Steps to protect your car in storage

There are a number of reasons why you may want to take your car to a storage company that offers reliable vehicle storage services. This may be the only option you have when you need to travel and stay away for a few months. However, paying for a parking space in the vehicle storage facility you choose is not enough to keep your car protected. Here a few steps you can take to enhance the safety of your car while in storage:

Change the oil filter and oil in your vehicle

If you plan to leave your car in a storage facility for a couple of months or years, it is important you change both the oil in the car engine and the oil filters. The best thing to do is to choose premium fuel over regular oil. Regular oil contains ethanol, which has the ability to release water into your car tank, which will lead to corrosion and rust as a result of condensation. Premium oil contains no ethanol, which makes it safe for use when you wish to leave your car parked in storage over a long period of time.

Check your coolant level and leave your tires inflated

Make sure every fluid your car uses is at its normal level, and make sure you don’t leave any of your car tires low on air pressure. When storing your car, cold air can bring your tire pressure to the lowest levels, so you may consider over inflating those tires slightly to keep them from being punctured while in storage.

Clean your car

Take your car to your car wash or do the washing yourself if you can. Make sure you give the interiors a very detailed cleaning. Make sure no food item is left in the car as you do not want squirrels and rodents invading your car and messing things up before you return. Bring out all your foot mats and carpets because they will get musty if left inside for long. You don’t want to come back and meet your beautiful car infested and smelling awfully.

Roll your windows down slightly

This is only for cars parked in garages in the storage facility. Make sure you do not roll the windows down too much, rolling them down a little will ensure adequate ventilation in the car to keep away bad smells. You can also stuff your exhaust pipe with a piece of clothing to stop little crawlers from building their little home down there.

Get a battery maintainer

A battery maintainer is a simple battery charger that will come on automatically once in a while throughout the duration of your car’s stay in the vehicle storage facility. This will keep your battery from dying while the car is in storage.

Release your car brakes

This is important to ensure you car never rolls away before you return. You can also put some stones behind the tires to prevent any rolling attempts.

Taking these steps will ensure your car stays in pretty good shape for as long as it is in storage.