Most people only think that car covers are only meant for protecting the car from elements of weather, dirt and other basic purposes of the sort. These are some of the benefits that you can get from these covers but there are others. One of the other basic things that these thin fabrics can do is protecting your car from being stolen. This sounds absurd as the covers are thin sheets that can be removed with a razor blade but it has been proven a fact. Most thieves steal things because they are seeing them and not because they had plans for it. A cover can prevent your personal items from being stolen.

Look at a situation where thieves want to steal a car in a public place and are not aware who the owner of the car is. This will compel them to get in the car as fast as possible and drive off at the speed of lightning. A car that is covered will require some tine to remove, fold and store it as you cannot just discard it on the street as this will look suspicious and attract attention. This makes the car covers essential and cheap anti theft investments.

Other than the external part, the covers are responsible for providing protection to contents inside your car. Kleptomaniac are thieves who still for the sheer thrill of it. If the contents that you have stored in your car are not being seen, there is less likelihood that a thief will take time on planning to break into your car. This ensures safety of contents stored in your car. In addition, you will require to take off the cover before getting into the car,. This is another task that will require a lot of time and thieves are always in hurry and escape before being noticed by the owners.

There are some car covers that come with car locks. The cover lock is a means of making it difficult for thieves to remove the covers. Since only the owner has the keys to unlock the covers, thieves will be forced to tear off the covers to get access to get into the car.

The covers fitted with locks also come with cables customized in them. The cable in the cover is coated with vinyl and is hence friendly to all parts of the car. There are some that were attributed with destroying the color of the car but this one is safe. These covers are sold with grommets and loops for tying down. The cable is passed through one of the grommet and under the car. Let the end pass through the other grommet and then you can lock it. Your car and covers are both secure now. Most people prefer using lock and cable car covers since they are hard to break through. Moreover, breaking them will take a lot of time. In addition, the tools used to break the lock and cable attracts attention or the owner of the car.

You want to store your car, or RV, but you know that when you go to start your vehicle after it’s been sitting for a few weeks or months, that your battery will be dead.

The car battery trickle charger is specifically designed for the maintenance of 12 Volt batteries that are used periodically or kept in storage for extended periods.

The normal self-discharge of a battery is prevented when using a car battery trickle charger. In addition, the life of rechargeable 12 volt batteries is extended by providing a minimum current, regulated output.

Low quality chargers will produce a strong, rapid charge that often will decay electrodes and boil out liquids. We strongly recommend purchasing a charger that; once your battery has been fully charged, it will automatically shut-off and then resume charging as your battery level drops. Also, check to make sure the charger you buy is specifically designed for longterm use. You want to be able to safely leave it connected to your battery for days, weeks, months, even years!

More important tips for vehicle storage:

Gas up

Air carries moisture with it and that will result in condensation in the tank. To reduce this as much as possible make sure the tank is as full as it can be. This will reduce the condensation and considerably lessen the amount of water in the gas and the injection system. Get a gasoline stabilizer such as Stabil and put this in before filling the tank. You will need to run the engine for a while to ensure that the stabilized gas has penetrated the entire injection system.

Change the oil filter and the oil

The contaminants in old oil will corrode the insides of your engine so it’s important to put fresh oil and a new filter in the car.

Over-inflate Tires

Inflate automobile tire to approximately 40 or 45 psi. Modern radial tires aren’t known to have problems with flat spotting from storage. Still, some people suggest that you roll the car a little every 2 weeks or so. It is strongly recommended that you don’t jack the vehicle up and rotate the tires because when you lower the car the suspension will be loaded up. Try and check the pressure of the tires every few weeks or so and watch for slow leaks.

Some say that the suspension will sag by putting the car up on jacks. Letting it sit on the ground for the few months shouldn’t lead to any problems.

Clean the vehicles interior

When it comes time to take your vehicle out of storage you won’t clean it. You may not want to clean it before you put it in storage but when you take it out you simply won’t do it. So, take some time and get everything really clean. Clean the carpets. Clean the glass, inside and out. Clean behind the pedal cluster. Clean and condition the leather. You’ll be surprised at the dirt you’ll find. Clean all the nooks and crannies. Also, don’t forget to also clean the trunk, etc. There is a full season of dirt and junk in the vehicle that you’re not going to want to carry into the next season. Moth balls and a bag or two of the silica gel inside the car (which absorbs any moisture in the air) are excellent preventative measures.

Wash the vehicle

Dust and dirt are corrosive to any paint job so to ensure a longer life it’s important when storing to not leave those elements on the vehicle, but take care not to put it away wet. This can be challenging if you want to use the vehicle right up to wet or snow season. You should never put your car away wet because rust will form everywhere the water collects. You’ll want to try anticipating the weather and cleaning the car and driving it a little to dry it out before storage. Then it will be necessary to get the dust off before storing it with a wipe down with wet/damp towels followed drying it with towels. Another option is one of the “quick detailer sprays” available at many auto parts stores.

Wax car

This is recommended but it may be difficult to get in a good waxing of the car depending on the temperature when you are preparing to store it. A good quality of wax will be too difficult to apply in low temperatures.

Condition the rubber parts

Many of the brand name products for treating rubber put on greasy coatings of silicon (Silicon isn’t good for paint) or tend to build up over time and actually make the trim look worse. Use a good rubber conditioner to preserve all the trim.

Clean the wheels

Brake dust is highly corrosive and it’s not good to have it sitting on your wheels for weeks or months at a time. To do the most thorough job remove the wheels from the car, clean them on the outside and inside.

Cover Openings

Sealing up the exhaust tips will help to prevent rust inside the exhaust system. Close the heater vents and any other openings. Every 2 weeks or so, it’s probably a good idea to make a periodic inspection. Check if any leaks developed or if any mice are nesting.

Engine Storage

Spray WD 40 into cylinders
Take out spark plugs
Spray WD 40 into air intakes
Turn over the engine by hand with wrench a couple of times
Every three months repeat this (except the spark plugs which will no longer be in the engine)
To change the wheel bearing position, every three months turn wheels, or move car into different location
And for manual transmissions shift into one gear and move gear box internal around
Every six months drive the vehicle.

Starting the vehicle

There are differing views on whether starting a vehicle periodically while it is in storage is a good idea. Starting the engine puts considerable thermal stress on parts which are often in cold temperatures. The majority of engine wear occurs in the first few minutes when a car has been started because the oil is still in the oil pan and not lubricating the engine. In cold weather the engine may not get hot enough to burn off the moisture, acids, etc. the car is creating while running. This contaminates the clean oil. If you are going to store your car for a really long time then it needs to be run periodically to keep it operable.

I am sure you have heard of the website Craigslist by now. This guy named Craig started it as a way to share information with people in the San Francisco area. Long story short, 15 years later the site has established itself in about 700 cities in over 70 countries. It is one of the top 50 visited websites on the internet. It is a pretty good resource to find used equipment, baseball cards, real estate, you name it. One of the better resources is its cars+truck section and this is what we are going to focus on.

#1 Go to the Craigslist website
You will reach a pretty generic page with a list of 100’s of cities and states. If your closest metro area is listed, choose it. If not, pick your state and it will give you a list of areas to choose from.

#2 The ‘For Sale’ section
Under the ‘for sale’ section you will find a listing that says ‘cars+trucks’. This is where you can find almost an unlimited amount of listings. Some listings will be by private owners and some will be from the dealership. Either one is fine and can turn into a great deal for you.

#3 Bring someone with you when dealing with a private owner
When at all possible, have your mechanic friend go with you. Sometimes these guys can get a really good feel for what the car is worth just by starting, looking under the hood at the hoses and what not, and checking underneath for leaks. I can’t stress this enough. It would be worth setting up all your car appointments in one day, buy the mechanic lunch and check out the cars. Most people are honest, but just cover your bases.

#4 Dealer vs. By Owner
There are two people to buy from on this site: dealer or by owner. Buying from a dealership can be good because the dealership has a reputation and a standing in the community. They don’t want you to be unsatisfied, so hopefully they will represent the car in a true fashion. The price from the dealership may be a little bit higher though. The private owner on the other hand could be anything. They could be a con artist or a great person just trying to get a fair price for their car.

#5 Do your research
Pick the cars you are interested in and do some comparison online. It doesn’t take long to find out if what they are asking is too much too little, or just right.

Bottom line: a) go to the site; b) go to the car section; c) pick the cars you want to research; d) do some online research; and e) go check out the car with your mechanic if you can.

The research and the mechanic part are the most important. Try not to skip them.