We talk a lot about moving here, but another fundamental part of our business is storage. And similar to summer, the upcoming winter season poses a couple potential challenges with storing and maintaining your vehicle. With all the belts, fluids and moving parts, it’s easy to see why automobiles need to be properly prepped and maintained for the winter months.

We take special precautions when storing vehicles such as running the engine for 20 minutes once a month, checking fluids and tire pressure and exercising the gears. We also recommend our customers do a couple extra prep tasks before putting their vehicles into storage, many of which are relevant for any car owner. To help care for your vehicle this winter season, here are some of those maintenance items that’ll help keep you safe and warm on the road this winter season.

• Check your battery: Residents of places like Minnesota, where sub-zero temperatures are common, already know this, but excessively cold weather zaps your car battery of its power – up to 50 percent. If your car battery is several years old, swing by an automotive store to get it checked out. Better to know how much juice you have left before you’re stranded somewhere on the coldest day of the year.
• Inspect your wiper blades: While you’re at it, take a look at your wiper blades as well. Most are only good for six to twelve months, so there’s a good chance yours need to be replaced. If that’s the case, you might want to look at winter wiper blades specifically designed for removing snow and freezing rain.
• Wash and wax your car: In addition to making your car look shiny and new, a wash and wax goes a long way to protect your car from rust and corrosion. If you live in an area that receives a lot of snow, there’s likely a buildup of rust and salt on your car’s undercarriage as well. To fix this, take your car to a carwash that will properly clean its underside.
• Don’t rev your engine to warm up the car faster: The reason it takes a few minutes for a car’s ventilation to pump out heat is because it gets the warmth from the engine, which also needs to warm up. So revving your engine to get it moving faster will help shorten that chilly wait time, right? Wrong. It does waste fuel though if you’re interested in that
• Fuel stabilizer: If you don’t plan on driving your convertible this winter, think about adding some fuel stabilizer to your gas tank. This additive will protect your engine from the gum, varnish, rust and corrosion that can afflict engines after gasoline left in the tank has broken down. It also prolongs the life of an engine by removing water from gas tanks, and cleans carburetors and fuel injectors. So when things warm up, your convertible will be ready to hit the road.

George Roth Author