I picked up my boxster late this summer. I live in Minnesota… so, it’s time to put her to bed for the winter.
I have a nice heated indoor garage spot for her. It stays about 50 degrees in there.
The problem, it’s fairly humid in the winter.
Being honest, I’ve never had a car that I’ve been compelled to “take care of” like this one and I don’t want to mess it up. I drive it, it’s not a princess, so I’m not talking about over the top preparations… just common sense stuff.
I gave her a good bath. I’ve got a dust cover.
What else? I’m always fighting a musty smell in the interior anyway, and I don’t want to let that get worse… what do I do there?
Fuel additives? Full tank?
Battery tender?
Should I move it once a month or so to keep it from sitting on the same spot on the tires?
I’m sure there’s a thousand different opinions about what to do… just looking for some overall best practices. Thanks.
If you ‘give it a good bath’ go for a drive afterwards. You need to get any trapped water to blow and shake out. A little dirt sitting will not cause damage, water sitting might.
- Battery tender
- Full tank
- Air tires to 50psi if you’re feeling particularly anal
- Don’t lose sleep over it, it’s a modern car sitting in a heated garage. It will be fine regardless of what you do.
As far as humidity goes, as long as there is no condensation your fine. It’s usually temperature swings that cause those.
If you’re worried about humidity and there’s a floor drain and power, I’d use one of these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZMY8BC8. I run this on my boat (in Florida), and it keeps the boat dry / mold free.
Fill the tank, yes.
Get a battery tender. These cars are notorious for dying batteries if left alone without a charger.
Click the link, this is a ‘smart charger’ It will monitor and also “use” the battery to drain it some, then charge it back. I’m on my 3rd year with this one.
you really don’t need to move or start it ‘once in a while’ that can actually be worse for the car.
modern tires will not have a problem. In the spring, yes, when they are cold, but they will warm easily.
Check your drains. you may have them plugged, hence the musty smell. You’ll need to put it into service mode, remove the top engine cover to see the rear drains.
Click the link, this is a ‘smart charger’ It will monitor and also “use” the battery to drain it some, then charge it back. I’, on my 3rd year with this one.
2nd Boxster since 2007. Now a '05 Owner with 120K miles, running great here in Frostbite Falls, MN
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After spending tens of minutes researching for my own car, I’ve decided:
- Battery tender: for sure
- Tires: Inflated to max (50 psi for mine)
- Fuel: tank full
That’s it. Don’t plan to move it. No cover. I’ll hose the dust off next spring. I thought the advice here made sense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjXCO5rpJ-g
CTEK(they make the Porsche branded ones) or NOCO battery tender. There’s plenty of tire psi recommendations out there, there are also stands you can put under tires to stop flat spotting. There are little dehumidifier canisters you can use in the car and garage to help keep things dry. Nice indoor car cover from Amazon is pretty inexpensive too.
get some snow tires and have fun realizing why some people don’t store them through the winter (also protect the underside if you live somewhere with salt)
I would also put some steel wool in the exhaust pipes to keep mice out.