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Old 11-04-2011, 11:29 AM   #3
Overdrive
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Central CT
Posts: 1,197
Garage
I'm with Brian, battery maitainer with the cigarette lighter adapter. You're actually able to run the cord through the bottom of the door's weather stripping, where there's a small cutout that allows the wire to exit the car and the door to still fully close. Starting the car and running it idling without actually going for a good, long drive will do more harm than good, believe it or not, so you should just stick with keeping the battery maintained. I don't have the luxury of storing my car indoors, so it definitely needs to be detailed and covered before it hibernates, and I'm only going to be keeping the battery maintained and tires inflated.

My recommendation if you're worried about critters getting into the wrong places, cut some soft foam inserts in the shape of your intake ducts on the car's sides, and stick those in there. That, in combination with the car cover should keep them out of those spots. The door will be closed with your battery maintainer used as described above, so no critters there, either. You just might want to wrap the cord in a little extra electrical tape or something in case they decide they want to munch on it, stopping your battery maintenance and bbq-ing themselves at the same time.

Dryer sheets are a great idea, as are moth balls for under the car (definitely keep em outside). I'd also recommend a small cup of baking soda in-car for moisture/odors, just don't forget you put it in there so you don't end up stepping on it or otherwise spilling it inside the car.

Fuel stabilizer for sure. It's really up to you what you want to do with the fluids. If you get the fluids done right before storage, they'll be fresh and only have sat for a short time, but unless your fluids are at the end of their life cycle, I wouldn't worry about changing them out before spring. That's just my personal opinion. My oil was changed in July, about a year and maybe 2,000 miles on it by then, and I probably won't change it until next Spring/Summer. It's got maybe 3,000 miles on it, if that, since the change. I've got no worries about the car sitting over the winter with what's in it now. Again, entirely up to you, as you'll hear advice from folks of both schools. The way I see it, neither is wrong, and neither method would really see you harming the car unless you haven't been taking care of it.
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