I'm getting ready to put my car away for the frist time and im storing in a garage with no door on it. I live in IL so i do get some snow.
I'm getting a car cover and i dont really know much about them. Is this a good one?

http://www.jegs.com/i/Covercraft/256/C16059NH/10002/-1

i put a coat of wax on it just before it got cold. should that be good for the winter?
what should i clean dash with before i put it away. i herd Armor all hurts more then it helps.
what is a good protectant for interior?
and would putting tireshine help them from dry rotting over the winter?

Any other things i should do before i put it away?

 

I am in need of some similar advice. Also will the car be subject to wind? if so I would advise against a car cover, as it can really scratch the paint bad.

 

I live in Illinois too, and I've been putting mine away for a few years now, but I've been putting it in a non-heated storage unit with a door. I'd second the advice about the car cover in the wind, unless you can find a way to keep the cover from blowing around. Otherwise it'll just rub any grains of dirt up against the paint. That Covercraft is a good one though. As far as getting it ready for storage, here's some basic tips

1) wash & wax the outside, vacuum the interior, I just use whatever plastic cleaner/preservative I use during the year (I use Meguiar's/Zaino)
2) make sure tires have proper air pressure
3) change the oil, this will make sure any acids from combustion are out of the crankcase
4) add sta-bil to gas tank and fill it up all the way
5) make sure windows are up all the way, turn on the defroster, and leave it on when you turn off the car. i don't know if this is true or not, but i read that leaving the defroster on closes off the air vents to outside air and helps prevent moisture and rodents from getting in.
6) i leave a box of baking soda in mine to absorb moisture, odors, etc.
7) another good tip I got was to get a sheet of black plastic (you can pick it up at any big box hardware store, it's in the paint section by the dropcloths), unroll the plastic, and park the car on top of it. it's supposed to keep moisture from coming up out of the ground and settling on the underside of the car. not sure if this matters if you are keeping the car in a garage with no door though.

There are a few debatable steps:
- Some (like me) prefer to start the engine every few weeks to run the air
conditioner/defroster, lubricate seals, flush oil/coolant around the engine, etc.
- Some also prefer not to start the engine at all while the car is in storage. If you do this you should probably pull the spark plugs and fog the cylinders with some penetrating oil. There are arguments both ways.
- I also move the car back and forth to make sure the tires don't get flat spots.
- Others prefer to put the car up on jack stands to relieve the pressure on the springs and tires.
- Some put aluminum foil or wire mesh around the exhaust pipes and air intake to keep rodents out.

I haven't put any dressing on the tires or window seals or anything, but if someone has good advice about this I would be willing to try it. I haven't had to worry about rodents either so hopefully someone will reply with some advice about that too.

 

Nice post svollmer.

The plastic underlayment is a good tip if you have to store anything metal over bare ground.

I live in the Northeast and have stored a few cars, both inside and outside, for the Winter. The use of a cover inside, for me, is mainly to prevent scratching the car while I'm moving stuff around in the garage. I have used a custom-fit, Evolution 3 (old school Noah) cover for outside storage of a red car with no paint damage during one of the worst winters I've ever experienced. That said, I would think twice about doing that with a black car due to the concerns noted by previous responders about the cover moving around when the wind blows.

I would add that if you are going to periodically start your car, you should let it come up to normal operating temperature and run it for ~30 minutes more to ensure that all of the undesirable startup by-products have been dissipated from the engine oil. I'm not a mechanic, so maybe someone else could better comment on the amount of time to spend at temperature. The 30 minute period is what I was taught. This will also recharge your battery, as long as you don't have your high-powered audio system cranked.

The only mechanical problem that I've ever had is with a car that I did not start during the winter. The waterpump seal started leaking shortly after coming out of storage. The car was 5 years old with ~42k on it.

The tire concern is a tough one. I've been told that the best thing to do is to dismount, clean, dress and bag 'em. Most people don't have an extra set of wheels and junk tires to store the car with though. As long as they are not going the be exposed to sunlight, a good dressing with a product that has a high silicone content (like Stoner's More Shine, Less Time) should suffice. If they will be exposed to sunlight you might consider covering the wheels/tires with some RV type covers or heavy mil trash bags taped into place. I have never experienced a problem with a radial tire developing a permanent flat spot, but have driven some vehicles that have taken a few miles to work out the temporary tire flat spots from being in one place too long in the extreme cold.

Hope this helps.