One of the rules most car enthusiasts seem to live by is that cars must be driven. If they are not driven, then these cars must be sold to someone who will drive them. A lot of other enthusiasts, including myself and people like Derek Bieri of Vice Grip Garage, don’t live by this rule. Some enthusiasts will allow their cars to sit for years at a time before they even touch them again, let alone start them. Still, everyone has their limit. What’s the longest you will let a car sit without starting it?
Over the weekend, I watched another classic Vice Grip Garage revival. There’s just something about watching a guy bring some old iron back to life that makes for the perfect finish to the workweek. Sure, Derek’s videos have now become longer than a Monday, but they’re still a pleasure to watch, and I learn some classic car wrenching hacks along the way. It was through VGG that I learned about automatic gas siphons!
Anyway, last week’s revival was a 1968 Chevrolet Bel Air. Check the video out!
This car was different because instead of flying off to some distant part of the United States or beyond, Derek saved this car from his own property. Most of the cars that Derek saves end up sitting on his property. At last count, he had well over 100 cars just sitting along tree lines. Some of these cars end up sitting for so long that sometimes they need to be re-rescued to be driven again. Derek also receives some vehicles in non-running condition, and then they sit on his property for an unknown amount of time before he gets around to saving them.
This got me thinking. Derek’s example is extreme since rescuing an old car every week has been his business forever now. But what about the typical enthusiast? How long are they willing to let cars sit?
Admittedly, I have been the enemy of the “cars must be driven” crowd. There have been times when I let cars sit for six months or even longer between drives. There are cars I only take out of the garage when I’m taking my wife on dates on a sunny day in the summer. My Japanese Kei cars and the Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI often fit that bill. There are cars I drive only when I want to feel the experience of driving a new car again, without having to buy a new car. That’s my 2016 Smart Fortwo, which has just under 6,000 miles.
Some vehicles aren’t as lucky. I have let vehicles sit for two years or longer because they were broken, or they were illegal to drive. Remember, my 2005 Genuine Stella sat for six years under my care before I got it running.
I’m not the only one. My elderly neighbor spends more time looking at his El Camino than driving it. He readily admits that it actually sucks to drive, but he sure likes looking at it. So he enjoys it as more of an art piece than a car. I totally get that.
Here’s where I turn things to you. What’s the longest you will let a car sit? What’s the longest you have let a car sit? It can be for any reason, be it that you have a million cars, your cars are broken, or that you just hate how your car drives, but love how it looks.
Top graphic image: depositphotos.com
During Covid, my Del Sol’s then typical 4 month winter stay at my dad’s place in Vegas turned into 18 months. My kid went off to college a couple of months after I retrieved it, so it now lives in my garage and seldom goes more than three months without at least getting started.
My Del Sol has been in the driveway for over a month. Not fun with the top down in 90+ degrees. No A/C. I’ll take it out today because of reading this. The ongoing restoration project 86 Cabriolet has sat for years at a time over the last 20 years I have had it. Check back with me next spring. I have hoped. Also the Lexus as a collector car can’t be driven in January in Wisconsin. The other 2. No way will they be subjected to salt. Neil Young had it do right: Rust never sleeps
Cars and trucks never more than a month, motorcycle is another story, could go several months, especially in NC this summer when we either have Dante’s inferno or Noah’s Ark.
For my old 2CV? If possible less than a week. It really prefers to run. When I use it every other day, it starts and goes practically like a modern daily driver. If I let it go a week or more, there’s a LOT more waiting for it to catch, even if I tend the battery.
6 months for my Beetle, it took a long time to start back but it did after the winter season. I use stabilizer and ethanol free gas. No battery tender.
Longest I’ve let a car sit in the garage un-started was something like 4-5 years. Parked one of my old Saabs in the garage for close to five years due to a gearbox oil leak (ended up being a output shaft seal, discovered after replacing said gearbox). Kept it covered, tagged and insured all that time. I started it once during that period after charging up the battery and uncovering the car. Let it run for about half an hour, then shut it off, disconnected the battery, let it cool, then covered it again. At the end of that time, it fired right up with the old gas in it, moved it to the other side of the garage, where I swapped gearboxes, changed fluids, then put it back into service.
This. Cars can sit for years, but fuel injected vs carbureted makes a big difference in the fuel system. It’s wise to drain the fuel system if carbureted (volatiles boil off) but FI are much better sealed and USUALLY will run okay on old fuel. My S2000 sat for a couple years when I was in grad school. It still runs fine and gladly pulls to 9000 RPM. I also inherited a1977 Monte Carlo that sat for at least 10 years. I decided to put a battery in it and turn the motor over to circulate the coolant – it started and ran normally – I couldn’t believe it. Must have pre ethanol gas in it?
The most important factor is to keep the vehicles stored indoors
I generally try to drive all of my vehicles at least once a month. Six weeks is probably the longest I’ve ever let a running vehicle sit without at least starting it.
However, the four wheeler I recently sold would sometimes go years without being started depending upon life situations impacting my ability to ride it, and I was even worse with the motorcycles I had before the four wheeler. I realized with all of them they need to be ridden, so I sold them to folks who would take them out more than I could.
I quit dirt bike racing when I got married and had kids and my two race bikes sat in a shed for a decade with gelled fuel. After my divorce, I got them running and fixed them up. Three years later, I haven’t been on either of them and my garage smells like stale gas. I’m so ashamed.
Vehicles sleep amazingly well- Friend let me store my airhead BMW and sidecar in his Florida garage, rode it some and left it there in January 2020. Told him he was allowed and damn expected to ride it and mailed tabs to hime when they expired, but increasing disability kept him from riding after 2021. Besides being anti trans, Florida is a COVID Petri dish so didn’t make it down there ’til January 2025. Dead battery but with a fresh one fired right up on old gas, changed the fluids and it back in service!
The one odd thing that happened to one of my cars parked over the summer in my hot as the hinges of Hades FL garage is that the rear shocks blew out. 128i – was fine when I parked it, got it out when I got back three months later and it was immediately obvious something was wrong. Shock oil absolutely pouring out of both rears with only 72K on the clock. Weird.
I try to put a heat cycle on my cars at least once every two weeks, maybe a month max. But, vampires suck the batteries dry, so without a tender, you have to jump them, and run the risk of killing the battery if you let it drain too many times. But, I’ve gone longer before as well. My truck will typically sit for about 4 months in the winter with the battery disconnected.
We just had this discussion on GRM. I try not go more than 3 weeks or so. Having 4 cars and 2 of them not great in winter made it harder.
Down to 3, and 2 of the 3 are driven in winter, the 3rd could be if needed. I have a calendar at work that I put a piece of post-it note on the day that one is driven last.
I store my nicer cars every winter, so I guess ~4 months?
I have battery tenders, Stabil, tire mats, etc so the typical “storage” issues are hopefully mitigated.
What’s a tire mat?
Designed to prevent tire flat-spotting from a car parked in one place for months.
There are probably real ones designed for the purpose, but I just bought some foam squares and park on them. I don’t know if modern low-profile radials really benefit too much, but it was a one time investment of a few bucks so I just do it.
Didn’t even know there was such a thing.. Thanks!
Interesting – never heard of doing that.
I’ve always read to put the car up in the air on jackstands, but I would rather have flat-spotted tires than extra suspension bushing wear. The Nokians on my BMW flat-spot pretty good every winter, but it smooths out within 50 miles or so. Spitfire and Land Rover don’t seem to care at all, but they don’t exactly have low-profile tires, LOL. I do try to remember to inflate the tires to max psi – but I usually don’t think of it until I am on the airplane home.
I’ve got BFG KO2s on my truck that sits for 7 months every winter. They are 6 years old now and have no issue from storage / flatspots. Sticky track tires might be different?
I think low profile tires are more susceptible, but it really seems kind of random. The Continentals on my other BMW don’t seem to care, but it also doesn’t sit quite as long either.
In the cold climate of Maine tires rarely seem to dry rot. I replaced 19yo tires on my Spitfire recently and while they were hard as cast iron there was zero dry rot. In FL, after 5yrs tires are starting to look pretty poor, even Michelins and whatnot.
Cars 2 weeks. Motorcycles a few months but that is with a battery tender, stabilized non-oxy fuel and proper weatherization.
My BRZ has sat over a year now. And my Fiesta ST almost as long but brought it out for two months to loan to my mother-in-law as her Pontiac G6 died.
I only insure cars when I’m using them, never had an insurer care that I’d add/remove after only a few months.
I drive my Cybertruck exclusively (model Y when with the wife) these days. And going back, even to the sports cars, isn’t what it used to be.
I love my BRZ, it was a dream car, so I’m never getting rid of it. I will sell my FiST to my youngest in a few years though. They absolutely love, and appreciate, it!
the real question is how long will you let it sit before you do additional thing before you start them.
General rule of thumb with modern fuel is no more than 6 months between driving a full tank out of one. and always leave them full when sitting so there is less air in contact with the fuel. I also use non-ethanol in this instance to avoid the corn syrup in the fuel lines issue.
I parked a couple of my cars at my folks’ place over the winter when I was a student. It saved on insurance and made the cost of winter tires a non-factor.
I also had cars sit for a short time when I had bought their replacements.
So, we’ll call it a few months, with everything disconnected, exhaust plugged etc.
As for just sitting with everything hooked up, I wouldn’t leave it that long. That’s how they become basket cases.
Well, Although it was not planned this way, my RV was stored for five years at a RV storage facility without even a single visit from me over that five year period.
This all began when Covid hit and ,and Unfortunately for me, I also had a heart attack within this same time period! 🙁
Anyway, after sitting , untouched for five years, I took a fresh battery and visited the RV. After I installed the new battery, it started right up the first time!!
6.8L Ford Triton V-10. (even the generator started, but it took some coaxing! )
Please note that I did store the RV with a sh*t ton of STA- BIL added to the fuel tank!
Do not try this at home! 😉
I try my best to keep it to a month or less without driving the Miata but oppressive summer heat discourages convertible use so that time frame gets stretched out late May – mid September. However it was down for the past 6 months waiting on me to get around to replacing the radiator. That was probably the longest it has sat since I have owned it.
I just sold my Nova because we don’t have a garage at our new house. It was way too nice to sit outside. I was only getting it out of the storage place once a week at most, so I decided to sell. So the answer for me at the present time is a week.
Two years and counting since my brother drove my late mother’s car over to my house. I didn’t have a car or a valid license at the time; I’ve since gotten a license but misplaced the title and have been too lazy or depressed to clean up enough to find it. I don’t really go anywhere anyway.
I work from home, and I now have a dead pathfinder that didn’t play well with the multiple bulbs in series (a VA inspection made the blinkers have to go back to incandescent, and the added load of the LED’s made a relay melt down). The battery is dead, and I have to replace a bunch of stuff. So, I guess “long enough for it to get unused and broken”
Are they really saved, or has their fate just been shifted down the line a bit? A car with 99 friends all rotting together isn’t really better than a lone car in a field or barn somewhere.
To answer your question specifically, I let an old Volvo sit for six months before I decided it was time to sell. Charged up the battery, took it down the street to the gas station for fresh fuel and had it sold by the weekend. My 03 LX Civic has spent up to three months without being driven in the winter, and I just installed quick disconnect battery terminals to make that less expensive in replacement batteries.
I have long wondered about that! To Derek’s credit, he does often sell the better ones or the ones that have lots of fans. But yeah, the others just end up sitting.
Yeah I guess if he’s moving them along that is better but I’ve seen his place in other videos, and it seems likes he’s taking in way more than he’s selling out. The whole “Rescue” a car video formula was interesting for a while, but now I’d really prefer to see it go full to the end of getting the car off to someone who needs it or wants it. I don’t even bother to watch the rescue videos anymore unless it’s someone I just enjoy watching regardless of what they are doing.
Also the topshot for this article is adorable.
Covid brought the advent of electric pedal assist bicycles to our house. 5 years later they have over 6000 miles on them. (And no one in their right mind rides in Wisconsin winters). During that time the Saab convertible had about 100 miles put on it. Sold it. That was difficult as I loved my Esmeralda convertible. The VW was living at the mechanics shop for 3 years and the Del Sol spent 2 years getting a completely new rust free tub. The VW is back but runs like shit. I love love the Del Sol. And we still bicycle as often as weather permits. At my age I understand that they are toys and have almost zero guilt about not driving them regularly. Oh shit. I forgot the 68 resource Trail 90 that’s been in the shed after having it overhauled 3 years ago.
Prefer to start and drive weekly, but will push it out to a month if circumstances demand it.
All I see with a sitting car is unused capacity and lost convenience, plus a waste of insurance money (yes, there was a time I actually called and suspended insurance for about 6 months during Covid since I wasn’t driving it anywhere; now I carry basic liability on my beater….and that’s all).
But from a mechanical standpoint, I start to get really antsy at about the 2-week mark. My beater just got pressed into duty taking my son to school, since this is the first time our kids have gone to schools in opposite directions at the same time. So now it gets driven every day 🙂
Relevant to Mercedes’ interests, the beater in question is a 2001.5 (post-facelift) Passat GLX 4motion wagon. It drives great, but is falling apart in almost every single cosmetic way.
I like to drive my cars at least once a month. Some of the motorcycles get stored for the winter with the battery disconnected but I keep one ready to ride for nice “winter” days.
*I live in Portland, OR so there is not winter – just the rainy season.
I have no time limit. So I guess infinity.
The idea of starting a car just to start it occasionally seems worse than just properly storing it and then letting it sit.
I had a neighbor that had a Scat Pak Challenger that he used only seasonally. In the winter months he’d back it out of the garage into the driveway, let it idle for ~15 minutes, rev the shit out of it, then park it again in the garage. He “didn’t want it to sit for too long.” I couldn’t help but think what he was doing was worse than just letting it sit all winter, and then pulling it out again when he was ready to actually use it. Starting it up to let it idle doesn’t warm all the fluids, and likely contributes to moisture in the oil since it probably doesn’t heat up enough for long enough to burn it off. Was he killing it? Probably not. But he certainly wasn’t doing good for the car.
This 100%. If I’m not using a car, I don’t touch it. Just keep the battery charged.