Car not being used much ?

EycplUK

Due to medical problems my car is not being used much , local shopping , Doc`s & Hospital visits etc with the car being driven by my sister-in-law , anything i should be aware of of with the car standing idle for long periods 7-10 days sometimes ?
Advice welcome !
Regards

torbrex

Potential battery problems is something you should be aware of, if you are only doing occasional short journeys, the battery will not be getting charged up fully.
Also the brakes might start to give problems if there is any kind of fault, if possible leave the car in gear rather than having the handbrake full on when the car is idle for longer periods.

paddedjohn

If you are only using the car now and again you may be better off moneywise if you cancelled your insurance, cashed the tax in and sorned it, taxi's could be a cheaper option for a while.

missile

Don't worry, many cars are not driven much more than this.

LandyAndy

Is your SiL insured to drive it?

SailorSam

I checked the mileage on my car last week since my last Mot in August, 368mls. It is stored in the garage but will often be a week or more and not move. Always starts first turn of the key though.

Strider590

Take the car for a good 20mile run (motorway would be best) once a month, it'll be perfectly fine.

Irregular short journeys do untold damage.

SailorSam

Been talking about not just how the car would react to a longer run but the driver as well. I've got a 200 mile return journey planned this weekend.
That's six months average driving almost !!!

Joe_Horner

On that sort of mileage you really should be looking at servicing, or at least changing the oil, on "time" rather than mileage. Oil becomes acidic over time as combustion products get into it (especially just after startup) and condensation will inevitably leave some water in it. Both of those will tend to corrode bearings over time. A few hundred miles a year made up of lots of short runs is about the worst possible life for oil in this way.

On long runs the oil gets hot enough to drive the water off but that takes a lot longer than just "warming the engine up" on the gauge.

It's not a really major problem (ie: you won't "break" the engine) but it will shorten it's life. For this sort of use you're better off using cheap oil and replacing it every 3 months or so than using "good" stuff and leaving it in there. You can leave the filter change for the normal interval.

SailorSam

I had my book out checking the need for a cam belt, i thought that may be more important than oil.

Joe_Horner

Cambelt is less likely to suffer because it's pretty well hidden away from the things that might age rubber (mainly sunlight and oil). On the other hand, rubber likes to be flexed now and then and it's going to cause instant and major damage if it does fail.

If it's getting close on time or miles (maybe 50% + of the manufacturer's suggested life) anyway then it might be as well to get it changed for peace of mind.