leaving the car alone for more than a week.

Good to know i don't have to jump through too many hoops. I can go on tour with ease now.

[BrooklynMW]

the wax idea would only be good if you had a show car, and if you were gonna be gone a looonng time.

olive oil on a crack free dash will prevent cracking

And smell good too

[BrooklynMW]

Ok got one more REALLY STUPID question. And since I'm already openly admitting it's a stupid question, no need to remind me of that. I'm new to this whole thing and want to cover all my bases.

The car is just about due for an oil change in about another 2-300 miles. Should I change the oil before I leave it sitting for 5 weeks or keep the old oil in the car and change it when I return?



Also, Auto Zone has car covers for $30. Needless to say, they're not as good as the ones for $60 or $100, but I think the $30 one should be good for 5 weeks, no?

[Cabriolet]

us a cheap tarp and rope from walmart to cover the car. $5 out the door.
dont part on a street or you'll get towed.
disconnect battery
remove very thing that looks like its worth stealing
leave in park

its only 5 weeks. my old e30 sat for a year. not much of any issues other then a cracked dash.

[bimmershark]

here is how we do cars that are parked out side with no carport or garage..

-unhook the battery
-5psi extra in the tires sometimes a bit more
-a demoist agent (ill ask my boss what it is again)
-go to walmart and get that cheap project board stuff cut it to fit windows (side windows)
-sunshades in front and rear window..

and thats it..they sit there for 3 weeks to a month at a time and we have no issues

[BrooklynMW]

Thanks for the checklists fellas. Still, nobody answered my last stupid question.

-Should I change the oil before I leave it or when I get back?

Here's another:
-Should I take any special precautions if the car will be parked on a slight incline?

[ill4noreason]

You will be fine...

[AndrewBird]

I'm assuming you park the car on the street while driving it normally correct? If so, how is this any different then parking it outside for 5 weeks? It would see the same weather if you were driving it or not.

As far as the interior goes, I recommend one of these in the interior:



They pull moisture out of the air and collect it in a dish below. Works great. We use several in the winter when we store our summer car.

Also, I agree on not leaving the windows down. All that will do is let moisture in. Sealed up is your best bet.

And in the end, it's only 5 weeks. That isn't very long at all. Think about how long a new car sits on a lot before it is sold.