Eight Top Tips for Storing Your Classic or Performance Car

Owning a classic or performance car often means also finding somewhere appropriate to store it. The appeal of driving a 1960s British sports car with questionable electronics in the deep winter isn’t quite the same as on a balmy summer’s evening, after all. So, when it does come time to lay up your car for a few months, or if you’re looking for a permanent storage solution to keep it in the best possible condition for those rare weekend blasts, there are a few things you can do to ensure it continues to run perfectly. 

1.     Give it a proper wash

Prior to storage, wash and wax your car to protect the paint from dirt and potential corrosion. It’s also best to vacuum the interior, clear out all the storage areas and ideally condition your leather seats. The cleaner the car, the less likely it is to suffer from corrosion or attract pests.

2. Top up the fluids

Check your engine oil, coolant, brake fluid, and windshield washer fluid to ensure they’re at the correct levels. And if they’re not, top them up. Fresh oil prevents contaminants from settling in the engine, while full coolant levels protect the engine from rust and corrosion.

3.     Disconnect the battery, or keep it on trickle

‍Without fail a battery will drain during long-term storage, which can play havoc with electronics. And it also means you won’t be able to start it when you come to retrieve your car. You could also use a trickle charger – just like we provide at Birch– to ensure the battery remains topped up and in good condition.

4.     Tyre Maintenance

We recommend over inflating your tyres slightly above the manufacturer’s guidance, which will help reduce flat spots over months of storage. You could also consider using some tyre preserver to stop them cracking.

5.     Store in a safe climate

Ideally your storage area would be climate and humidity-controlled, or in a facility that can maintain optimum levels of humidity. Our facility at Birch is the ideal place to protect cars from extreme temperate fluctuations, which prevents rust and damage to the interior.

6.     Fuel Stabiliser

If petrol is left to stand for too long it can essentially ‘go off’, and it’ll damage your car when you come to start it up. Pour some fuel stabiliser into your tank and run the engine for a few minutes to ensure it circulates throughout the system.

7.     Routine running

Even during storage, it’s best to periodically start the engine and let it run. If possible, take the car for a short drive to ensure everything remains in working order.

8.     Leave the handbrake off‍

Manual handbrakes will no doubt cause the brakes to seize up over time if they are left on and will leave you with a headache when trying to move it. Leaving it off and putting it in gear (if it’s a manual car) is a great long term solution.  

For Ultimate Peace of Mind – Birch

The best possible car storage solution is a professional facility like Birch. With state-of-the-art security, climate control, and fire protection systems, your luxury car is stored in the best possible conditions.

And you can drop in any time during our normal opening hours – or outside of them by request – to pick it up, or swap it for one of your other cars.

You can read more about our unique features here [INSERTLINK HERE] to discover if our world-class storage facility suits your needs.