3 Things To Do Before Storing Your Car Outside This Winter

Storing a car outside this year? Here are a few tricks we've learned that may help you have a happier spring.

Winter is coming and for many vehicle owners who travel for the winter or keep a car for sunny weekends that means storing the vehicle away. If you're new to this game there are a few things you should know, particularly if you are storing the car outside. Here are a few tricks that have worked for us we hope will work for you.

Glove Your Battery
If you want to be sure your battery is perfect come spring, use a battery tender. They will keep your battery ready to go and healthy. But what if you don't have access to power in the location you store the car? One option is to disconnect the negative terminal. This will keep the battery from losing its charge. You will lose your audio presets and clock settings, but those are easily reset. One thing we like to do aside from just disconnecting cable from the negative terminal is to then move it aside and also place a shop glove over it. These cables have a memory and like to return to their prior location. The glove helps make sure there is no flow of electricity if your cable moves back to rub against the terminal block.

Stuff It - With Steel Wool
Mice are pests that like to find warm places to next. Your car is perfect for their needs. They particularly like the insulating blanket under your hood and any other crevice that leads them into the air intake filter or HVAC filter. We like to plug up any holes we can with steel wool. Make a list of where you put it so you don't run into problems in the spring.
Fight the Mice
In addition to traps and poison, we like to deploy some rodent deterrent. We use Shake-Away around and under the vehicle and use anti-rodent smelly things to dissuade them. You can find these things at your local home improvement store or online. It's cheap insurance and we have not found them to cause the car any lasting damage.

One last tip. Call your insurance agent and tell them your plan. You should be able to remove the car from your auto policy and still have it covered by your homeowner's policy. Just to be sure, have that chat with your agent.