Cars do not wear out from being driven nearly as fast as they rot from being parked. Every long layup is an opportunity for moisture, ethanol, flat-spotted tires, seized brakes and rodents to do work that driving would have prevented. The good news is that a proper lay-up takes an afternoon and pays for itself the first spring.
Before it goes away
Wash and dry the car completely, including the underside, and get it properly dry before it goes under any cover. Road salt and dirt left on paint and in seams for six months is corrosion with a head start. Wax the paint if you are storing for a season or more. Clean the interior thoroughly, because crumbs are an invitation.
Change the oil and filter before storage rather than after. Used oil carries acids and combustion byproducts that sit against bearing surfaces all winter, and fresh oil is the cheapest protection the engine will ever get. Check the coolant strength and the brake fluid, which absorbs moisture over time.
Fill the fuel tank most of the way to reduce the air space where condensation forms, add a fuel stabilizer, then run the engine for ten to fifteen minutes so the treated fuel reaches the carburetor or the injection system. Ethanol-blended fuel is the specific problem on an older car: it attracts water and attacks old rubber. If you can get ethanol-free fuel for the storage fill, do.
The parking itself
Park on a hard, dry surface. A concrete floor with a vapor barrier or even a simple plastic sheet under the car makes a real difference in a garage that sweats.
Inflate the tires above normal pressure to reduce flat-spotting, or put the car on jack stands at the proper lift points if it will sit for more than a few months. Do not leave the parking brake engaged, since drum shoes and disc pads can bond to the drum or rotor. Chock the wheels instead.
Take the battery out or put it on a proper maintainer, not a trickle charger that cooks it. A battery left connected in a cold garage will be flat and sulfated by spring, and a battery left on the bench with no charge will be dead too.
Deal with pests deliberately. Steel wool or a plug in the exhaust tip and the air intake, with a bright tag on the steering wheel reminding you to remove them, keeps mice out of the places that matter. Set traps around the car rather than inside it. Do not leave dryer sheets, mothballs or food anywhere near the interior.
Finally, cover the car with a breathable cover. A plastic tarp traps moisture against the paint and does more harm than no cover at all. Leave the windows cracked a few millimeters in a dry garage so the interior can breathe, and closed if there is any humidity at all.
What not to do
Do not start the car once a month and let it idle for five minutes. This is the most common piece of bad advice in the hobby. A short idle never brings the engine hot enough to boil off the water and fuel that condense in the oil, so you finish with more contamination than you started with, plus a fresh cycle of condensation in the exhaust. Either drive the car properly for twenty or thirty minutes, or leave it alone.
Waking it up
Work in order, and do not start the engine first.
Look underneath for a fresh puddle and for evidence of animals. Open the hood and check for nests in the air cleaner, on top of the intake and around the exhaust manifold. Remove whatever you plugged.
Check every fluid level and look at the condition of the brake fluid and coolant. Refit the charged battery. Check tire pressures and inspect the sidewalls for cracking, remembering that tires age out on a date code rather than on tread depth.
Before cranking, if the car has sat for a long season, it is worth priming the oil system where the design allows it. Then start it and let it warm up while you watch for leaks, particularly at the brake and fuel lines and the water pump.
The first drive is a test, not an errand. Go slowly, brake gently several times at low speed to scrub the rust film off the discs and free the shoes, and listen. Expect some smoke and a sticky clutch at first. Then drive it properly, for long enough to get everything hot.
Book the year's service while you are at it. The maintenance interval planner will tell you what is actually due.
Storage needs vary by model, particularly on cars with known fuel system, brake or electrical weaknesses. Garage, Galley & Hangar writes a model-specific owner's reference manual for every car in the catalog, with the layup and service detail that model needs. Browse the cars catalog.
