There are so many logistical details you must figure out when you’re moving, even just temporarily, that it can be understandably stressful. After all, packing your entire life away into nothing but boxes and then heading somewhere new—whether a new house just a few blocks away or a foreign country to spend some time abroad—is a pretty big deal. And while not every move constitutes the need to store your vehicle for any amount of time, when that situation does come up, you might be even more overwhelmed.

If you’ve ever needed to store your car, you know how intense it can feel. But we here at Affordable Storage don’t think it needs to be, and that’s exactly what we’re here for! Whether you need to store your vehicle while you go home from college for the summer, take an extended trip overseas, or temporarily live in a city where public transportation is more prevalent—or whatever other reason you might have, we’re here to help. So, what is there to know before storing your car in a storage unit? Well, in addition to making sure you rent a big enough unit for your vehicle, it turns out that it’s a pretty complex matter, and you need to prepare before locking your car away for an extended period of time.

Your Car Will Need Some Basic Maintenance Beforehand

No matter how long you plan to store your car in a storage unit, you need to be sure it’s well taken care of first. Here are some general maintenance items to take care of before placing your car in long-term storage:

• Change the oil to prevent contaminants in used oil from damaging your engine
• Fill the gas tank to prevent moisture from accumulating and seals from drying out
• Do not set the parking brake. If the brake pads and rotors are in contact for too long, they can fuse. Use wheel chocks to keep your vehicle in place instead.
• Inflate the tires to their maximum recommended pressure to help prevent flat spots.
• Your registration is up-to-date link this to TX DMV vehicle registration
• Maintain your insurance as required by most states and storage facilities.

That way, you can rest assured that while you’re away, your car is stable and probably won’t give you any issues when you come to pick it up. We should also note that Affordable Storage does not permit working on cars inside any of our storage units, so make sure you have everything taken care of before dropping off your vehicle.

It’s Important to Drive it Every so Often

Even though you might have taken care of your car’s maintenance before dropping it off at a storage unit, that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily good to go for months on end. On the contrary, if you don’t have your car driven every three weeks or so, then you might end up with some more issues to deal with at the end of your vehicle’s storage stay.

If possible, it’s best to take your car out of storage and drive it every three weeks to avoid your battery going dead or your tires developing flat spots while you’re away. This might seem impossible if you’re going out of town for a while but see if you can get a friend or family member to take your vehicle for a spin for you. If that’s not a possibility, you can purchase a float charger to hold your car’s battery while you’re away. When you return, you just grab your battery and reinstall it in your car! That way when you get back to your car, you don’t have a dead battery greeting you.

Give it a Good Clean and Protect it From Critters

Just like everyone loves the feeling of returning from a long trip to a sparkling clean house, we have a feeling you’ll get the same excitement when you return to your car and it’s perfectly clean. So, while not completely necessary, we do recommend you get a car wash before storing your car, and maybe go ahead and clear the interior as well. Then, when you return to your vehicle, you’ll be driving off in a clean car that smells great, instead of the opposite. Because no one wants that!

Additionally, while we here at Affordable Storage think our storage units are pretty well-protected, if you want to be extra cautious that no critters take up residence in your automobile while you’re gone, there are a few things you can do. First, make sure all your windows are tightly rolled up and doors are securely locked. Second, you can also purchase mothballs or other pest repellants to place around your car just to be extra sure that you don’t’ come home to a ton of bugs or rodents.

Storing your car in a storage unit is a great way to make sure it stays safe and secure while you’re away. You can rest assured that when you store your auto with Affordable Storage, you’ll not only be getting the best deal on a storage unit, but your car will be in good hands until you’re ready to come home.