Teach me about storing high-mileage cars

I have 2 cars. A 2001 F-150 with 233k miles, and a 1990 Miata with 132k miles. The Miata is new to me.

I cannot afford insurance on both at the same time, so I plan on only insuring one at a time, and transferring plates by season. The F-150 will be driven from October-March, and the Miata from March-October (autocross during that time as well). My main concern is with the F-150. I plan on driving this truck for many more miles. Will storing it for 6 months out of the year shorten its life?

Also, are there specific things I should do to each car before I park them for storage?

Thanks for your time and help.

Depends how it's stored, properly stored it will not suffer. For winter double dose the gas tank with marine stabil and top off, fog the cylinders, take the battery out and put it on a good maintainer, take some precautions regarding mice, should be no problem. For summer you probably neednt worry about mice or fogging oil. Indoors is better than outdoors.

If you store outdoors, you should get a car cover.

In reply to Mr_Clutch 42:

Yes, I did get a car cover, thanks.

In reply to Kenny_McCormic:

Great information. That was exactly what I was looking for. I will be sure to look into doing all that soon. Thanks!

If anyone else has more tips, please let me know.

Depending on where you live, try to find ethanol free fuel. In Mn it is sold as NON OXY 91. It holds up much better storage than the ethanol based fuels do

just take it for a drive to get it warm enough to get everything up to temp and park it.. put the battery in your basement, and don't look at the vehicle until you want to drive it again.

My experience has been that its not really a huge deal. Gas deteriorates faster in the heat of the summer than in winter, there is about a 50/50 split on whether you are better to fill the tank completely, or try to park it as empty as possible. I go for empty to limit the quantity of old gas, but I can see the "topping off to avoid too much air in the tank" argument too. Tires will go square, but they should round out in a few miles. Rust on brake rotors is probably the thing I've been bothered with more than anything. If its a complete covering, no big deal, but sometimes you wind up with rust just under the pad edges, and that will usually give you a pedal pulsation that won't go away. You will end up turning the rotors. Disconnect the battery, or get a storage charger. If it goes dead by itself, it was no good anyway.

I'd fire the truck up and go up and down the driveway once amonth in the summer.

Tires tend to lose pressure over time. So install higher pressures might work. Just keep an eye on them to help avoid the flat spots. I have never had a problem with ethanol storage in my mower and snow blower. Just add some "Stabil".

Mr_Clutch42 wrote: If you store outdoors, you should get a car cover.

Depending on where you live, you shouldn't. Car covers are a really great way to mess up the paint royally if you live in an area even with fairly low amounts of airborne dust. Out here you may as well cover the car in sandpaper...

You can spray the rotors with WD-40. I would spray the undersides with used oil if you have to store outside. Try not to park on grass in the summer.

How do you handle registration? Many states will fine you if a car you have registered has the insurance dropped.

ProDarwin wrote: How do you handle registration? Many states will fine you if a car you have registered has the insurance dropped.

wait what? That has to be incorrect.

they will fine you if you are driving it on public roads if insurance is required in your state. If he is trancfering the plates this is a moot point anyway.

Many of my cars sit for longer than that at a time and all I do is keep a battery maintainer on them and treat the fuel.

@ The op. Have you actually checked what it costs to add another car. Since I can only drive one car at a time the cost to add cars to my policy is less than $100 per car per year. Or less than $10 a month.

dean1484 wrote:

ProDarwin wrote: How do you handle registration? Many states will fine you if a car you have registered has the insurance dropped.

wait what? That has to be incorrect. they will fine you if you are driving it on public roads if insurance is required in your state. If he is trancfering the plates this is a moot point anyway.

If I take insurance off a vehicle in AZ, I will get a letter from the DMV ifI do not switch the title to Non-op. You have to file paperwork as well stating why you do not have insurance on it. They do fine you for not doing it and you have to pay it before they will renew the registration next time.

Do you get a new title or is it a change in registration status? Or is the title the registration in AZ?

I have checked how much it costs and this is the most practical way for me to go. And I am not worried about having to provide a reason, and if I have to, I will just say repairs. I have extensively researched the rules on this in my state and I know exactly what I have to do regarding switching plates and such when that time comes. I appreciate all the responses and help!

i just park them where they stopped and start them back up when i need them. it's never failed me, except for that time i forgot that i had more 30/70 than 50/50 and it got to -15 degrees and E36 M3 cracked

former520 wrote:

dean1484 wrote:

ProDarwin wrote: How do you handle registration? Many states will fine you if a car you have registered has the insurance dropped.

wait what? That has to be incorrect. they will fine you if you are driving it on public roads if insurance is required in your state. If he is trancfering the plates this is a moot point anyway.

If I take insurance off a vehicle in AZ, I will get a letter from the DMV ifI do not switch the title to Non-op. You have to file paperwork as well stating why you do not have insurance on it. They do fine you for not doing it and you have to pay it before they will renew the registration next time.

every time i read stupid stuff like this, i'm glad i live in MN where the vehicle registration laws make sense. they don't care if you have a vehicle insured as long as you don't drive it on the road, they don't care if it's registered if it's not being driven, and they don't ding you for the years that you don't register the vehicle. also, there are no safety or emissions tests, and the cost to register anything more than 8 or so years old is a flat $35 a year..