Car Storage (Porsche and others)

[GeorgeM]

I'm moving to Germany and will be shipping my Carerra with me. I am, however, thinking of storing my 2000 Dodge Durango (part time 911 DE tow vehicle). It will have maybe 30K miles when we leave. We'll be gone up to 3 years.

I've heard of over inflating the tires, filling the tank and adding fuel stabilizer, new oil, etc. Does anyone have any other ideas or experience in doing this?

I remember reading a post about synthetic oil not clinging to engine parts as well as dino, and if the car (or airplane in this case) sat alot, the internal engine components corroded. I use Mobil 1, should I be concerned about this?

Would it be better to just let it sit or have someone start it up and/or drive it around every so often?

Whatever info you folks have will be greatly appreciated.

If there's someone you can trust to drive it around on a fairly regular basis, then I think that would be best.

When I leave my cars for long periods of time, I put in fresh oil, and disconnect the battery. I also fill the fuel tank, to leave less space for condensation to form. I overinflated the tires on my Golf once, and it didn't seem to hurt, but I don't know if it helped either. My Beetle sat for two years with normal operating pressure in its tires, and they don't have any flat spots.

The problem is that when I go on a long trip, it's usually on short notice, so I don't have much time to put the cars to bed in between everything else. As a reult, I'm more careful bringing them out of storage than going in.

So, the least I can say is that a tank full of stabilized gas, a disconnected battery, and fresh oil are a good start. I don't know if dino or synthetic is best for storage, but someone here will!

[Overpaid Slacker]

George --

First of all, assuming your relocation relates to "USN, Deployed" thanks for uprooting your life in the service of our country.

Second, I've found that the worst thing I've done to a car is to let it sit, even under appropriate storage conditions, for long periods of time. It's cost me a lot of money to put the Alfa and the 2002 (which each ran perfectly prior to storage) back on the road after a couple of years of stasis. Moisture gets everywhere, and it's very very patient. And even if you put the car away with a completely full fuel tank, the gas will evaporate over time and allow moisture to creep in.

If you have someone you can trust to start it up and drive it long enough to get it to operating temperatures at least every month, I'd say do that, but then there's questions of insurance and the diligence of your friend (or, in my case, mom, who really let me down).

Just starting it up is better than nothing, but you want it driven some, to keep the drivetrain components lubed and loose and the suspension from "setting up."

Just a dumb question, but why not sell it and buy something else when you come back? A man with the taste and dedication to own and ship a Porsche intercontinentally can't be all that committed to a Dodge Durango.

- jPp

[Planter91C2]

i wouldn't store a dodge durango for 3 years, i'd sell it.

it will be worth a heck of alot less in 3 years from now driven or not.

[GeorgeM]

Thanks a lot for the info thusfar.

Daryl, selling it was the way we were leaning, but my wife volunteered her folks to keep it in a protected space, so storage itself will be free. That's when we started to consider keeping it.

The truck was a year old when we bough it, so the PO got to suck up most of the first year's depreciation. It would be paid for when we return, and we do like it. It would also obviate the requirement to purchase another vehicle right when we return stateside. We will already be having to find one for my wife since we're selling her '93 Corrado (if we don't get one at the factory and ship it back). She wants a ragtop, so I'm thinking a '97-'98 993 Cab. Even in three years, that won't be cheap.

So, there are some money issues there as well we need to work out.

jPp, you are correct. I'm actually deployed on the ship now (with less than a few weeks out of a 6 month deployment left), and will have 6 months at home before we move. Germany, although far from home, will actually be a very nice break (no big grey boats). It's not a flying job, but I need a break from that as well. We don't have kids, so we plan on visiting just about every country we can. We're looking at it as an adventure.

Thanks again for all the help. The decision is becoming tougher.