Well, get ready for winter just after this bit of summer has happened! For a lot of us the end of September is a fine time to park the car up in the warm and dry, or a makeshift warm and dry place while the weather does its worst, the council throw some grit around and it’s generally too miserable to contemplate leaving the house. For those with heated garages and down duvets specifically for your pride and joy, you are entitled to our envy but you may look away now – I think you have this sewn up already! For those who are “keeping it real” it’s a damp garage or a tarpaulin on the drive for us.
What should we be considering before we park up? What are the potential hazards the winter could throw at our cars? Can we  be prepared? Lets take a look at the bodywork to start with. Need to keep those shiny things shiny, what about taking them off? It sounds simple, but bumpers and mirrors will be of little use while the car is laid up over the winter and would fit nicely behind the sofa, under the bed, or in the loft if you have to! Worse case scenario, make sure you cake them in a decent chrome polish, or better still a waxoil (this does make them a bit messy!) Then you stand a reasonable chance of still having them in the spring. Clean the car first! It may sound crazy to wash it to put it away, but the last thing you want is a local seagulls signature on your roof for 6 months. Get any mud and road grime out of the nooks and crannies – this will hold moisture like a sponge, and keep it within fighting distance of your chassis, inner arches, body etc while your back is turned. As with the chrome work, a nice thick layer of wax will stand it in good stead over the winter. Better than letting the bodywork take the brunt of the weather, would be a garage – yeah that’s obvious! So you don’t have a garage… put something over the car to keep the worst of it off. But what? A Tarpaulin is the cheap option, and while it’ll do what it says it does, keeping the elements out it will also keep stuff in! Your car will sweat under any non breathable cover – which means while your staying warm indoors by the fire your car could be rusting right before your eyes as that condensation attacks! Tackle the condensation with a breathable car cover, these allow moisture to evaporate through from inside preventing a build up and a nasty surprise when you come to remove it.  There is however a downside, just one. Being breathable they will let some moisture through from the outside in -so if you have a convertible with a ripped roof, a beach buggy or a dodgy sunroof this may not be the perfect answer. But for “normal” vehicle use, these are the things to use. Check out our range of breathable covers here. We’ll continue this topic very soon with preparing the mechanicals for hibernation.. Andy