Winter Car Storage

[craigwalton]

I've had my 1992 Scirocco Scala (90,000 miles) for about 5 months now and am thoroughly enjoying it. I bought it when living in Milton Keynes but now living in Edinburgh where the weather can be a lot worse. With the worst of the winter months probably January-March, I'm wanting to find out what everyone's thoughts are on winter car storage. I've researched car covers (~£150), viewed a small garage for rent (~£140/month).

Being a student, £140 a month for a garage is quite a lot of money. On the other hand, being a student, big repair bills in spring won't be nice! I still intend on driving the car at least a couple of times a month.

What are people's experiences regarding storing older cars over winter? Does a garage make a big difference, worth the cost?

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[DannyH]

There' no need to store it i've had mine 10 years, it's a daily and never been stored in the winter.

[mark1gls]

£140 a month is a lot for a garage, I put a wanted ad in my local news letter and I pay £40 a month the garage has electric and enough room for my car and three quarters of another Scirocco behind it (that's where some of my tools and stuff from the house lives) but I do live in rural Somerset.

A garage is good but you still will be damp in there over the winter unless it's heated and sealed so you do need to still use the car or open it up and a dry sunny day to dry it out this is what I would go for and avoid car covers as they can damage the paint and trap damp in, you may be better of just leaving it uncovered if left outside.
My 1988 Mk1 Golf cabriolet (same underneath as Mk2 Scirocco) is my daily drive and used throughout the winter and I give it a good check over and clean before and after winter that's never been welded underneath the 21 years I've owned it so they do last if used in the winter months.

[the edmundator]

If you aren't going to use a car, a garage is definitely better than keeping a car outside.

You say you'll use yours a couple of times a month - I'd aim for once a week to keep things ticking over nicely, and make sure that at the very least it's a journey long-enough to get everything up to normal operating temperature (which is going to be a longer journey the colder it is). At least you'll have reasonably good access to excellent driving roads up in Scotland.

Essentially, keep it used and keep it clean and you should be fine.

No doubt garages will be extortionate in Edinburgh as property prices are generally high. However, the local council garages will almost certainly be cheaper than private - assuming there are any available. By way of example, private garages in Bedford are at least £30/week, whereas the Council charges £50/month.

[hiltow]

For proper storage, a nice airtight brick garage with a dehumidifier running all the time is the absolute best, though I suspect this won't be within means.

Storage in a garage will always be better than outside under a cover, though not as much as you would think. Any garage, especially concrete, will have dampness in the atmosphere and codensation during winter that will affect your car. When it's mild (raining) it will be 77% or so humidity in there, but then what happens is that frosty clear conditions usually follow. The garage then takes the best part of a day to adjust temperature and humidity because it's a largely sealed atmosphere. Condensation then forms on the car as a result, which is worse when the reverse happens.

If a garage isn't an option, then storage under a good cover has benefits over being in a damp garage because the air temperature and humidity changes more quickly outside than in a garage, thus not giving condensation time to form / drying it much more quickly.

I store my other car outside and under a Halfords premium cover all year she not in use, whichn is typically between 7 and 21 days at a time as I use public transport to commute to work. There is never any dampness or damaged paintwork. My car's fairly new and worth five figures, so there's no way I would continue to do this if it were damaging it.

If you do use one of these covers, make sure the car is off the road on a drive and that you are able to check it every day. Trap the slack of the straps down with bricks to stop the wind chafing them against the body.

Polish the car before storage. Inflate the tyres to 2psi above normal. Close the air vents. Check it regularly and start bit up / give it a run when the roads are bone dry and there's no salt on them.

I'd you do use, road salt is you main enemy, which means washing it off thoroughly underneath with hot car shampoo water. This I'll be onerous though and washing so frequently might cause rust in itself.

Finally, you could store the Scirocco properly under a cover and keep a good eye on it, but go and buy a cheap old banger for the winter. It will be cheaper than renting a (damp) garage.

[craigwalton]

Thanks for everyone's input - much appreciated!

From this new information, I've decided to ditch the garage hunt (unless a significantly cheaper, maybe council owned, garage pops up). Instead, I will store the car outside the flat. I'm going to invest in a good quality cover which is able to dissipate moisture and also has windows for the reg plates and hideously large Edinburgh City Council parking permit. I'll see what I can do to prevent straps chafing the bodywork.

I will take the car out for a long enough drive to get all systems up to temp about once a week. I'll wash & wax the car when possible. I'll clean the underside and look into getting some underbody sealant at the start of winter.

Immediate job is to get a new radio antenna as something tells me I won't get a cover on if it doesn't retract...

[james butler]

like most people have said these cars are pretty solid (better than most this age).
i have also left mine open to the elments the last 8 years with no issues, but i do use it 3/4 times a week.
i wax oiled mine when i first got it to help prevent rust issues starting as well as every year give the car a real good polish and then wax after.
this will keep most of the weather out.
the biggest issue as has allready been pointed out is lack of use.
cars that are left and not used for long periods of time simply start to corrode or rot, this includes tyres, water pipes, and a hole load of seals drying up and cracking causing oil/water leaks on the next startup.
then theres the brake system which will be seizing up and relies on movement to keep it working.
so as rule of thumb if you dont use it you will lose it.

by the way if your replacing the ariel, get an electric one, they are awsome.
machine mart sell a pop up garage which i use to do up my project cars but you would have to errect it on private land. its not secure but will definately keep the worst weather out.
https://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/prod ... garage-gre
for the price your paying you could have a new one every 6 months.