Posted on: 18-11-07 12:46:11
I am out of country for 3 to 4 months and planning to park my car in the apartment basement parking. I will have only fire and theft coverage on my car. It's a Cap reit rental apartment in Scarborough area. Any suggestions/recommendations/advice would be appreciated.
This is first time I am going out for so long time. Should I inform my apartment management about this ?
Thank you.
Share your experience please.
Quote:
Originally posted by jigz787
I am out of country for 3 to 4 months and planning to park my car in the apartment basement parking. I will have only fire and theft coverage on my car. It's a Cap reit rental apartment in Scarborough area. Any suggestions/recommendations/advice would be appreciated.
This is first time I am going out for so long time. Should I inform my apartment management about this ?
Thank you.
Share your experience please.
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First meet with the Apartment management and see what the requirements are? If none, then, ask them if it could be 'parked on stands'.
Now to the 'stands': If they will permit you to do this, then you can buy these under fifty bucks and you will save yourself a lot of misery, upon return. I will provide you with the pictures in the links. Hope they open up. There are kits available and you might need four stands to do this.
The main reason asking you to park it on stand is to save your front and rear bearings and the tires getting out of round and go 'cluck-clucking' on your return.
Dis-connect the battery before leaving. (You might need a boost upon return)
Face your car with the engine to the front, in case it needs a Boost, or towing.
Remove the face plate of the Radio or the stereo, if it is one such instrument.
On the 'Last' filling of your gas (Petrol) fill the tank with the Highest Octane number. We used to call it the supertest. That way when you return after four months, there will be some pep in the gas and the car will have a good start.
Do not leave any valuables in the car either in the trunk or inside the car. That will eliminate vandalism and theft.
DO NOT USE the park brakes. (But check and make sure that it functions before and after return)
For additional fifty bucks you can even get the underbody sprayed with the drip less oil coating to prevent rusting.
Total cost 120 bucks+. You will still have the use of the gas, the Jack and the stands for the rest of your stay. No Rust to complain for a short while too.
Others may have additional suggestions too.
Have a great vacation.
Freddie.
http://www.chinahydraulicjacks.com/
http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/tls/484558593.html
Quote:
Originally posted by ftfl
Now to the 'stands': If they will permit you to do this, then you can buy these under fifty bucks and you will save yourself a lot of misery, upon return. I will provide you with the pictures in the links. Hope they open up. There are kits available and you might need four stands to do this.
The main reason asking you to park it on stand is to save your front and rear bearings and the tires getting out of round and go 'cluck-clucking' on your return.
Won't that be making it easy for someone to steal the tires that way. All they have to do is remove 4 nuts and the tire is out. Especially if they find out that the car is untouched for a long time.
Quote:
Originally posted by ftfl
DO NOT USE the park brakes. (But check and make sure that it functions before and after return)
For my knowledge - why do you recommend that i.e. not using the park brakes
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Reiki Grand Master
It is a standard practice to start a car once in a way, say weekly or so when it is not insured and stored for an indefinite period. That way the engine is turned over and the vehicle is warmed up for twenty minutes or so and the condensation in the crankcase is vented out through the breather. That takes care of the integrity of the engine. It charges the battery, circulates the fluids, lubricates the moving parts etc., But in this case there is no one to look after and it is stored in a dormant state. That is not an approved form of maintaining a stored vehicle. One has to overlook this fault or the short comings. That is done at the owner's risk. I have stored my vehicle too for half that period during a few winters and did not experience any problems upon return.
A vehicle once running, is moved a short distance or around the block as we say, and it gets re stored in its original location or spot, but the tires do get rolled and the position of it changes on its circumference when stopped. That takes care of the bearings and its lubrication and once again a different ball race or a roller as the case may be, comes to rest directly under the axle.
By this action we have accomplished and proved that the engine is running the tires are rolled and the bearings are lubricated and it gets stored for another week, but with a slight change of position on the tires and the bearings.
Once a week for twenty minutes is cost effective if some one is there to do it for you. Otherwise the tendency of these bearings is to get a small film of rust and one of the race or a roller impinges into the shell casing and leaves a permanent set or indentation and some times even gets welded to the casing and locks up, due to the stationery state and the resting of the weight upon it. The intrinsic cost of the materials and labour will amount to $800 or more for four such bearings and its change, and then taxes to boot, over and above it. Most of these bearings last five to ten years, if it has not hit many pot holes or 'run at a hundred on shoulders or the rumblers'. (It is like putting pressure upon two ice cubes and see it become one.It is called regiliation with ice and welding in steel. Also, you might have seen the 'big large barrel drum' on a concrete delivery truck revolving slightly on its axis, when it is moving on the roads, this is just to prevent the crushing of its ball race by the bouncing action when the truck moves on the road! Since it is in a state of constant motion, the load on the ball race is dynamic.)
Hence the storing of the same on stands is a very good practice. If you have used an RV you would have observed this ritual. You might have seen a swiveling jack handle on a trailer at a mobile home park when it stands still for a week or more, to save it from the punding when people use it for their stay, and avoid static loading.
You do have a very good point about the removal of these tires. That occurs often too. Some buy and use special lock nuts that prevents the unsophisticated thieves. All of these are available at some of the speciality stores that cater to such needs and people who own high end vehicles. Smart ones get away with the wheels and the nuts too.
Good tires balanced and installed are around 100 bucks a piece and they last about four to five years totally. One has to evaluate these situations when the vehicle is not stored in a secure underground parking lot.
If it is in an underground secure parking lot, then go for it. If not, be prepared to loose four of the tires after storing it for four months without rolling them. Also fork out 'a grand' some time soon, if the bearings go on the blink.
It is a risk the owner has to take when the vehicle is left 'uncared for' for an extended period of time.
I have read horror stories about car thieves removing the most asked for engines, such as BMW and HONDA from the airport parking lots within a period of six hours parking. You might have heard about the MOT restrictions on a few of the newer vehicles that were brought into Canada without the security features in these vehicles, not being permitted to run on the Canadian roads. This probably is part of the reason too beacause they have revamped the security systems a few notches in Canada. Now you can spot a car not only for its body but for its engines too. They are trying to marry the body and the soul with in a vehicle. You cannot have car with a body in Canada and the matching engine in Ohio or Alska, running on the road in two different locations. They report to the guy in the sky and that drops a flag. Technology is playing a great role in all of this and it costs peanuts for availing these services.
As for the park brakes, the cable slides within a coiled wire material with a plastic sheathing. It was initially installed with a very high viscosity lubricant and still gets lost from the insides and gives way to corrosive substances such as salt and sandy grit at the extremities, where it is left open to the mercy of these contaminants. The sheathing failiure is a secondary cause for it to seize. Now the brake handle that one pulls to lock the rear wheels, keeps the vehicle from moving. After four months of storage, when you release the lever, one is under the impression that the brake has been released. When you find that it is just the handle but not the pads off the braking surface, you find that the brakes are locked and there is no way of releasing the same unless you drag this vehicle to a repair shop. Some times it is not even feasible to get it off the parked storage area and it becomes impossible to budge. The vehicle has to be lifted off its wheels and planted onto a fllat bed truck to haul it to a repair shop. That is a very painful operation. That is the time we utter most of the four letter words and say "Only if some one had told me.....not to"
That is why I say do not use your park brakes if you are storing the vehicle for an extended period of time.
I have explained to you the '"five W's". When we were back home we used to ask some one and find the correct answers. Those were the radio days. Then came the TV and now the internet era. Now there is a seperation of fields and a specialisation of each. But with the internet providing many or most of the answers, everything is at the finger tips and knowledge is everwhere to seek and find.
I hope you got the full understanding behind each of these actions.
Thanks for asking.
Freddie.
Hi Freddie,
Nice input on the subject.
I had to park my car idle for about 8-9 months a year. Last year (that was year uno) I had to do little to bring it back to life. This year, I suspect will take lot more input as dollars and time. From next year I plan to lease it out to someone for those 8-9 months, so as I get it back in running condition. This being second year on job, two more are left for this set up.
Any suggestions about paper work, plate, insurance, liability or any other issues?
Ben
Quote:
Originally posted by benparsad
Hi Freddie,
Nice input on the subject.
I had to park my car idle for about 8-9 months a year. Last year (that was year uno) I had to do little to bring it back to life. This year, I suspect will take lot more input as dollars and time. From next year I plan to lease it out to someone for those 8-9 months, so as I get it back in running condition. This being second year on job, two more are left for this set up.
Any suggestions about paper work, plate, insurance, liability or any other issues?
Ben
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Hi Ben,
You have an idea as to what it takes to bring it back to life after a long shut down. It will take its toll every year. Costs will be increasing year after year.
Your thinking of leasing to some one is a good idea. But finding some one will be a tough task. If you have some one who will lease it, then it is great. You have to lay down the ground rules before leasing. (Like the regular leasing contract from Avis or National Car rentals.) "You ding it You fix it" - kind of thing.
'Plates'- they renew for two years also. But only after the Drive clean check. If you want to renew In between, it is another drive clean cost, so be prepared for it.
Insurance is hard to get, if you are renting or leasing it. $3600-$4000 or there abouts is a rough figure. Owner Driven is a different policy. You should consider selling the sucker and getting another tin can the next time you want one.
"If you don't drive it for half the time, then you don't need a Car nor the insurance nor the fixing, nor the hassles of leasing". I know it is a prestige issue.
You have all of the cards open and on the table. You have to take a lot of things into consideration at this moment and make a valued judgment and if you don't mind, please let us know what it is that you intend to do.
The ball is yours and it was all the time in your court. Hey, Don't loose sleep over it. Have a nice holiday.
Freddie.
With thanks to Freddie and others for their input on the subject, I seek advise on following;
As finding a person who will take my car on lease for 9 months may be difficult, I intend to get one for 3 months (Jan-March). Any offer or suggestion?
Selling my old car is not going to give more than a grand, so will keep it as is and decide later. For insurance, I put that on 'Storage only' paying very little for the idle period.
And Hey Freddie, my car rests for good 9-10 months, not me. I hardly works (ooops work hard 
).
-Ben
