5 Tips for Looking After Your Car Under Lockdown
Keep your vehicle in one piece during the lockdown
5. Give it a clean before putting it away
After a relatively mild winter in terms of weather, you’d be forgiven for thinking your vehicles paintwork has survived unscathed. There have still been a good 4 months of grit and loose tarmac flicked up though, and you’ll want to get rid of this sooner rather than later. If you’re going to leave your car to sit for the duration of lockdown, we’d advise giving it a wash first to prevent the paint from corroding.
4. Pump up the tyres
Your tyres will lose pressure if they’re sat in one place over time and if they’re allowed to get too deflated, the weight of the car will cause structural damage to the tyre walls which can really shorten the lifetime of your tyres. If possible, try and make sure your tyres are fully inflated to the specified pressure. If you don’t have access to a pump then one idea would be to put your car on axle stands to relieve your tyres of the vehicle’s body weight.
3. Turn it over
Your car is always using power to some extent. Even when it is parked on the driveway, the sensors for your alarm are still active and power is still leaking from your car’s battery. You can overcome this by turning it over and letting it run for 10 or 15 minutes once every week or so, which will lubricate the engine and allow the battery to regain some power from the alternator.
Obviously, we don’t encourage any needless journeys and we certainly recommend you do not leave your car unattended while idling.
2. Consider SORN’ing it
If you’re absolutely certain that your vehicle will not be getting driven any time in the foreseeable future then declaring your car as SORN could save you a few pounds. A Statutory Off-Road Notification can be applied to any car that is being stored away and the government will repay the remaining amount owed from the vehicles ‘road tax’ (Vehicle Excise Duty.)
Remember, you can only SORN a vehicle which is being kept off the public roads and car parks, the vehicle must be on private property such as a driveway or garage.
1. Think of the paintwork
Leaving your car to sit in the sunlight can be hugely detrimental to the health of the paintwork. Similarly, parking it under a tree can be a nightmare with endless organic matter falling from the branches above. A simple solution would be to invest in a car cover. Don’t rush down to the shops though - you’ll be able to find a model-specific cover for your car online and have it delivered to your door. A protective cover could be one of the best investments you make during lockdown and your car’s paintwork will thank you once this has all blown over…
With all of these tips, we must stress that you should not go out of your way. Please respect the government advice and stay at home. Your car is a piece of metal, at the end of the day, and public safety always comes first.
