I've had a lot of people coming to me lately asking what the best method is to store your car.

I've had a few ask about putting the car up on jack stands to keep it off the suspension.

I've had a few say that unless you put plastic down under the car, or at least wood or rubber or plastic under the stands, this is bad and will contribute to the rust if on a concrete floor.

I don't do this, I just drive it up on rubber mats, attach a battery tender and start it every couple weeks, letting it run for about 20 minutes, and weather permitting, I drive it around the driveway to get it off where it was sitting on the tires and rotors.

I've had others tell me this is bad, that it is smarter to simply let it sit as starting it like this can contribute to moisture in exhaust, engine, etc.

So, I thought I'd throw it out there to our experts to see what is good and bad.

Do tell.

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Well, storing a car in the first place is not the best for it. Of course, we all do it anyway, since it's better than putting winter miles on it.

You don't want to keep a car's suspension unloaded. Ideally, if you have a very crappy set of rims with bald tires that you don't care about, that would be ideal. Your nice tires could get a flat spot in them after sitting for a few months. In my experience, the flat spot tends to work itself out after a couple of weeks of driving.


If you're going to start it, 20 minutes is about as long as it takes to burn off all of the moisture, so you're doing that right. I personally put the car in storage and let it sit. Most bearing wear occurs at startup, especially after the engine has been sitting awhile and the crankshaft is dry and devoid of oil. So doing 20-some ultra dry cold starts in the dead of winter is the sort of engine wear that I want to avoid. That's just me.

I put the stock wheels back on and start it up once/month for about 30 mins. I've got a heated garage so the starts aren't at frigid temps. I put the battery charger (tickle mode) on a couple times throughout the winter. I also put a bottle of Stabil in the tank before I park it in fall.

Unfortunately, most of storing a car seems to be myth which is why people recommend a wide variety of procedures. I haven't had any issues with what I do so I'll continue doing so.

I drive it everyday, and if there is ice on it, I just put it in the garage for the night. works great.

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From Brixton Prison, Jebb Avenue London S.W. 2 Inglan