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Laying up for winter

bobi61

Well-known member
Joined
13 Mar 2016
Messages
149
Hi guys wonder what you think about taking my 997-1 off the road Nov-Apr. What should I do to keep the car ready for use as it is now I only use the car at weekend and every now and then I miss a weekend. Any advise will be appreciated

Bob
 
if the car is going to off the road

depends on how secure the car is going to be, i.e. in a garage or outside, ideally the former

- leave it in gear with the handbrake off, with the wheels chocked
- have the battery attached to a trickle charger
- will assume the anti-freeze concentration is fine
- stick it on a SORN and get a tax refund
- cover the car even if it's inside a garage
 
I am really lucky I have a garage that has a access road that is gated and locked so no issue re security I was thinking do I start it back it in and out etc etc every month say ??
 
And over inflate tyres - particularly rears - to stop flat spots.
 
All very practical and sensible, but too early!!

Like selling Christmas decorations in the shops, this topic should be banned until the beginning of November. - too depressing :nooo:
 
bobi61 said:
I am really lucky I have a garage that has a access road that is gated and locked so no issue re security I was thinking do I start it back it in and out etc etc every month say ??

These days it's not how secure your car is......it's how secure your keys are. Put more effort into hiding them than securing the car.

Also, you might wanna put a mouse trap under the car with a big lump of chocolate on.
 
Well failing to prepare is preparing to fail whatever the time of year still not a deffo but all comments really helpful !!
 
bobi61 said:
....... do I start it back it in and out etc etc every month say ??

No. Just put it on a trickle charger and leave it.
 
That time already?

It seems that this question pops up every year.
OP, have a search of the forum, you will find plenty of advice about laying your car up for winter and plenty of advice for not laying your car up for winter.
You might even find Alex's advice when he first posted up using chocolate to catch mice, or Martian's good advice, or GT4's good advice. It's all there. :thumb:
 
I'm often away for a few months so when longer periods away I usually pump the tires to 3,5 - 5 bar, battery tender and a car cover (indoor garage). Nothing else and why should you.

Before I additional pulled the fuel pump fuse and when back after a few months, start without full pump fuse to build op oil pressure in tappets and pumping oil around prior firing up. To lazy for that now..
 
911UK said:
if the car is going to off the road

depends on how secure the car is going to be, i.e. in a garage or outside, ideally the former

- leave it in gear with the handbrake off, with the wheels chocked
- have the battery attached to a trickle charger
- will assume the anti-freeze concentration is fine
- stick it on a SORN and get a tax refund
- cover the car even if it's inside a garage

I'm pretty sure if you SORN a car now the Insurance is no longer valid.....
Has to be a different type of policy I think. I looked into it last year and read something in the small print that made me just keep it taxed as it was less hassle for a few months tax rebate.
 
The first reply has all the advice I would offer.

No benefit in starting it on occasions, you'll just end up diluting the oil with petrol causing bigger problems.

@neil_99. Not sure I follow your comments. As I understand it a car has to be insured, if taxed. But just because its SORN doesn't mean you can't use traditional Insurance. Why would they care if its parked in a garage for X amount of time without leaving, that pretty much the case for any weekend toy, parked for 99% of the time.
 
neil_911 said:
I'm pretty sure if you SORN a car now the Insurance is no longer valid.....
Has to be a different type of policy I think. I looked into it last year and read something in the small print that made me just keep it taxed as it was less hassle for a few months tax rebate.
I have three cars currently SORN'd and fully insured and I've never heard of this. Cars sat in garages eliminate the road risk aspect reducing the insurer's risk so I'd have thought they'd be more than happy to insure a car that goes nowhere whilst charging for a full, "road-going" policy. Of course, policies are also available for cars in storage at reduced rates without road-risk.

Lex said:
As I understand it a car has to be insured, if taxed.
I don't think that's even the case any more - it used to be that to tax a car it had to be MOT'd and insured, but now it seems the government's decided they'd rather just have the money than have a mechanism in place to prevent uninsured drivers - lack of a valid tax disc used to be a flag to PC Plod that no tax is in place and that often went hand in hand with no Insurance but now there's no tax disc many uninsured people simply take their chances with ANPR detection. From what I can tell the only thing that will stop you taxing your car online is if there's no valid MOT.

Anyway, back to the original topic; increased tyre pressures and a battery monitor will suffice. Obviously a decent environment would also be advisable and having heard of mice eating through costly wiring looms etc it may be worth laying out and monitoring rodent traps if there's any risk of rodents getting in. Although increased tyre pressures should avoid flat spots (and modern low profile tyres are less prone to it than the old, squishy tyres) I tend to periodically roll mine back and forth as and when I'm in the garage tinkering about.
Oh and if you're putting it away straight after a wash, be sure to dry off the brakes with a quick run up the road to avoid the pads sticking to the discs.
 
You are probably correct, and its me that misread something.

I probably read it as an untaxed vehicle is considered Insurance invalid.

Yeah, you're right a car in a garage is less likely to be damaged by use on the road. But who pays out if your garage catches fire? :lol:

All i know is Insurance companies will do ANYTHING to not pay out, for the sake of saving a few hundred quid over winter, Is it really worth it if they refuse to pay out for whatever reason.

As long as its Taxed, Insured, MOT'd. I can sleep at night :lol:
 

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