If you intend to park for long, here is what you should do

There are a number of reasons why you will have to park your car for a long period of time. If you do not have more than two or three cars, it could be for travel abroad. It could also be that you are importing a number of spare parts that could take a while to arrive.

Allan Ahumuza has had a number of stints in different countries as a security officer. Each of these trips requires him to be out of the country for between six to 18 months, sometimes up to two years. Each time he is away, he says he covers his Mercedes Benz Kompressor C200 not only to protect it from dust but also prevent its leather dashboard from being damaged by sun rays.

“The body of the car cover I use is thick enough with a spongy material to avoid penetration of the hot sun that normally inflicts cracks on the dashboard. It also protects the silver car paint from fading,” Ahumuza says.

Start the car
Like Ahumuza, Anthony Katabazi is also sometimes deployed in different African countries for consultancy work. It keeps him away from his Nissan X-trail for almost six months each time. One of the car elements that he worries about is the engine. He remembers a scenario in 2017 when he had to spend approximately Shs200,000 to have his engine opened and cleaned to remove engine oil particles that had solidified after the car had spent seven months without being driven.

“When I returned from Sierra Leone, I started the car but the engine run for a few minutes and went off. When the mechanic came home to find out what the problem was, he discovered that it had accumulated oil particles because the oil was not moving within the engine,” Katabazi recalls.

“I always leave the car key at home and ask someone to start it once a week and drive the car around the compound,” he adds.
Change engine oil

Moses Musinguzi, a mechanic in Ntinda, advises that besides getting someone to start the engine and drive your car for a short distance, it is also recommended to change your engine oil atleast a week or three days before you park it. This is to not only to get rid of old oil but also allow the new oil get compatible and circulate within the engine to keep sensitive engine parts such as pistons well lubricated.

Fill the fuel tank
When you park your car for long with little or no fuel, it will be subjected to rusting. According to Isaac Mujjawa, a mechanic in Makindye, the rusting could either happen at the bottom of the fuel tank or on the sides. This, therefore, means that the only way you can secure your tank is to fill it up to eliminate any chances of rusting.

Inflate tyres
Much as your car will be stationary most of the time, Musinguzi says, it is also important to inflate all your tyres with the recommended tyre pressure to maintain their shelf life.

“When car tyres do not have the right pressure and the car is parked for long, their sides tend to gradually develop small cracks because of the car weight. When the weight increasingly becomes unbearable, the cracks widen and eventually the tyre loses its entire pressure. When you return to your car and inflate tyres inflated, there are high chances that they (tyres) will not serve you for long before they burst,” Musinguzi adds.

Remove car battery
One of the disadvantages of parking your car for long is that the battery power will diminish overtime. This is because the battery relies on the engine to charge, which in this case would not be running. Musinguzi advises that it is better to disconnect the battery from the car and keep it in a place that is neither hot nor cold. The best place would be to keep it in the car trunk or boot or on a flat piece of timber.

“If you choose to disconnect the battery and leave it in its position, remember to smear the battery terminals with grease so that they do not rust and attract any other dirt,” he advises.

Handbrakes
According to businesstoday, an online portal, engaging the handbrake over an extended period can result in the brake pads getting stuck to the brake discs or drums.

Needless to say, if this happens, you will be in some trouble the next time you drive the car. The portal advises that the smarter thing to do would be to use wheel chocks, say a piece of wood or even a brick, to keep it from rolling and leave the car in first gear.