A time may come where you need to stable your beloved car for an extended period. Whether yours is a high-priced exotic car, custom classic automobile, immaculate sports coupe or reliable family sedan, you need to follow some storage guidelines. Doing so will protect and preserve the car’s exterior from long-term damage. Even a well-built machine is not impervious to the elements; take the following steps to prepare your car’s exterior for storage to keep that mint feel.

To ensure comprehensive protection for your vehicle, it’s important to consider tire care alongside other maintenance measures like buying ceramic coating for cars. While ceramic coating shields the car’s body and windows, preserving tire integrity is equally vital. Implementing proper storage practices such as cleaning tires before storing, keeping them out of the sun, and maintaining correct tire pressure can extend their lifespan, reducing the need for costly replacements. Additionally, using quality tire covers and ensuring tires remain dry further enhances their durability, minimising the risk of cracks and damage.

Why a car cover should top every checklist

Like a sturdy umbrella used during a downpour, a fitted car cover provides the best overall exterior protection whatever other measures you take. The best are both soft and durable so that they avoid scratching the car’s paint while still guarding against bumps and knocks. Though you may believe a cover is necessary only for outdoor storage, you will find even a tidy garage can attract damaging dust, insects and moisture.

Covers for extreme conditions

When you do have to store your car outdoors in areas where heavy rains, flooding or other major events can threaten, consider investing in a car storage bag cover. These Extreme Vehicle Protection car covers can keep nature’s worst at bay over many uses before they need to be replaced. Also, give your car a good wash before applying the bag; although this cleaning may seem counterproductive, a wash removes dust and grime that may both scratch the paint and cause permanent spotting.

Why you should preserve your tires

Because car covers so effectively protect a car’s body and windows, many owners consider them the end-all storage solution. Unfortunately, taking that approach may cause you to overlook tire care. Replacing high-quality tires is a major maintenance expense, so you want to keep the rubber pliable and crack-free as long as possible by taking the following storage steps:

• Clean tires before storing
• Keep them out of the sun
• Use quality tire covers if storing outdoors
• Keep them dry
• Set the correct tire pressure

Proper tire inflation reduces the potential for their developing flat spots from sitting.

Materials to put under your car tires during storage

You do need to think of your tires and wheels as a single unit; where you protect one you need to protect the other. One storage option you may consider is that of removing the tires and wheels from the car. If you stack the wheels and tires, you need to guard them against scratches and moisture from the ground (and scratches from each other). Installing tire covers is the first step to take. You can also lay soft straw or vinyl cloth underneath to provide a barrier. Do note that you have to rotate your stored tires occasionally as additional insurance against flat-spotting.

Whether you will invest in a Toyota Corolla car cover or a Porsche 911 car cover, or whether you keep your car indoors or outside, you should leave nothing to chance when you ready it for storage. A minimal outlay and some moderate preparation will ensure your car keeps its classy appearance afterwards when you are ready to hit the road again.