Care Instructions For Extended Absence

Guys, I will be leaving for a three month stint away from Chicago and will be leaving my beloved 996 behind. Wanted to know what is the best way to take care of the car while I am gone. Should I: (1) Have a friend start the engine weekly (if so does he just need to warm it up, or should he give it a round -- yikes!!), or (2) Disconnect the battery and let it sit. If so, what else besides the battery disconnecting should I do (ie, do I need to lower the tire pressure, spray a protective leather coating, ??) The car will be in a well-maintained building garage that will have temperature of about 60 degrees throughout. Your thoughts are appreciated. Regards.

Vik, Good you asked, your thought aren't exactly right ones here... Don't start the engine! ALl you'll be doing is making those 'bad' starts & not letting it warm properly etc. Tyres, don't lower the pressure, but little more (about 40 to 45 psi) in order to avoid flat spots). Fill up the gas tank. Change the oil. Disconnect the battery (or put trickle charger). Clean interior. Wash & wax the car. Put take it for a spin after that (assuming wheather is nice). You need to dry that baby up before putting it into storage. Cover it if you have a car cover. Put some conditioner on your rubber & vinyl parts. Leather conditioner as well. You can put some of those 'dry pack' to keep the interior dry but since your storage is warm and controlled I don't think it's necessary. Then, when you start it, if you really want to do it right (this really takes time & effort and maybe is a bit much but here it goes anyway): Lube the cylinders (take out the spark plugs and dip some oil in the cylinders), disable the ignition, crank it up wor a few rounds, connect the ignition again and the fire it up! This is basically what I do with my older 911, it sits for about 6 to 8 months during winter. I'm sure you'll be fine with less care since it's only for about three months (and the car is much newer) but I let you to decide what you wanna do or not.

Hey Vik: I can "store" it for you on Cape Cod

Flying Finn, what an amazing checklist!! Thanks so much for all the detail. Given that I am the complete opposite of it DIY-er (I really am awful about getting under the hood), I'm not sure about the last part where I disconnect the ignition and all (I don't even know how to do that). But your checklist is really fantastic, and I will take up all the other suggestions. Couple of questions (some of which I am extremely embarassed to ask): (1) I am not familiar with "dry packs." I assume they soak up excess moisture. Any chance that they overly dry up the inside air, leading to a risk of cracked leather? (2) What specific brand do you recommend for conditioning rubber and vinyl parts. Also, which parts specifically do you recommend I condition: the outside door/window/windscreen linings, and what else? (3) Embarrasing question: How do I go about disconnecting the battery. And do I have do anything special when I reconnect the battery (ie, connect it in a special order, etc. Do I need to be careful of shocks?) (4) What's the best way to change the oil: take it into Porsche? How much do they charge? (5) Finally, you're in Miama, Florida. What winter are you talking about??? Thanks again FF, you rock!! Regards.

Vik, no problem! (1) These you can get from Performance products etc. I don't remember their names (same stuff that comes when you buy somthing electric, like vcr, those tiny white packs, only these are bigger). You just put couple of them inside you car (just on the carpet) and they should take care of the moist. (2) I've used Maguires vinyl care (you can get it from Target), they hacve leather care too. (3) Open the doors (alarm off), then just disconnect it, you open the bolt on negative wire and take the wire off from the battery. Then when it's time to connect, do reverse and then go for at least 10-15 min. spirited drive (ECU needs to learn it's stuff again). This works for 993, I'n not 100% sure about 996, perhaps someone else will know. Maybe trickle charger would be good option? (4) Since you're not so much of a DIY-er, take it to the dealer (or your trusted P mechanic). I don't know how much they charge for 996, call them & ask. It's not that much. (and if you just had it changed, don't bother to do it. (5) My 911 is in Finland...

3 months isn't really long enough to require you to do anything other than disconnect the battery. Don't worry, the interior won't rot, the gas won't go bad, the tires won't flat spot, and no internal engine components will rust away. In some parts of the country we store our cars (unfortunately) regularly for close to 6 months at a time and you won't find any evidence that going through a lengthly storage proceedure has any demonstrative benefit.

Thanks RogerJ. I agree. I think these cars hold pretty well for a relatively short period, like a three month stint. I guess FF's list should be used as a comprehensive extended-period (3 months or greater) checklist. Regards.

I have a 2002TT and a 99Boxter. While I havn't stored the TT yet, 3 months is enough to flat spot the tires on the Boxter. Disconnecting the battery is a hassle because you lose all kinds of stored information. The easiest thing to do is get the cigarette lighter trickle charger from your dealer (I got one free with each car) and leave it plugged in. I'd fill the tires to 50psi as well since the first 25miles+/- are annoying when the tires flat spot. AS

I'm up in NH and I put my car away usually from Thanksgiving to March or April (3-4 mos.). All I usually do is put some gas preservative in a full tank and pump up the tires. You can also use a trickle charger but I don't think you'll have to worry about that during the summer months. I wouldn't worry about it too much for 3 months. Cars have sat longer than that at a dealership!

Thanks guys. Will pump the tires, get the trickle charger and put the gas preservative in the tank. I think that's all I will for the summer period. Regards.

Hey Vik, isn't that your 996 I see for sale on Ebay? Are you just testing the waters or have you decided that the care instructions are too burdensome while you will be away? FYI - I am located in Chicago as well, so another option could be to let me drive your car around once a week or so. I promise to be nice.

Ha ha. Actually neither T Hendricks. I would like to trade up to a 2002 since some of the Chicago-land dealers are offering me decent deals, and therefore I am a serious seller. However, I'm also going to be taking a long business trip, so the plan was to sell me car and buy the '02 a couple of weeks before the trip. Have had a lot of interest but (as usual) no commitments. If the car doesn't sell by the time I leave, then I will naturally store it. It's a precious jewel and I want to take good care of it. Immaculate coupe. Private seller. Low miles. Babied like hell. $53K. 'Nuff said. eBay post: <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1833625990" target="_blank">http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1833625990</a> I'm sure you'll take good care of it T Hendricks. I have no doubt about that. Just like every other Chicago-land Porsche owner. Regards.