Think about the fuel when you store a vehicle

People choose car storage for many reasons. For example they could have a rare vintage car that they only drive on special occasions. Or, it may be that they won’t be driving for several months and choose to store the vehicle. Whatever the case, it is important to choose a great service. You also need to ensure you do everything necessary to make sure the car will remain in a good condition.

Fuel goes off

Car storageOne of the things you need to think about is the fuel. Unfortunately petrol and diesel don’t last forever. In fact, both of them will lose quality the longer you store them and eventually go stale. You need to think about this, especially if you are storing a vehicle for the long term.

If it is a petrol car you should not have any concerns if you are storing the vehicle for six months or less. However, there are a few things to think about. Firstly, the fuel will go off much faster if it is contaminated. In addition, the shelf life will drop dramatically if it is too hot. At 30 degrees Celsius the fuel will start to go off in around three months.

Diesel has a longer shelf life than petrol but won’t last indefinitely. Generally you can store it for six to twelve months. However, it will start to turn gummy eventually. That is not something you want to happen as it can cause clogging in the engine.

What to do?

If you are storing a petrol vehicle for longer than six months or a diesel car for more than a year it may be best to drain the fuel. That way you don’t need to worry about it going off in the tank. This is even more important if it is only partially full.

One thing you may consider is using a fuel stabiliser. Adding one to petrol or diesel can help to make the fuels last longer. However, you need to ensure you choose a suitable product. Then you have to follow the instructions carefully. It is worth noting though that the RAC does not usually recommend using them.

When you take a vehicle out of storage that has fuel in its tank, the first thing you should do is drive to a petrol station. Topping up the tank can help to offset the performance issues you can encounter when using old fuels.

Ask us about car storage

Rudler has a lot of experience storing vehicles. As a result we know what it takes to do the job properly. We can offer excellent services to suit any needs. You can see how good we are in the fact that so many clients trust us with rare, valuable models.

We offer a choice of solutions to suit various needs. For example clients can choose to drive their vehicle to us if they wish. Or, they can ask us to come and collect it. We offer first rate car transportation so this is no trouble for us. Once again we will vow to take great care of the vehicle during shipping.

So, if you want to arrange car storage, or even if you just need some advice, contact us. We would love to help and have plenty of happy customers.