Do you own a beautiful European auto, maybe two, but you don’t drive them around as much as you would like? This is especially true if you don’t use your foreign car for your daily commute or for errands. While you’re not adding much stress to the vehicle, time is still having an effect on the vehicle. So the big question is if you’re not driving often, do you still need maintenance?

Do You Need to Maintain Seldom Used Vehicles?

This is a complicated question with an even more complicated answer. Your European auto will still need routine maintenance even though you are not driving it frequently. While this vehicle might not need as much maintenance as it would if you were driving it. Plus, it may develop unique maintenance needs from sitting still for so long. One way to understand this need is to think of how oil changes are described by manufacturers.

You need an oil change at a certain amount of mileage, or after a certain period of time–whichever comes first. Old oil won’t function well, even if the vehicle hasn’t run. Many other aspects of vehicle maintenance work the same way, although you will be able to skimp on other maintenance issues.

If you want to keep the joy of your vehicle alive for as long as possible, performing regular maintenance is essential. Especially if you’re not driving it often, you should get a very long life from your prized possession. Here is how you can maintain a vehicle that you’re not driving very often.

Clean the Vehicle

Regular maintenance also included the cleanliness of the vehicle. This means that the interior and exterior will still need servicing because your vehicle can still collect dust and debris even when you’re not driving it. You will want to use soap and warm water and gently wash the exterior of the vehicle from top to bottom. Use a fine and soft cloth in order to avoid scratches. Then polish and wax the exterior.

Moving to the inside, you may find dust on the fans, screens, and other surfaces in the vehicle. Remove them with a quick swipe of a duster.

You can keep your vehicle a little cleaner between drives by putting a cover over it, or parking it in a garage, or both.

Handle Gas Issues 

If you leave a vehicle tank less than full for long periods of time, like 30 days or more, it may develop moisture issues through condensation on the inside. So if you know you will not be using the car for a couple of weeks then you need to fill up the gas tank before you park your vehicle.

On the other hand if you let the gas sit in the tank for too long, it becomes unsuitable for use and can actually damage the vehicle. If you won’t be using the whole tank of gas for three months or more, then you will need to add some fuel stabilizer. This will keep the fuel useable and prevent corrosion in the fuel lines and engine.

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