Leaving my car; Long Term storage advice?
 

Hey guys, so Im going to medical school this may, in the island of dominica. I will be back in the US a year and a half later doing clinicals in miami. I thought about selling my car but couldnt do it so I will be leaving it in the garage here until I come back.

What should I do as far as leaving it in the garage for all this time. any advice? should I have someone turn it on now and then? put something under the tires? cover it, or what? and what should I do once it comes out, besides oil changing it and driving it.

Thanks

btw I thought about taking it with me but transport was $$$$ and they drive on the wrong side, and roads are crap down there.

A year and a half! Damn bro thats a long time. At a minimum, wash and wax (good) and have the interior leather conditioned. Change the oil and fill the tank with high octane fuel with Sta Bil gas additive and run the car so the Sta Bil is in the entire system. Jack the car and spray lube on the exposed strut surfaces. Raise the top and remove the battery and cover it up with a good cover. Hopefully you have a secured facility to store it in, and have it insured for comprehensive at a bare minimum.

Upon return; change the oil, replace the battery, wash the car and drive like hell!!

Thanx for the advice. I will really miss it and it may be stored for more than a year and a half depending where I go after. I currently have 31,4xx miles on it so it would be like new when I drive it again. I have the Porsche car cover and it will be indoors.

what gas additive would you recommend? I heard its bad to add a gas additive. I know of a gas station here that has 98,100,110 octane gas, but dont know if its safe to use it. :D

Also is it bad to have the top down with a fleese-like cloth between the rear window, and have the hard top on?

thanx

Wow, the choice of 98, 100 and 110. Safe to use? Damn right, I wish I could find it, I'd use it. Read this site about Sta-Bil gas stabilizer, http://www.parkeryamaha.com/fuelconditionerqanda.aspx . It will give you mixing ratios and will keep your gas good for a year and a half.

Raise the top to keep it tight and stretched, folded will permanently instill creases and possible damage.

i would store the car on empty fuel.

I'd definitely not leave the top down. They can shrink and be difficult to get back up again.

Absolutely not. You want to minimize the possibility for condensation to occur. As to the use of higher octane (likely "race") fuels, I'm not sure. I can tell you that AvGas (aviation gasoline, not jet fuel) is FULL of stabilizers and can be stored almost indefinitely, unfortunately for you here, it is also full of lead. To be safe I would just use premium pump gas and use a fuel stabilizer, like Sta-Bil. Just make sure to run the engine enough to get it all the way through the fuel system, and when you do start the car upon its completion of storage, I would not drive it hard until you have had a chance to get all the old fuel through the car.

You may find some help
 

In the Boxster In Winter article here . While it applies to winter storage, many of the suggestions advanced over the years are applicable to any long term storage.

Pull the battery and give it to someone to use, buy a new one when you come back. Don't use the battery maintainer for that long. Keep some form of insurance. Seal the exhaust pipes, both side air intakes and partially open front hood with painters tape to keep critters out and yet let you into the battery compartment. Clean car, polish it and cover it with a soft breathable cover.

On return, drive very gently to a mechanic after replacing battery, removing tape and resetting tire pressure. Then change oil, change brake fluid, and again reset air pressure in tires.

I would sell it and put the money into a CD account, come back a year get that money plus interest + have a degree and be set to buy a 987....

Do NOT put the car on jackstands - the suspension will suffer.

Pull the battery out of the car, put on a maintainer, leave the fronk trunk ajar, be sure you have your radio code.

Fill with 92 octane fuel and stabilzer, run car just enough to push the mix through the entire fuel system.

Add desicant to the cabin.

Leave top up, crack windows about 1/8".

Leave parking brake off, car in neutral w/ blocks under front wheels.

Change oil just prior to storing, run car only enough to circulate the new oil - less than 5 min.

place wax paper under the wiper blades so they don't adhere to the glass.

Leave the car, do not start it during the interim.

Treat seats with leatherique rejuvenator oil prior to storage and leave on until you retrieve the car.

do not lock the car.

inflate tires to 59 PSI

mothballs or rodent traps strategically around the car.

Put your porsche silverguard cover on after washing and drying the car thoroughly.

Another good tip:

Park on a thick (4 mill) plastic painting tarp (you can find at Home Depot or like).

All good points to take into consideration. Don't waste your money on high octane fuel; it will loose it's octane as it sits (race gas looses a good portion of it's octane in just two weeks after the barrel is opened).

I prefer Sea Foam to Stabil, for what it's worth; but definately add to the fuel so it doesn't varnish. Your tires probably won't be much good, so plan to just replace them upon return.