Moving abroad for a couple of years. Storing the car

[SmartMAC]

We are thinking to move to Dubai for a couple of years for a change. We don't intend to rent the house or sell the Merc until we know what we are doing long term but as I don't have a garage I don't know what to do with the car.

I really don't want to sell it but I can't just leave it outside the house on the drive for 12 months at the time, can I?

Anybody has any experiences with car storage companies? How much would I expect to pay?

 

[Steveml63]

Hi,
My advice - sell the car and use the money towards something interesting in Dubai - which is car heaven!
Cars are mostly petrol, mainly large engined and every other Mercedes is an AMG.
After living in Dubai for a few years and driving the sorts of cars that are common here - you won't be keen to drive your humble diesel when you return to the UK in a few years time!
Petrol is only 30p a litre here - so we have an ML63 and Infiniti G37 coupe here - 887hp between them!
Cheers
Steve

 

[Driver15]

As above..

Also, leaving the car outside for that period of time with no use is not a good idea. It needs driving at least once a week.

 

[190]

I wouldn't like to leave a car outside for 2 years but it would be preferable to using a car cover that didn't breath. Perhaps do what the manufactures used to do. Coat the car with a thick layer of protective wax and perhaps attempt to protect the tyres from UV degradation. I think I'd also put something on the windows too to protect the interior from UV.

It would need to be stored with fresh oil to prevent internal corrosion. I would drive it to the storage location, change the oil and not start it or move it again other than cranking the engine to circulate the clean oil. When such things were easy to access and could be done in a few minutes it was also advisable to remove the plugs and squirt in a little oil before cranking to coat the cylinders.

A fuel stabilizer would need to be added as modern fuel degrades in storage.

What to do with the battery ? Either remove it or hook it up to a voltage controlled solar panel trickle charger.

Inflate the tyres to the max side wall pressure.

If someone could drive it occasionally that would be a good idea but the worst possible thing to do is just start the engine and run it for a few minutes. It should be driven 10 miles minimum or not started at all.

 

[fabes]

The depreciation alone over 2 years means it makes sense to sell it

You can bank the cash for a replacement on your return if you wish

 

[renault12ts]

About £120 pm for storage.

 

[John Jones Jr]

Another vote for selling.

 

[daveenty]

THESE people seem to offer good rates for storage, and will "exercise" your car for a fee as well apparently, though I'm tending to agree with the rest on here that selling it would be the logical thing to do.

By the time you've paid storage fees, plus taken depreciation into account, is it really worth keeping it, unless there's a possible sentimental reason not mentioned?

Another possible option would be to find a friend who needs a car for a year or so and lease/loan it to them for the period you're away, though I've no idea how the legalities of that would work, especially insurance wise.

Incidentally, I've no affiliation to the above mentioned company, nor know anything about them.

 

[golfer19]

I would agree about selling the car.
You might go to Dubai and stay longer than expected.

 

[TheFoX]

No one minds depreciation all the time we are getting use out of our possession, but could you handle the fact that the car will be devalued even though you are getting no use whatsoever out of it?

Sell it and put the money towards your next car when you finally return to Blighty. Besides, once you have driven all those AMGs and other exotic vehicles, you would probably be in the market for something fancy when you finally return.

 

[Sustanon250]

My C63 went to my detailer yesterday and he has put his car into storage , the car is covered , trickle charged, started once a month (driven if required) and fully insured (so you can cancel your own insurance ) . This costs £150 a month.

All in an air conditioned wharehouse.

 

[Meldrew2]

My old SLK once spent a couple of years in my garage due to a combination of bad back, rainy summer and pending divorce.

It needed a new battery, but everything else was fine. I was expecting the tyres to be out of shape from standing in the same position for so long, but no, they were still perfect.

Outside though...

I think, planning ahead, +1 for selling.

 

[lfckeeper]

Got a mate/family member you trust who would want it for a year or two for £50 a month? You get some of your depreciation back....your mate/family member gets a nice car ... car continued to be used.

Or sell it

 

[clk208]

Got a mate/family member you trust who would want it for a year or two for £50 a month? You get some of your depreciation back....your mate/family member gets a nice car ... car continued to be used. Or sell it

Friend of a friend did this a few years ago with his immaculate one year old Audi. Let a female friend use it for a couple of years. It came back with 90,000 miles on the clock and hardly a service to show for it. I think you'd have to be pretty specific as to terms if you went down this route.