New job about to start - car use will be minimal. Therefore car will be in garage untill weekend use. Anything to keep an eye out for? Its a 53 plate Diesel Vectra with 90k on the clock, someone told me about brakes corroding and electrical issues? Is it worth firing it up everyday to tick the engine over?
I was contemplating getting rid of it and having a small cheap motor, but I guess I'd have the same issues - or would I?
Any thoughts appreciated!
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standing for 1 week - no problem.
Getting a small cheap motor? the vectra is not small but is now a cheap motor.
Keep the vectra - better the devil you know...............
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My cars frequently stand for weeks at a time without being used, not had any problems.
I used to have a BMW M3 (sadly missed) that used to stand for months without being touched, with the record being 4 months. The only problem was that at the annual service I always got an advisory warning because the ECU error memory was full of battery low voltage errors. I actually sold the car because it was such a shame to have capital tied up in an expensive car standing in the garage not being used. If it's a cheap car I wouldn't worry.
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I guess it's worth £1,200. Read Rattle's threads about finding a Fiesta for that sort of budget. Hang on to it!
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You possibly do this already but leave it in gear with handbrake off or the handbrake pads might stick.
I often don't use my Merc for 2 weeks at a time. The disks do go horribly rusty (but they go rusty to some extent even overnight). It's been mentioned at the last couple of MOTs that they're pitted but not raised as a potential fail.
If it's garaged then you could leave it on a battery conditioner.
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£1200 quid! Wow, horrendous. I was considering being foolish and getting an OTT type of car (skoda Vrs or even them Dodge Avenger's that HJ had advertised).
I do keep it in gear and take hand brake off. Will the oil need to be changed more frequently now? It uses semi-synthtic currently.
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I used to work in Brazil. For some reason I kept a car in the UK as well. It was an old Golf GTi. It would stand for three months regularly without being used and then have the nuts driven off it for a long weekend when I came home and tried to catch up with my UK life. Then it would stand for another few weeks / months until the cycle was repeated. Went on for about five years like that including an odd Christmas run into the Alps if a skiing trip could be funded. It didn't seem to object. It'll be fine. Might be a good trick to pop a new battery in it if it hasn't had one for a while.
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A week is fine, no worries, perhaps dont put it away when wet if you can help it.
It is not worth very much but it must be worth more that £1200.
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As above you might get surface corrosion on the brake discs but a couple of firm brake applications when you drive the car will soon scrub that off.
Apart from that, a week is not by any means a long time to leave a car standing. It'll be fine.
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Oh heck, I want my old GTi back now that I've thought of it again. Hadn't thought of it in 15 years. Sorry about the topic drift. Just had to get that off my chest......
Your car will be fine RS10.
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>>It is not worth very much but it must be worth more that £1200.
OK: £1,700 if the tank's full, maybe.
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According to Parkers a 2003/03 Elegance 2.0 DTi with 50k would be £3000 private sale.
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Bless Parkers. Enough posts on here make it quite clear that people aren't selling cars easily. According to Glasses, the trade-in on a 2003/03 is 1400-1800. We don't actually know what spec OP's is...
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If your garage has power then might be worth leaving it connected to a battery conditioner www.hamiltonclassic.co.uk/acatalog/Battery_Care.ht...l so even through the winter (and if you haven't done many miles to charge the baterry) it will start first time. No need to disconnect the battery leads with these CTEK's.
Unless you are going to get engine really hot worse thing you can do is start it every day.
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If your battery is in good condition then it should be fine, my gran's Focus stands outside in all weathers and moves about once per week, it always starts on the turn of the key and never seems to show any signs of trouble. When I borrow it and put on 6 - 8 months mileage in two weeks it never complains.
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Would you worry about leaving your car for two weeks in an airport car park if jetting off for a holiday?
Leaving any modern-ish car for a week will do no harm whatsoever. I'd avoid giving it a quick start every day, though, as this is more likely to cause a build-up of water condensate in the exhaust. Just take it out for a 10-mile drive every 2-3 weeks and all will be fine.
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Many thanks for the information you have provided. The CTEK Chargers look a good idea.
As for the valuation - it's a 2.2 DTi SXi, I paid 12k brand new, been a very good car, nice features like cruse control/air-con/electric mirrors/dimming mirror etc. I understand the logic of depreciation it might be worth about £1500 or less! but the real value is how I've looked after it. Do you think the new Insignia's will be just as bad in losing value?
Before I bought the car I emailed HJ and asked his opinion on the following cars - Mitsubishi Carisma, Rover 45 and the Vectra, I'm glad I purchased the Vectra!
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They are stood out in fields for months/years even before you buy them brand-new!
Billy
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>They are stood out in fields for months/years even before you buy them brand-new! <
Good point. A few weeks under cover shouldn't matter, provided the use (when it gets it) is enough to charge battery, clean off disks etc. Cars from the '90s used to have radios and alarms which drained the battery in weeks, but not now AFAIK.
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They are stood out in fields for months/years even before you buy them brand-new!
Not if it's a factory order with optional extras. It's worth specifying an option just to make sure it comes straight from the factory.
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>>but the real value is how I've looked after it.
Quite. So don't even think of trading it in for a 10 year old Fiesta (£1,500 of a forecourt).
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Useage has no bearing on engine size, make, or model. Basically, if a petrol engine, i would give it a 10 mile run once a month, and if a diesel engine, (because of the longer warm-up time) 20 mile run, once a month. If you dont need to use your car this much you should think about - do i really need a car ( IMO ) - i would probably be better off using a taxi. If u want to use your car weekends only, use the longest route for your journey, and give me a shout when u want to sell it ! ( and keep it clean ! )
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car will be in garage untill weekend use
When I was driving taxis I kept an N-reg 120k mile 1.8 petrol Carina E as my own car. For around 18 months it used to get left outside the cab office for anything up to 6 weeks at a stretch (on an industrial estate, right outside the window of the 24hr attended office for security) and then used when I needed it for the odd weekend - all I used to do was dip the oil and kick the tyres before starting it, and it always started within two turns of the starter motor!
I lived about 10 miles from work so it would get thoroughly warmed through after each cold start, and it never had any problems connected with being left for so long at all*. The first thing I did after starting it was to drive 1/2 a mile to the nearest garage and check the tyre pressures, after this it was good for sometimes 400 miles in 2 days.
*Apart from the time someone ran into the car parked behind it at 40mph, and shunted that car into mine - wrote off both hitter and the hittee, no damage to mine but it did move it about 10 feet along the road!
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Lots of commuter cars in/around London are used on this sort of basis. So long as it gets a good warm up most times it is used you'll have no serious problems - but as others have said Vauxhalls need care to avoid the parking brake rusting on.
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It would seem to be one of the few ways to get the handbrake to stay on on some Vauxhalls..............( TIC )
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If our feathered friends decide to use your car as a target, that poop cand eat through paintwork in a matter of days.
I'd advise making sure the car is well washed and waxed, and if possible don't park under telephone lines or trees.
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