What would you do with a car to be declared SORN for 12 months?

JustAnotherSaver

Just something i was thinking about today. To keep it brief...

Assume you were going to declare your car SORN for 12 months, what would you do with it in preparation?

* Fill the fuel tank up full so there's less space for condensation maybe?
* Would you leave the engine oil in there as is or would you put new stuff in it just before declaring SORN?
* Anything with the water system?

Just anything & everything in general really. Would obviously want to avoid all of the "whatever you do, don't do this" points.

Mr.Generous

it would need to be run and moved a bit if not driven on the road for 12 months, charge the battery for an hour once a month then start it up and run it for a few minutes. If its a petrol car your going to need fresh fuel, Unleaded gets stale after a few months.

unforeseen

JustAnotherSaver wrote: »

Just something i was thinking about today. To keep it brief...

Assume you were going to declare your car SORN for 12 months, what would you do with it in preparation?
.

Sell it .

Gloomendoom

I once parked up a Rover 800 for what ended up being just over two and a half years. No preparation at all.

When I went back to it, unsurprisingly, the battery was dead. It was still covered by its three year warranty (just) so I took it back and got a new replacement. The car started first time so I took to get it checked over by the local MoT place... who passed it as roadworthy with no advisories.

The car finally went to the big scrapyard in the sky on Tuesday. I've still got the battery though.

Herzlos

unforeseen wrote: »

Sell it .

This. Unless it's a particularly special / rare car I'd be inclined to sell it and buy another one in a year. It saves you a lot of space and hassle, insurance, and you may even be able to buy an equivalent for less than you sell it for.

Failing that, I'd see if someone else can use it for a while?

Failing that, I'd move it a few rotations every couple of weeks, and leave it running for at least half an hour every month. Get it serviced before storing and serviced when you take it back out.

Of course, how much effort depends on the value of the car, I'd put more effort into storing a classic Jaguar than a 15 year old Fiesta.

jimjames

Keep it as low fuel as possible, then fill when you want to use again. Keep it in garage dry with battery disconnected.

arcon5

Do nothing.

arcon5

Gloomendoom wrote: »

I once parked up a Rover 800 for what ended up being just over two and a half years. No preparation at all.

When I went back to it, unsurprisingly, the battery was dead. It was still covered by its three year warranty (just) so I took it back and got a new replacement. The car started first time so I took to get it checked over by the local MoT place... who passed it as roadworthy with no advisories.

The car finally went to the big scrapyard in the sky on Tuesday. I've still got the battery though.

I'm guessing you didn't tell them why it was flat then? As otherwise I suspect they'd rightfully confirm its not their responsibility

Richard53

• Full tank of fuel
• Fresh oil and filter
• If carbs, drain them
• Handbrake off
• Raise on blocks so tyres off the ground
• If not possible, move car a few inches regularly so it rests on a different part of the tyres
• Put away after a run, so everything is hot and no condensation in exhaust
• Plug exhaust with a rag
• Leave windows open a crack for ventilation (if stored in the dry)
• Battery out and on the bench - trickle charge every month

That's the old-school advice. If you leave the car 'commissioned', don't start the engine unless you can let it get properly warm before turning off. Running it for a couple of minutes every week will do more harm than good.

Strider590

If your going to leave it, just keep the battery topped up, if you run it, do so until fully up to temp (radiator gets hot).
Don't do any of this "running it for a few minutes" nonsense, it'll do more harm than good.

Rain_Shadow

Mr.Generous wrote: »

it would need to be run and moved a bit if not driven on the road for 12 months, charge the battery for an hour once a month then start it up and run it for a few minutes. If its a petrol car your going to need fresh fuel, Unleaded gets stale after a few months.

Has anyone ever actually experienced that. I have had vehicles laid up for as much as 3 years and they always started and ran perfectly well on the petrol still in the tank.