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Given the current guidelines, which sound like they could possibly extend for months rather than weeks, I've been wondering what I can do to make sure I still have a working car at the end of it. I know cars don't like to be sat for long periods, so is there anything I can do to minimise risk?
I'm thinking things like flat spots on the tyres, drained battery and gunked up fuel might be potential problems.
Any suggestions? It's parked on the road and I don't have a trickle charger, compressor or anything like that.
Drive it to the shops once a week
Tyres will be fine unless you actually have a puncture. You can top up with a track pump if really needed. Slow, but it'll count as your daily exercise. Fuel will be fine for many months. Battery is a potential issue, especially with a modern car. You could disconnect it which will save the battery. Might cause other issues though.
Biggest problem will be the battery in a modern car, if you have no charger it will drain if not given a decent run. Turn off keyless entry for sure as that wakes the car up every time you go near it, the car will switch on things you cannot see to speed up your motoring enjoyment..
A possible solution - if you know it will not be used at all is to disconnect the battery , that will prevent a deep discharge which would damage the battery, however you need to do that safely and be prepared for the car to act up a bit when reconnected - that is down to the specific car model/manufacturer, and there are some that you would need to avoid locking or leave bonnet catch open etc , so perhaps you could invest in one of the portable battery jump packs and use that to boost your battery every now and then (no starting) - will need to monitor battery voltage to do that so it will take a bit of research/checking.
Its a valid concern .
Doesnt diesel go off? Turns lumpy or something?
Vaguely related, in the last 3 days I've seen 5 parked cars with solo men reading books in the drivers seat.
Doesnt diesel go off? Turns lumpy or something?
No
It used the be the case is could wax in very cold condtions
Once the kids came along, our classics sat in the garage for many months with no flat spot issues. One year, one didn't move much almost from MOT to MOT. I'm not sure if you can get a car version of a solar trickle charger like for leisure batteries or if its any good. Trouble is it could highlight the car isn't in use and I was told to make sure the bonnet is open when charging in situ. Though this was from my Dad who cut his teeth on cars in the late 50s so it may be old hat these days.
Possibly one of those solar panel battery top up things?
I'd also operate the handbrake every week or so.
Good point about handbrake. I'd take it off and leave it in gear unless it's a steep hill
Fuel will be fine unless it's parked up for many years
On a related note - anyone know how to disable the electic auto-handbrake on a 2010 Peugeot 5008?
It's going to be sat for a while as small petrol car is being used for shop trips.
Drive is nice and flat so I could just leave it in gear, but every time I turn the ignition off the handbrake comes on automotically.
I’d also operate the handbrake every week or so.
Def ditch the handbrake and leave in gear.
I've kinda isolated my car. Washed it, cleaned inside, topped up the oil (none of these are real isolation things TBH) and charged the battery up...it was lower than I expected.
If we need to pop out we're using the little car.
To the OP. Tyres and fuel will be absolutely fine... Battery also probably depending upon age.
Check your manual pocpoc, there's bound to be a way.
If you can't find anything I'll ask my mate who owns a dealership.
Electric hand brake shouldn't be an issue as that uses motors and such to drive it. The problem is mechanical ones that can seize up if left too long.
Handbrake is already off (pretty flat round here). It's not that modern of a car, an 07 Focus so it's probably just the battery I need to slightly worry about. I'll have a look in the manual and see if it's safe to just disconnect it.
It’ll be fine. I haven’t touched my van since last autumn, sold the car the other week and just plugged the van in overnight, fired it up and away to go. Battery is a bit shonky but it always is in winter, have been meaning to change it the past 3 years but never bother and it’s still going!
https://www.topgear.com/car-news/top-gear-advice/how-look-after-your-car-when-youre-not-using-it
That article covers it all very nicely - from what to do if you have to leave your car in the street to if you can seal it in a bubble in the garage.
The likely use of ours will be once a month to do the big shop (is once a week really going as little as you can?).
I doubt we'll even need it to go shopping to be honest, I can see a little Sainsbury's from our window, it's ten minutes walk to Lidl and hopefully we might be able to get deliveries soon.
I've just taken my T25 westy for a spin round the block, its going sorn on Wednesday for the foreseeable. I'll still start him up every week and do a cheeky block trip just to keep him moving, he's 31 this year and starting to creak and groan as much as me.
(is once a week really going as little as you can?).
Some things don't last anywhere near a month, plus the limits on how much you can buy of any specific item is also time limiting.
Yes, we are experimenting with new food but doing a random supermarket sweep and then trying to make a meal out of it 3 weeks later is not what we as a population should be doing right now.
I'm probably going to be doing a big shop more frequently, but have cut out the popping to the walking distance local tesco express for a pint or a loaf when needed, which probably reduces my overall number of shopping trips.
Wondering about this with our little car; it'll be used every couple of weeks to get a shop in, but that'll be five/ten minutes each way so won't be enough to keep the battery topped up. Might get one of those solar trickle chargers.
its going sorn on Wednesday for the foreseeable. I’ll still start him up every week and do a cheeky block trip just to keep him moving
Is it worth the risk of multiple points, a big fine and increased future insurance costs to save a few quid by going SORN? Or is the cheeky block trip all on private road?
Just put some warning signs on like this so other cars know to keep clear.
When E10 fuel comes along we'd all be in trouble if we had to self-isolate - E10 petrol has a 4-6 week 'in tank' life before it separates off and you get an emulsion forming.
Electric hand brake shouldn’t be an issue as that uses motors and such to drive it.
Brother parked his car up for 6 months and when i went to move it the rear pads were seized solid - it's the pads not the motors that may be the issue.
E10 petrol has a 4-6 week ‘in tank’ life before it separates off and you get an emulsion forming.
It's really not that bad.
It should be fine. Our van sometimes sits on the drive for months over the winter, only issue I’ve ever had was the brakes corroded and ruined disc and pads. That was without the handbrake on too 🤷🏻♂️
I’ve just SORNED it though as I can’t see it getting much use for the next few months 😞
Petrol - goes "off" in about 6 weeks, the lighter components evaporate and the octane rating drops as a result. Best to run it down to as close to empty as you can, then only fill up with the petrol you'll need for the next 4 weeks. Then when you do need it and/or lock down ends just brim the tank with fresh petrol.
Diesel - can get bacteria if there's water in the tank. I don't think this is such an issue with modern fuel though? The advice is the opposite of petrol, brim the tank to limit the amount of air space so that it's not breathing in and out each time the temperature fluctuates drawing in moisture.
I leave my car on the charger semi-permanently (I've got an expensive charger that automatically shuts off after a while at float charge level) as it's frequently not used for a decent length trip for weeks or months at a time. If you just have a relatively basic charger, just plug it in for a day once a fortnight/month depending on how quickly your car drains the battery.
If it's a classic or being left for a very long time, take the spark plugs out, a few squirts of oil into each cylinder, and turn the engine over to distribute it and out the plugs back in. One of the valves is always open, which means one of the cylinders will rust if left long enough.
Electric hand brake shouldn’t be an issue as that uses motors and such to drive it. The problem is mechanical ones that can seize up if left too long.
The pads will rust onto the disk so you get a tsss-tsss-tsss-tsss-tsss noise as you go. Solved with a bit of elbow grerase and a wire wool pad to clean the disc, but easier if you can avoid it in the first place by leaving the brakes off.
,
Two weeks holiday, came home and car wouldn't turn over on the key. Alternator seized. Solution cut of aux belt, drive short distance to scrap yard - end of life fiat.
Unknown amount of time driving about in my works pickup, finally decided to drive my own car, brake caliper stuck on. Solution new caliper.
Car standing long time, started it at minus a lot (highlands), aux belt snapped. Probably past service interval, had recently bought the car, but I reckon the long stand and low temp played a part.
My cars move weekly because of the above experiences.
If you leave a car in gear,just place a towel etc over gear stick to remind you, or anyone else getting into car,incase the accelerator is pressed at same time,one of my elderly customers did that drove straight though rear wall of garage, destroyed car and garage.
Also with all these firms furloughing staff is your company vehicle still insured, have the relevant insurance,road tax,HP/Lease charges,been paid with staff off work,are you still allowed to drive a company vehicle,when not actually working for the company who supplied it as a perk/tool of the job etc.
What about fuel you pay for and claim back,if youre not working surely you cant claim for fuel refunds.
I always leave the car in gear anyway, comes from many years of battered old sheds with dodgy handbrakes.
I rarely use our petrol Dacia since we got the Zoé. I needed it recently so put a new battery on it as a precaution as the old one was six and a half years old (regularly charged). It started fine on 5-month-old E10 and ran perfectly.
towel etc over gear stick to remind you, or anyone else getting into car
Do you work in a pub?
How would someone else know that the towel meant it was in gear?
I thought one of the first lessons on starting a car was to check it was not in gear. Also having it in gear is back up on case the handbrake fails. For us that learnt on cars with cable handbrakes and ran classics. Especially Spitfires with their marginal at best handbrake.
If you’re furloughed then you are still employed and paid by the company. It’s just the company gets a grant from the govt to part pay your wages.
I doubt companies will be cancelling insurances, though if it’s due to renew imminently and the staff that do that are furloughed, could be interesting.
If it’s a perk car, no reason to not use it. Different story if it’s only supplied for the job and no private use is allowed.