Storing an RS6 for several years - any advice?

[jbourne]

So after all the work I’ve done on this damn thing, it looks like I might have to work abroad for a few years. I know financially it’s throwing good money after bad to store it etc, but I’m trying to figure out if it’s _possible_ - I recently came to the realisation that very few of my car decisions are ever _logical_. So leaving the reasonableness of it aside ... any advice on how to do it? It would be outside (car cover of course), at a friend’s garage. This is in a climate with no freezing, but some rain obviously. Never snow. Summers are very hot, so three summers outside.

I would deregister it and put it into “storage” mode, though he has a car dealership so I’m going to investigate if it would be legal for him to put dealer plates on it and drive it (insurance + his time would be a cost obviously).

Gasoline going bad is first concern especially since stabiliser lasts what, a year - and going through an 80L tank is still some work, even with the insane consumption this car has. Just idling it to run through a tank is probably not a viable option, and I don’t know if he has the facilities to drain it.

Any help welcome. I know selling it and buying another is an option, but it’s not a very common car, so I don’t think it’ll significantly depreciate, and at least brakes and oil seal are done on mine ...

[WooshNI]

My limited knowledge suggests

Drail fuel and water
Jack up remove wheels use axle stands

Spend additional money and store inside i would say this is the biggest issue

[Doug_RS6]

You really want to keep it indoors if at all possible. Either way you want the car off it's wheels on stands or leave it on the ground accepting you'll need four new tyres.

Biggest thing if it's going to sit outside would be to get it bone dry and inject cavity wax everywhere as water will get into and sit in the box sections and doors and without moving the car it may get trapped.

Drain the fluids. Squirt of oil down each bore to coat the cylinder walls. Battery out, condition the leather then something to absorb any moisture in the car, silica gel packets.

[jbourne]

I'm thinking general humidity shouldn't be too much of an issue as the climate is relatively okay, and a car cover should, in principle, prevent bad water accumulation?

How do you squirt oil into the cylinders? Remove the spark plugs, or? What to do with the fuel, brake fluid (someone posted replacing it with silicon-based somewhere, to prevent water absorbance), drain coolant, etc? I think draining the fluids may not work, as the area it would be parked at isn't exactly at the garage itself (it's about a block away), so without being able to move on its own power, I'm not sure how they'd get it over there.

[cammmy]

Off the top of my head, dot 5 is the only silicone based fluid and it cannot be mixed with anything else. I wouldn't recommend using it if the car doesn't call for it.

I guess it comes down to total cost as well, if you are paying someone to drive it , would it be cheaper to leave it with a friend on the proviso that you pay for the insurance and general maintenance etc and they use it every so often as a named driver?

[jbourne]

Off the top of my head, dot 5 is the only silicone based fluid and it cannot be mixed with anything else. I wouldn't recommend using it if the car doesn't call for it.

I guess it comes down to total cost as well, if you are paying someone to drive it , would it be cheaper to leave it with a friend on the proviso that you pay for the insurance and general maintenance etc and they use it every so often as a named driver?

I’d probably do it but where I live nobody has any parking space Noted on the silicon fluid.