Posted on 12/19/2025
Parking a car for months at a time is harder on it than driving it regularly. Fluids age, batteries go flat, tires develop flat spots, and critters start looking at your engine bay as real estate. If you prep the vehicle properly before it sits, you can avoid a lot of headaches, leaks, and no-start problems when it is time to bring it back to life. What Counts as Long-Term Storage? Most cars handle a couple of weeks of sitting with almost no preparation. Once you get into several months, or a season or more, you are in long-term territory. At that point, the battery will likely discharge on its own, fuel can start to degrade, and tires sit in one spot long enough to take a set. How you store the car also matters. A clean, dry garage is ideal, but many vehicles have to sit in driveways or storage lots. The longer the car will be parked and the harsher the environment, the more important it is to address the basics before you lock the doors and walk away. Flu ... read more