Hey all, I just bought an 07 LS coupe back in May, have put about 2400 miles on it so far. I'll be going back to college in a week and am not taking it with me, so for about 8 months it'll just sit in our driveway (no garage) only being used every 5-6 weeks when I come home for a weekend. Looking for some advice or tips on what I should do to make sure it stays in perfect shape.

So far I've been told...

1) Don't get a car cover, since a "good" one will be far too expensive, and an affordable one (<$100) will not let the body "breathe" enough and will do more harm than good. In other words, it's not a big deal to let it get snowed on (I live in PA).

2) Fill up the gas tank before parking it, but this short of a period of time does not require any fuel stabilizer.

3) Get an oil change before parking it even though I am not close to needing one.

4) Don't set the parking brake since it's not good for it to be set for super long periods of time.

Any other advice? My one question is, how will this affect my maintenance schedule? I want to stick to the plan it lays out in the manual as closely as possible. I'm thinking, get an oil change now, and in 8 months when I'm back home, then do the entire "Maintenance I" routine, including another oil change.

Thanks!

 

Im in the same situation and i would recomend a good wash and wax to protect the paint. Try to have ur parents drive it a little or atleast start it up every once in a while. If that is not possible when u get home disconnect the coils from the plugs and just crank the motor to prime it, then start it up.

 

mines being garage stored for my college stay, but **** i got er washed waxed and got one hell of a car cover.

 

Filler up and drop some Stabil in it. What i would do as well disconnect the neg. side of the battery.

 

I worked at a marina a few years back... worked on many boats that were left in storage over the winter so I've seen what not to do first hand... here's some advice.

I'd seriously suggest a car cover. Dirt/grime/bird droppings left over a period of weeks will ruin your paint.

Gravana has an outdoor rated cover for a reasonable price. http://gravanatuning.com/application...oupe_Car_Cover

Less than $200. And worth every penny. I've got one... make sure the car is clean, slap it on there, no worries. Rain, sleet, snow, hail... whatever... it all runs right off.

Also... If you are going to fill it up with gas... get a tank full of high-quality premium fuel. Gasoline loses octane as it sits... so getting a higher octane rating will make it last longer.

Getting the oil changed is definately a good idea. As the engine sits contaminants will settle out of the oil and gunk up the engine... so have it nice and clean before you leave.

I would also suggest a full wash and wax with some top of the line products like Meguiars or Turtle Wax ICE. That will help further protect the paint.

Disconnecting the battery is good as well... it will prevent any run-down over time. The boats I saw that were left with the battery hooked up always needed a jump when they were brought back out of storage.

 

I would have to agree with this, i would add a little gas stabilizer just in case.

 

Thanks for all the tips! Very good suggestions here.

I will be having my parents start the car every 1-2 weeks, and move it around a bit too so it's not sitting at the exact same spot on the the tires for too long. That is a nice cover for a good price, but I don't know if I can stomach an extra $200 right now, I'm drowning in apartment costs and other school things. If I don't get the cover, it'll most likely be washed and waxed at least every 5-6 weeks.

I will fill it with premium fuel and get the oil changed.

As far as the battery goes, I have gotten a few recommendations NOT to disconnect it because then everything in the PCM resets, including the oil life indicator, and any "learning" the car has done about my driving habits to achieve better fuel economy. I'm not sure if this is something a Cobalt does or not, but a few people have told me fuel economy improves over time as the the PCM learns and adjusts, and all of that is lost if you disconnect the battery. If it stays connected but is started at least like every 10 days, is it really going to drain too severely?

 

Drop the car and keys off at my place before you leave... I'll take good care of it


Seriously though, make sure its started at least once a week and if its possible see if they can drive it around the block or something just to get the fluids moving. It's important not to leave the car still especially outdoors. When I was in Spain for about 2 weeks this May, some small animal decided to make the area between my throttle body and intake manifold its new home.

 

Yeah I'll try to have them drive it around a bit weekly.

Would you say it'd be good to do the whole Maintenance I routine next April/May when I come home for the summer? I bought it this May, and right now it has a little over 2400 miles.

Also, can I go to any dealer for routine maintenance stuff, or really anything, or is there some reason I should go to the dealer I bought it from in particular.

 

u pussies..... u guys need to go floss ur balts at college... i know im taking mine there...fo sho//

 

dont worry about the maintenance schedule, go by your mileage and get the appropriate things done when they need them done
you can go to any dealer for any kind of work, it doesn't have to be the original one you bought your car from

 

All this advise about fluids changed and starting it up and all seem good, but what i wanna know is why the experts say when storing cars for long periods of time without moving or starting it, always recommend the following...

http://www.automedia.com/Storing_You...cr20010601sv/1

Remember, Barn finds are out there and all they need after YEARS and YEARS of sitting is fresh oil, grease the movable parts, gas, and battery and they usually start Right up with no repairs needed and ready to roll.

 

One more thing... the part about animals making nests is completely true. I've seen it happen... especially if the car is parked in the grass. So watch out for that... they can cause huge amounts of damage.

 

Other considerations:

Park it on pavement; Moisture from gravel lots or over grass cause moisture to hang under the car and can start to rust components faster. Also bugs and animals have more of a tendancy to build nests in things.

If you're concerned about flatspots, put her up on blocks. or get a cheap set of tires to store it on.

Either have someone drive the car and maintain it while youre gone or Don't Drive it at all.
Read your manual on extended storage procetures. Running it little does more damage than not running it at all.

Bumpage on the stabil, better safe than sorry.

 

I was always told to run the AC to make sure the parts don't settle and freeze up. I was told to do this at least once during the winter. Dunno if it holds any truth, but I do it.

 

its only 8 months, and you know it will be at least fired up to be moved every few weeks for what ever reason (maybe it won't be, at my house no car would ever sit that long without being moved for some reason). Staybil in the gas is a must, you could use some good VP unleaded race fuel insted, but that will cost more and given that you aren't storing it all that long you will be fine with a little staybil, you could get by with nothing at all to be honest.

Get a good car cover. spend a little more now and get a really good one. it will last you a long long time and work on other cars you are likely to have down the road.

do the oil change, no need for expensive oil here.

fill the tires up, I would go higher than usual, about 40-45 psi. you won't be building heat with them, so there is no worries of them failing on you. the extra pressure will help keep them in good shape. I would use wheel chocks rather than the brakes just because its more reliable. I don't think it would hurt your brakes to use them for extended time, but I can see where it might cause problems. (in theory)

the best thing you could do is leave the keys with whoever the car will be staying with and tell them to drive the car every now and then. its good for them, and good for your car.

 

Thanks everyone, I have been home every few weeks and usually drive it around and give it a wash. Also my parents have the keys and start it up once a week. I'm not disconnecting the battery because I don't want to lose all computer settings. Before I first went to school, I got the oil changed (even though the guy at the dealer advised me not to bother), filled up the tank, and added Stabil. It's parked on a relatively level part of our driveway (paved) and I don't set the parking brake when it's going to sit for awhile. Like others have said, it's only 8 months, and I'm still home pretty frequently to drive it. It's more like 8 months of infrequent use, not really 8 months of "storage."

I definitely miss it when I'm here at school!