I will be out of the country for about 14 months.  I live in
Baltimore. I own a 2002 Toyota Camry which I cannot take with me.  WMy
general problem is: what is the best thing to do with the car while I
am gone?  ((I know little about cars.)

Options seem to include:  Leave the car unused;  Leave the car with a
friend; leave it with some mechanic company. (Did I leave anything
out?)

I understand that it is not good for cars to be left unused for
extended periods.  Is this true?  What (most likely) would happen to
my car if I simply left it immobile the whole time I was gone?  Would
it be wrecked?

If the car must be run, then, at a minimum, how often must it be run,
and for how long, and how far, in order to keep it in good working
condition when I get back?

If I lend the car to someone else to use while I am gone, what's the
best way to make sure that I am not liable for whatever damages they
might do to someone else's car or someone else or to my insurance
while I am gone?  Does it make sense to simply sell the car to them
for $1, with the promise that they will sell it back to me when I
return, so that they are responsible for insurance, etc?

Is it possible/customary to leave the car w/ a mechanic or some car
firm like that? What services and fees could I anticipate in this
context?

Any other thoughts come to mind about how to solve this problem?

Thanks.

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Clarification of Question by amysingh-ga on 16 May 2004 17:38 PDT

Thanks, all of you, for your assistance.

There are a couple good things you can do. I'll give you my ideas, and
maybe you'll get more from other people.

I had a friend who had to leave the country for a similar period of
time. He chose to leave his car with a friend who drove it weekly. (It
has to be driven long enough to have the engine get completly warm,
from what I've heard.) If you have liability concerns, talk to your
insurance agent, your attorney, or both.

I haven't heard of leaving a car with a mechanic's shop, but I have
heard of having a mechanic service your car so that it can easily
survive an extended storage period. I read an article about this
subject many years ago, but I forget the details, sorry. My guess is
that whatever a good mechanic does, your car will need to be towed to
where it'll be stored (for example, if I remember right, the oil will
be drained from the engine, making the car undrivable). You wouldn't
have to pay too much for this service. Remember, though, that you'll
need the car towed back to a mechanic when you return, and you'd have
to pay for it to be put back in running condition.

You're right that cars don't do well with prolonged periods of
non-running. I sometimes take 3- or 4-week vacations, and my cars have
always started well after that. They've had no bad effects from that
period of inactivity. But 14 months would be too much, without some
sort of preventative medicine.

G'luck,
dtc

Given that the Camry is one of the most stolen cars in the US, it
would be a good idea to garage it somewhere. A club is not enough, as
these cars are often parted out.

If you do leave it with a friend, the engine not only needs to warm
up, but run long enough for condensation to boil off the internal
muffler parts, so it doesn't rust through. 40 minutes run time per
week maybe.

A mechanic will do the following when storing a car:

The oil will be drained
the car will be coved with cloth
the battery will be disconnected, and probably removed

He might also drain the radiator and brake fluid. In some cases, the
car should be put on jack stands at the jack points (under the doors,
close to the wheels on toyotas) depending on how much you care about
your tires. They will distort over time.

As for insurance, most companies will put another person on the policy
as a seasonal or part time driver. I think this means that they don't
get to drive the car for more then 6 total weeks out of the year. Ask
your company. Don't sell your car, taxes will get complicated. Also,
ask your dealership about storing the car. They might know some place
or have a good idea how to. Have fun abroad!

In your area I would contact the contractor that does this for the
military folks that go overseas on tours where they cannot take their
car, They would probably have a lot of good answers and probably have
reular "civilian" accounts also.
Baltimore, MD VPC (Vehicle Processing Center)
2501 Broening Highway
Baltimore, MD 21224
Tel# 410 631 5751
Fax# 410 631 5756
800# 800 631 5751

Park it in a secure place..e.g. with a friend. Remove all the spark
plugs and squirt ordinary engine oil into the plug holes. put the
plugs back. Turn over the engine a few times to spread the oil on the
cylinders..without starting the motor.Leave the fuel tank about 1/4
full. And come back in fourteen months... The motor will not be
seized. Put in a fresh charged battery and top up the now stale fuel,
to a full tank, or, drain it and top it up. Any mechanis worth his
salt can restart a car that has been immobile for a long time. hope
this helps.

You should garage the car and register it as non op with your
department of motor vehicles. Also cancel your insurance, since you
won't be needing it.

Any car sitting for a long time will dry out the seals and they may
have to be replaced.

Leaving the car with a friend might produce an ex friend when you
don't like the wear and tear and God knows what else wold happen to
your vehicle.

autoinsguy
https://www.4carinsurancequotes.com/