Hello all. I am in the military and may be moving soon. I may be getting assigned away from the states for approximately a year. I am on the fence whether to keep my MINI and store it or sell it save for another MINI/vehicle. I have listed most of my mods in my sig. I am wondering if anyone here has stored their MINI for an extended amount of time. I have family nearby that could start and drive the car about once a month or so- it would be garaged the entire time. I’ve talked with folks that have stored there cars and most don't really do anything special to them besides have them started every so often. I have the Odyseey battery mod in my MINI but I've also purchased a trickle charger that I can keep hooked up the car while it sits- just to keep the battery fresh. Do ya'll have any suggestion on storing the car for this amount of time- I'm anxious to here any feedback from people who have done it or know of people who have done it. Thanks!

 

Those who I know that have went on deployment have told me that it is a really great feeling to be able to return home and find something just as you left it.
I say keep it and have a trusty friend drive it once every two weeks.

 

Storing your car for extended periods is no problem. Two of the cars in my signature were stored for 2.5 years while I was stationed up in Iceland. One was driven down the street once a month and the other was driven about once every six months. Nothing wrong with either one today. I recommend a charger that maintains the charge on the battery and someone to drive it about every six weeks. It should look just like you left it when you come back.


I also had a previous car that sat in the garage for six months with nothing more than a battery charge and there were no negative effects.

You should also keep your car since the pics I've seen of the next model are not nearly as attractive as ours. Good luck whichever way you go.

 

To store the car you should change the oil and coolant, fill the gas tank and add fuel stabilizer, put it inside (don't leave it outside, even with a cover), remove the battery, and put the car on stands to get the weight off the wheels and tires. Starting the car every once in a while, or driving it a little bit every now and then, are actually bad for the engine because it never gets up to full temp.

 

just a warning, dont let the fuel go bad. Its a major pain in the rear to get the gas out of the mini tank since it has two parts. Only one side can be siphoned thru the filler tube, the other side you have to remove the back seat and empty it from inside the car thru the fuel level sensor.

 

what is the story with the crispy mini? no updates on the website for a loooooong time

 

The below is from Miata.net - so ignore the convertible parts. Otherwise, it's all good advice in long term storage.
As mentioned above, if you do have someone drive it, make sure they don't just start it up and let it idle (bad!) - it should be driven at least 20 minutes to get all the fluids to operating temperature and burn off any water that has condensed in the block and exhaust system.
The trickle charger is a good idea.
I did a year work assignment overseas and kept two cars in storage (but got to visit every three months.)

As far as keeping it:
Is the car special to you?
Do you have a hankering for the new tranny?
Is there some place you'd rather have $20 invested over the next year?

1. Clean all painted surfaces, use touchup paint as needed, and wax the exterior and door jams, under the hood and trunk lid, and wheels.
2. Flush with generous quantities of water: the undercarriage, behind inner front fender liners, inside rocker panels (being sure that all 8 drain slits are unblocked).
3. Use a good rubber/vinyl cleaner-conditioner on all vinyl and on rubber gaskets, seals, and other rubber parts.
4. Change oil and filter; do lube job. (Optional: Remove four spark plugs, squirt oil in cylinders, and turn engine over. This may be unnecessary with modern engine oils and their additives.)
5. Check that engine coolant has 50-50 mixture, or that coolant is good for 35-below temperature.
6. Lubricate door window channels and tracks with silicon (on power windows, keep silicon away from electrical contacts and use white lithium in the metal tracks).
7. Fill gas tank as full as possible. Add a can of dry gas made for use with fuel injection. (Optional: Add fuel stabilizer to gas; some believe this is unnecessary for modern gasoline with its additives.)
8. Stuff rags (steel wool or crumpled foil should foil rag-eating rodents) tightly into tailpipe and intake snorkel under hood in order to keep out rodents. Tape a note to the steering wheel that reminds you to unplug the pipes before trying to start the Miata.
9. Jack up car and store on blocks under the jack points; this takes weight off springs, shocks, and tires. (Alternative: Store car with at least 40 pounds of air in tires, to minimize flat spotting of tires.)
10. Transmission in neutral and parking brake off. (The MCA has recommended that you also depress the clutch pedal by using a stick between base of driver's seat and the pedal; however, no one has seen a sticking clutch pedal on a Miata and some experts question whether you should follow this step, which would put the linkage under stress.)
11. Battery
    1. Disconnect battery and store it where temperature is above freezing and NOT on a concrete floor. (Be sure to record the radio code, which you will need to re-enter when reconnecting battery.)
    2. An alternative approach, at least with indoor storage, is to leave battery in car and use a trickle charger set at 2 amps, approximately once each month. An even better approach is to use a timer on the charger, set weekly. Best of all is use of an automatic trickle charger which is attached to the battery, plugged in, and then forgotten.
    3. It does NOT work to start the car up weekly or monthly when it is in storage.
12. Store car with convertible top up, to ensure that it is dry and does not mildew.
13. Where mice are a problem, a few mothballs placed in the car will discourage the building of nests.
14. Cover car with a soft breathable cover, to keep away sunlight and to keep dust off Miata.
15. In choosing location for storage, remember that moisture, rodents, and direct sunlight are the enemies, to varying degrees in different parts of the country.
16. Wait in agony for winter to end, then to restart, pull the fuel injector relay (under hood, on fender, N. American passenger side) and crank until you've got good and steady oil pressure -- about 8 psi on the gauge. This will take 45 seconds or so. Plug relay back in and away you go.

 

yeah, thats one of the pages on there. All is good with the crispy mini, he's gone to college with me, just havent had much time to work on the site in a long time. Im working on the formula SAE racing team here at auburn... so thats now taking most of my car ambitions for the time being

 

Thanks for all the info guys.
Eric- I just paid the car off, so I'd like to keep it, no really sentimental value to it. I have it set up pretty much the way I want, there will be a few more tweeks before it gets stored. I'm still not 100% on keeping it but I am leaning heavily that way...time will tell!