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In my experience of cars sitting around, the idea of them developing a multitude of problems is more a theory than fact in most situations.
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I’ve heard people leaving cars for a few years with no prep and they’ve been fine. I’ve also heard some horror stories with cars parked for less than a year.
Really, leaving a car sitting for a few years unused generally won’t cause issues for the mechanicals if prepped well but that can be a whole discussion as to what is prepped well
The prevailing mindset seems to be that as a basic step, change oil and either fill up the tank with petrol or empty the tank of petrol before parking is the best of the least ocd steps one can take.…. Taking weight off the tyres can also help though rubber does age over time regardless.
@VFSV6FORME recent tyre blowout comes to mind but that’s after some long long time sitting unused indoors but still degrading.
Coolant and brake fluid also degrade over time and need they to be periodically replaced. So even cars sitting unused still need some service, how much service is the $1,000,000 question
Probably the bigger issue in cars sitting for years is AC system failing as they are under continual pressure and the seals can fail letting the cold out… In such cases a regassing may or may not be successful depending on the quality of the seals and whether they’ve actually failed. Still I’ve known olde cars that have sat for 15 years and the AC was cold as compared to 5 year old dailies that have AC fail… These days stuff has been engineered to fail so their is always that concern. I know AC hoses have crappy crimping and often fail
guess they were probably designed by the space shuttle o-ring designer
But the biggest issue is where the car is left… leave it in the weather and like all cars you’d have issues with paint and plastic degrading... best it’s left in a dark part of the garage protected for stuff falling on it, ideally in a cocoon. If not in a cocoon then best have some mouse traps and mouse bait that’s periodically checked and replaced as needed… those pesky knitters can cause huge damage to electronically complex cars stored carelessly in a chook shed
Ideally it’s best to seal off the plenum and the cabin air exhaust vents so the cabin is sealed…. but I’ve heard even that won’t stop ants moving their nest inside the car… I know of one guy who I worked with parked his daily on the grass at a new rental. He parked it on the grass for only one day and on the following day found ants inside the car. After some investigation, he found the bloody ants had moved a nest inside his drivers door