I know, we were seriously considering going single-car (we also have a minivan), but (a) the occasional use pops up with less notice than a rental can be gotten (I should look into a cab option, but we're in a suburban area where cabs are very rare, but maybe it's easy enough to call for one, I've never tried), and (b) we want to hang on to the car for when our oldest son will be able to drive it in a few years, which would mean he can drive his siblings to and from school and other events, which would make life a whole lot easier!

There is no guarantee your oldest son will want to drive his siblings, or even himself, anywhere in a few years, and quite a bit of anecdotal evidence to the fact that he might not. You want to have it both ways. Sorry, that advice from the other poster is where I'm also leading you. Dump the car if you aren't driving it. But, if you fight that, and evidence suggest that you might, then consider other advice you received upthread: fill the gas tank, rather than let it sit 1/4 full. If the car is eating batteries there may be an electrical fault or designed in source of current draw that is running it down. Find it and fix it or if it cannot be fixed, disconnect the battery, as advised, but also keep it trickle charged, also as advised. This probably belongs in Car Free Living but I'm not going to out you.

H

Well what the eldest wants regarding driving siblings is irrelevant. If that's what the family needs, that's what he will do. (I'm assuming that even though CA forbids underage drivers from having underage passengers without a 25+yo chaperone, there is a family/sibling exception to that rule).

I briefly considered posting this in Car Free Living, but thought I'd get hounded out of there for living with a car.

Yeah, your query will have a happier life here.

So, I know that MMM would recommend "storing" your car on Craigslist until you need one for your son to drive, but if it'll be soon enough, and you like that car specifically, it probably wouldn't be worth the hassle.

Ha, yes, MMM would have me change my life in many ways that I am not following (most significantly having cable TV). I'm just proud I've gotten this close to single-car.

I know you said that you are parking in the middle of a parking garage, but if the spot gets sun at all, you could think about a solar charger. My old VW has one that plugs into the cigarette lighter. If you haven't figured out your car's battery leaking problem, you probably won't be able to hook up a battery disconnect switch. They DO however, have automatic disconnects that disconnect the battery if it senses a battery drain (and you can still keep your radio settings.) Personally I'd just disconnect the battery every time you park it, it only takes 20 seconds and you can keep the 10mm wrench in the car. When you come back, just buy yourself one of those portable jump boxes. They're heavy as heck, so you'd have to find a way to transport it on your bike however.

Anyway, if the car does get sun make sure you use a sun shade. Also, if your tires get sun, make sure you cover them. UV damage is the largest cause for tire degradation on not-often-used cars/trailers. A piece of cardboard will work just fine.

Other than that, don't worry about it. My car sits under a cover for 4-5 months every winter, and it's fine every spring. (I do remove the battery however.)

Finding what's causing the drain is easy. Hook a multimeter up between the battery terminal and the thing that usually sits ON the battery terminal. You want it on the amps setting, probably the 10A setting at first to be safe. Once you see that the current is < 10 amps, you can use the lower current setting (usually 400mA) So, disconnect one side from the battery, hook up the multimeter in between the battery and the wire. (12V cannot hurt you, don't be afraid.) Then go to your fuse box and start pulling fuses. DO NOT TRY TO START YOUR CAR. You will destroy your multimeter. Once you pull a fuse the significantly reduces the current being drawn, you know that's your problem. I think anything less than 100mA is normal for a newish car. My old 93 car draws 40-100mA and it sits for relatively long periods just fine.

Why on earth would you assume this? To do so shows that you don't get why the law was passed in the first place. Hmmmm. Given the evidence (experience) of others in your situation I would think (hope) that you would WANT an ironclad law with no wiggle room. Teens are terrible drivers. Period. Your insurance company knows it even if you don't. FWIW. True, I did not think about the hostility of the LCF forum to an o.p. like this. As it develops, however, it is raising my blood pressure, although I am far from being a car free zealot.

My son did your routine with his VW Jetta for about 3 years and then sold it wishing he'd done so a lot sooner. Some things he learned. VW's have a well known larger battery drain than other cars, never found out why. If you let it drain too far you'll find your battery toast. VW's can get mold inside when sitting too long. With yours in a covered garage this might be less of a problem. My understanding is that this is not uncommon with a number of cars and that routinely opening doors and driving them dries out the areas where the mold begins so that's why it's not considered a real problem. Insurance is a lot less for no car than one car. Your car was worth a lot more when you first thought about selling it than when you finally decide to do so three years later. A lot of the things that you thought you needed a car for can be handled many other ways when you don't have a car. Carshare is wonderful. You sleep better when you're not worried about what to do with your car.

Yes, I purposely park in the middle of the garage to avoid sun (except maybe a few oblique dawn/dusk rays). Thx for the electrical tips, that's good info for diagnosing battery issues.

If it gets too much for you, there's a little dropdown menu to the upper right called "Thread Tools", once you find it click "Unsubscribe" and your blood pressure should return to normal.

Yes, teens are horrible drivers. (I am a much better driver now at 44 than when I was in my 30s!) I assumed that teens driving with friends they want to impress are the biggest problem, not so much with younger siblings that an uppity eldest wants nothing to do with. I guess being violently allergic to younger siblings has its own potential for driving distractions as well.

Anyways, I looked it up, and as far as I can tell (a) siblings are not allowed, except (b) there is a small list of exceptions, including siblings in the case that alternative transportation is a "hardship" for the parents, and the parents write a note to that effect. So practically speaking, teens can drive their siblings if parents write "hardship" and a few other words on a piece of paper.

Thanks, all very specific and helpful, except for my case the car's value is not changing much anymore, I started bike commuting when the car was about 10 years old, now it's about 12.

*This*

(Everything else is basically nonsense.)

Also since it looks like you have a landlord, make sure you understand what their regulations are. Where I live, they require all cars to be driveable. Sometimes they arrange for a parking lot to be "cleaned" and order all tenants to move to another parking lot for a day. Those cars that do not get moved, get towed. Fortunately my car always managed to turn over and amble to a different parking lot.

One time, I saw a notice on my door about it the evening before I was to leave on a 4 day trip. Had the notice come a day later, I would have had to pick the car up at the towing lot at much expense. I also have a nice handcart that made getting batteries from the local auto parts store easier. But I took pity on the car and sold it two years ago.

I was about the type the same thing. The last car my mother had sat for long stretches in the driveway and the rotors rusted/pitted and the calipers seized up. Pretty expensive fix.

I don't have a car (car-free for life), but i think i can help you..!

You wanna look at your coolant hoses and inspect for dry rot. Wiper blades should be kept inside the car and attached when car used vs left out in the elements. You should run it every 4 days or so for about 15 minutes to let the coolant & other fluid systems circulate. Unhook the battery if you plan to leave it for more than 3 weeks and simply re-attach the leads when you go to use the car or start it or you could end up with a dead battery out and about even if it starts initially. Get high mileage or heavy duty synthetic oil put in, it will not gunk as easily over time. Check power steering fluid levels, as that tends to evaporate or leak through older seals. One last thing, is get a cover for it, one you can put into a bag, keep the bag in the hatch/trunk. Covering it is probably the most you can do for a car, even one in perfect condition, because water is the arch enemy of stored vehicles. Keep tires inflated to minimum pressure, and check to ensure your brakes have good pressure and not too much brake pedal travel. The parking brake should be left on and the shifter in park wheels put straight.

Good luck!

- Andy

I don't agree with having tires at minimum pressure and parking brake left on, not for a car sitting for a long time. Why would you suggest those things?

And inspect for critters. Your car may end up begin a home for furry little things that like to nest in the dry, protected engine compartment while
gnawing on the electrical wiring. You don't need to live by a forest or in the mountains for this to happen, trust me.

+1. And running the engine every 4 days is even more ridiculous than every two weeks -- my regularly-driven car sometimes goes much longer than that to no ill effect.

I agree with much of the rest though, checking the hoses and fluid levels is pretty common-sense stuff.

[MENTION=369902]TransitBiker[/MENTION]

I do not agree with the need for starting the car every four days. My cars have gone that regularly for years without starting every four days.

You have claimed almost never use nor have had a car, what are you experiences? Not attacking just curious your experience.

[MENTION=251447]ThermionicScott[/MENTION] [MENTION=301784]PatrickGSR94[/MENTION]
To play Devil's advocate, I assume Andy meant do not let the tires get too soft, not necessarily deflate them.

I agree cars should be driven to keep things lubricated and working, but a few weeks is when I would start to worry about the battery and after several months I would worry about the fluids and grease.

[MENTION=252435]RubeRad[/MENTION]

Have you considered getting rid of this for a car share? I am not sure the availability but it may be something worth considering or looking into. I know my father used it when he would travel and work out of the Carlsbad area. Do they let minors use them I guess is a question.

Except for keeping gas in the tank. My first car sat outside in a backyard for at least 10 years and started right up when I got it from the seller. I know because he was my neighbor and I had lusted after that car (280Z) all through my teens. There was so much rust and crud in the gas tank however that it never really ran right and eventually killed the engine and I had to walk away from it. That was my first lesson about buying cheap used cars... from neighbors. In my defense I was young(ish) and poor and eager to hit the road. But, really, cars can sit a really long time with little or no attention and be just fine.

H

I may live car free, but i know cars more than most people short of those who work on them for a living. Same with rail, bus, aircraft, and marine stuff too, but i'm not a conductor, pilot, bus driver, or sailor.

Starting the car every few days is recommended by everyone i've ever talked to that works on them, so talk to them about that, not me.

- Andy

Well, the tires are going to deflate all on their own. i've been told by people who actually store and ship cars that keeping them at minimum pressure on 4 jack stands or even taking the wheel off entirely and storing them inside is better for the sidewall, which tend to dry rot and crack. That is their logic not mine. If you don't put the parking brake on, and something runs into it, it will move a lot farther, plus it could potentially cause problems with the transmission. I had a friend to which this happened and the shifter was stuck in park afterwards. 1200 bucks and 3 weeks later it was drivable again.

I've grown up around tuner car culture and body and mechanic shops, you really tend to learn by the other people's mistakes.

- Andy

When it comes right down to it, internal combustion engines are "happiest" when run continuously and never turned off. The vast majority of wear comes when starting a cold engine. But, especially in cold weather, it takes a while for the engine to reach the optimal temperature and boil off the water vapor and fuel dilution, so all of these well-intentioned running cycles can do more harm than good. That's why it's best to limit them, and make them count when you do them (highway runs are best.)

Chocking the wheels is the superior method. Leaving the parking brake engaged for long periods of time can lead to brake parts rusting together.

I think a bunch of us got on the wrong track with your use of the term "minimum" -- upon another reading, I think you mean a certain level that they shouldn't be allowed to go under, which does make sense. Most of us just keep them pumped up to max.

+1 less frequent, longer run cycles are preferable to frequent short runs. It takes a while to heat the oil and exhaust system long enough to boil off any trapped water. It also takes some time to recharge the battery to peak levels, after the idle drainage, and what was lost when starting.


Even modern cars, which do have some battery drain can handle at least 2 weeks sitting around. If not, people couldn't park them while on vacation. Odds are they can handle a month, otherwise the car makers would be flooded with complaints. But it does take some driving time to fully recharge.

So plan on a destination trip once every few weeks or so, like loading up the bikes and heading up to Pendleton for some low traffic riding.