Keeping A Car Indefinitely

[Red diesel]

Sorry - im not sure whether this is in the right section - the car in questions a bit new for the classic section and the question is too general for inclusion in the Corolla section

Essentially im wondering about keeping the 2.0d on the road for as long as funds permit - its been a lovely car (even though its non turbo) and we may just buy the new car (as mentioned in the big delimma tread in the corolla forum) as an addition rather then a replacement to the current 2.0d.

Some questions - has anyone else done this over a long number of years and how did you get on - what were the pros and cons.

To preserve a car what measures will i need to take - geting it rustproofed with a product like Wexyol i assume is a good idea but what else do i need to do - will i have to take the car off the road every winter (id prefer not to but would consider it - however id be worried that im going to be looking at it inside of the shed every sunday afternoon for the whole winter and sulking that i cant drive it - im aware that cars been taken off the road for winter need to be decommissioned).

Am i right in assuming that the days of using the car all year around clocking up 15000 miles a year are over - obviously with the new car in the yard it will be doing less than 15000 miles - but ideally id like to take it out on the road anytime i feel like it (if its not been decommissioned for winter that is - although as mentioned id prefer to use it all year round)

Apart from any issues mentioned above - is there anything else i should be aware off - i would propose trying to find another 2.0d corolla of its type for parts - but how long will Toyota keep supplying new parts for these cars. Thanking you all for any help and advice that i recieve

[Karma Supra]

Toyota still supply parts for my 21 year old supra I sold last summer. They tend to stop supplying various trim items, badging etc. Its a shame they don't take a leaf out of Porsche's book and open a factory purely to build parts for their older cars. - it keeps resale values up too.

You main issue will be rust, Mine had never seen salted roads during a UK winter, and was never driven in the wet (partially due to the fact that all the under engine metal work was polished to a mirror shine see my sig pics). Engines and gearboxes are easily rebuilt, but once Rot sets in its very hard to banish!

Also be weary of "overspending" as I was "keeping it for ever" everything was done no expense spared... I spent a LOT on it and in the end got fed up and sold it for £3700. I'd had it cince 2003.

My dad has had some of his cars for over 30 years. He keeps them stored in a wooden garage (wooden buildings breathe, concrete ones get damp and nothing can breathe, things get smelly.

[Red diesel]

Thank you for the advice Karma Supra - you are quite correct on the rust - but fortunately - as far as im aware - they don't salt the roads here in Ireland - we don't get much in the way of snow anyway (which i assume is why the roads are salted - to make driving in snow and icy conditions safer). It does make a big difference - ive noticed that cars tend to last longer without rusting here in Ireland compared with the UK. Good point too about the money side of things - clearly if your Intending keeping a car for a long time then you will spend a lot more money on it then if your intending to get rid of it in 6 months.

At least im not intending to keep it in concours condition - just keep in nice condition and good for the road - my outlook on the situation is that a lot of Corolla diesels over here in Ireland with the older indirect injection diesel engines have done well over 300 000 miles without bother - and some of these will have had a very hard life (taxis etc - yes they really used to use corollas as taxis over here - or the like). Our motor in contrast has had a very easy life - i belive it was owned by a business from new (before we had it) - but going on the condition when bought (and subsequent excellent reliability) id say it was actually owner driven (in other words the boss had the car but ran it through the company). The back seats i doubt were rarely used - at purchase as a 2nd hand vehicle they were like new - and theyre still in good shape now even with 170 000 miles on the clock. What gave me the idea is that im aware of Carina IIs and Starlets (older 80s type) that have been driven since new without being restored - simply because they were very well maintained (unfortunately these are just cars i see on the road - so i can't find out how they were kept good for so long).

Thanks for the advice - good to know that you were still able to get parts for the 21 year old Supra - good to see not all manufactuers are like Audi - you can't even get the parts for UR Quattros new from em appearently (yet that car was probably the car behind a lot of Audis subsequent success - youd think theyd be only falling overthemselves to help people keep them on the road). I remember reading in a classic car magazine somewhere that Nissan will supply parts for anything newer then 1985 - but this was a couple of years ago now - so Nissan may have changed that policy since then - especially with the recession. Anyway thanks a million for the advice - thats given me plenty of food for though. What type of design was that garage by the way - was it something like a log cabin. Thanks Red diesel