I'm not sure if "Discussion" is the best place for this, but I would be happy for the mods to decide and move it if necessary.
SWMBO's daughter's 306 HDi (the one that survived the misfuelling a while back!) will be SORNed and kept on Mum's drive for 12 months while the young lady travels to various far-flung parts of the globe.
My initial thoughts about the best procedure for this are that it should be started and run to full temperature every fortnight or so and, as the driveway is spacious, it should be driven back and forth as much as space will allow.
The handbrake should not be applied and the tyres should be marked so that the wheels are not always in the same position when at rest.
Is this about right? Any other advice? Thank you for your help.
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To stop the clutch plate sticking use a broom to hold the pedal down by placing the tip of the handle on the pedal and the bristle part against the back of the seat. Pump the tyres up to maximum pressure to try and prevent flat spotting (or better still put the car on axle stands).
From my experience though, she should sell the car and buy another when she gets back. Left undriven a car can develop all manner of mysterious maladies.
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I would consider insuring it for yourself on a limited mileage policy (which would be very cheap) and just using it once in a while.
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Have to agree, I'm afraid, better off selling it.
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To stop the clutch plate sticking use a broom to hold the pedal down by placing the tip of the handle on the pedal and the bristle part against the back of the seat.
Wouldn't this in turn weaken the spring fingers of the clutch? Also stretch the cable, or if it has a hydraulic clutch, cause problems with the seals as they'll be under pressure all the time?
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I would use it or sell it.
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I'm in the use it or lose it camp.
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I'd echo what everyone had already said. Depending on the value of the car, it is better to use it regularly or sell it.
Otherwise, after 1 year, it may require a fortune to make it daily usable again.
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Do what I did with my MG when laying it up for winter:-
-Park it up without the handbrake.
-Disconnect the battery.
-Leave it well alone.
I can't see any point in continuously starting it up and not going anywhere, far better to just let the engine stand totally idle IMO and occasionally push the car back and forth to rotate the tyres, as my car occasionally needs moving for access to things in the garage this is what I did with it.
The problem that I've noticed so far is that the brakes are well and truly binding, but I'd budgeted for new discs and pads in April anyway so I'm not concerned.
As it's standing outside it may be a good idea to open the windows now and then on a warm day.
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I tend to agree with thus, holding the clutch down isn't good. If it's hydraulic I suspect the pressure will gradually release with the pedal down and the clutch engaged.
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The 1994 Mercedes W124 I recently acquired was laid up for almost 2 years from 2005 to 2007 following the death of the owner. I don't know what (if any) precautions were taken but it went for a checkup and service to a Mercedes dealership and was given a clean bill of health. I know for a fact that it was stored indoors, though.
I previously owned a BMW M3 which used to stand for up to 3 months at a time whilst I was away on business. I never had any problems except that at each service the dealer reported that the ECU error memory was full of "battery low voltage" errors.
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