Storing a car for 2 years

Chris_D said:
'Overseas job for 2 years' and you couldn't get a trip back home in that time?
Come on OP, fess up you're really bein sent down for a bit of porridge aren't you? lol
Say awoight to Rolf Harris for us :thumbsup: :lol:
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This explains why you spend so much time in Holland. Or is that Walton. :wink:
 
buzyg said:
Chris_D said:
'Overseas job for 2 years' and you couldn't get a trip back home in that time?
Come on OP, fess up you're really bein sent down for a bit of porridge aren't you? lol
Say awoight to Rolf Harris for us :thumbsup: :lol:
Click to expand...

This explains why you spend so much time in Holland. Or is that Walton. :wink:
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Bwaaahaha. Its HMP Liverpool now, actually :wink:
 
Resurrecting this tread.

Overseas job is now go. Leaving in September. Looking at this place for storage:

http://universalclassiccarsstorage.com/index.html

Been in touch with them, about £160 a month all in. Am I mad?

There are cheaper storage providers but only by about £30 a month
 
Two years is too long to come back and every thing just work IMHO. A few points in no particular order..

You can tax the car a month at a time. So only a few hundred quid to get it taxed and have some one use it a few times.

If you have a tracker fitted. That will likely drain your battery to dead as a dead thing in less than a month.

Use a trickle charger sparingly, as they can also kill your battery if simply left running.

Store the car somewhere dry. Not on someones drive or in a field out back. Obvious but worth a mention.

If you or a friend are able to run the car then the tyres should be ok. If not then take the wheels off and pop in on axle stands.
:)
 
buzyg said:
Two years is too long to come back and every thing just work IMHO.
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I agree on that. What I plan to do is when it's time to re-animate I'll have it transported to a BMW Specialist (TWG in Camberley) and get them to tickle it back to life. Then if anything needs attention it's in the right place.
 
I would question if £4K is worth the spend, but that depends on how much you value it and if you will be back after 34 months. Few return on time
Separately you can leave a ctek or similar on all the time, not a trickle charger that is old school tech
 
cj10jeeper said:
I would question if £4K is worth the spend, but that depends on how much you value it and if you will be back after 34 months. Few return on time
Separately you can leave a ctek or similar on all the time, not a trickle charger that is old school tech
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Yes it would be a battery conditioner as opposed to a trickle charger.

I've been having the debate for a while, I look at it like this:

Option A: Sell now
Car is on 54k miles, I paid £19k in July last year, been offered £22k. Take the short term profit but probably regret it.

Option B: Store
It costs £150pm (£3600 for 2 years) which based on recent trends i would hope to see a similar value increase over 2 years if no mileage is being added to the car. Treat it like a savings account, when I get back I can sell or have a nice Z4MC to arrive back to.

Part of me thinks it's daft, but the numbers add up (man maths obviously).
 
Just remember that a car that shows zero mileage and no mot for 2 years, so 3 since the last will probably sell at a discount, just the way it is
I know as I own some laid up Jeeps
 
Decision is not really financial but more one about how besotted you are with that exact car.
Personally I'd take the money, have no worry asyou will think about its safety, insurance, problems, etc most days. Sell and buy again on return.
 
As you will be back every six months, tax it each time you get back and drive it like a lunatic. Then when you leave SORN it and get unused months of tax refunded. When you're not here put it on a CTEK to keep the electrics happy, and pump the tyres up to 40psi to avoid flat spots. Plenty of cars regularly spend six months off the road (my E30 does every winter).
 
You definitely don't want it in a container for 2 years, the condensation will be horrendous. I'd take of any bits you're particularly attached to and flog it!
 
It would be dehumidified proper car storage not just chucked in the local big yellow storage.

Anyway that's a moot point now. The reality is my heart was doing some ropey man maths in order to convince my head to keep it.

I don't know exactly how long I'm going to be in Singapore for. If the FX rate moves against me the storage cost will increase.

I'm sadly coming around to the reality that selling is the best option.

Z4MC will full dealer history and 53k miles anyone? :cry:
 
Bing said:
Yep, trickle charger. BMWZ4MC stored his for about a year when he went to work in Oz, so may be worth contacting him by PM. If you can afford to keep it then why not ?
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I stored my Zed and my Westfield for almost 14 months in my parents' garage whilst I was working here in Aus and had no issues. I serviced them before I left, chocked the tyres so I could leave the handbrakes off and the cars in neutral, and left them where they stood.
I've been back in Sydney again since December 2015, during which time I used my Zed for two weeks last August and again for a few weeks at the start of this year. I'll be back in the UK in a couple of weeks, so I'll let you know if the tyres have burst, the battery exploded and rats have eaten the wiring loom!!
I expect the Westy will be a bugger to start after a year and a half idle since it is after even a day and a half.
I wouldn't fret too much about storing it if you have a dry, safe place. That said, I wouldn't part with large amounts of cash for storage, rather sell it instead.
Are you sure you'll be home in two years? Every ex pat I know in Singapore went for 2 years and stayed for 10...
 
It's a two year minimum term so who knows. Everyone I know who's moved there has stayed because they love it.
Depends on the lifestyle you're after. I'll be traveling all over Asia including 5 days a month in Japan. Singapore is the base.
It's probably more down to how the wife gets on with finding a job and social network she's happy with. Impossible to predict.

It's the uncertainty that driving me towards selling.

PS. How do you find the Westfield? My brother and I shared one years ago, great fun although I did spin in outside a police station once!
 
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