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I've owned my car since 2013 and every year for winter it gets stored until spring. There's MANY ways people store cars and some are more beneficial than others, but here's some techniques I've heard:
- Jack stand the car so the wheels don't go flat
- Stabil or some other fuel stabilizer in the gas tank
- Ethanol free fuel in the gas tank
- Fill the gas tank full
- Battery tender
- Cover
- No cover
- Moth balls in and/or around the car to keep pests out
- Peppermint oil on cotton balls in and/or around the car to keep pests out
- Battery out
- Battery in but disconnected
- Leave doors unlocked in case battery dies
- Leave trunk popped in case battery dies
- Change the oil before putting it away
- Air the tires up to 40 psi so they don't develop flat spots
- Park it and come back later
I'm sure I'm forgetting some of the things people do but that gets you going. There's really no one way or combination of ways that will guarantee the best results, even though people swear up and down by their way. Personally when I pack my car away for winter I fill my gas tank full, if I can I get ethanol free fuel because it creates less condensation for the small void that is left in the gas tank on the trip home, I wash and clean the car up, put the tires to the upper level of recommended pressure (I chose 36psi), I cover the car, and then I leave it until spring. It typically sits late October/November through March/April. I replaced the battery this year because it was starting to get sluggish towards the end of last year and it was the OEM battery from July 29-August 3, 2009 that was placed in the car on the assembly line. I put stabil in it one year and nothing changed between that year and the following year when I only put ethanol free fuel in it. Actually the ethanol free fuel seemed to stay better. I've never put a battery tender on it and if the battery would die, you can jump it from the front or back of the car. My tires do get a little flat sitting for that long, but about 2 miles down the road they round back out. The main precautionary method I take when starting the car back up in the spring is that I let the car sit and warm up for 5 or so minutes before I move it. My philosophy behind that is that the car has been sitting for a number of months, the oils are drained back into their respectable reservoirs and it allows them to recirculate and recoat their necessary parts before the car gets moving again. No science behind that one, but it makes sense in my head.
I hope this helps some.
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