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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Protecting the car over winter whilst it's not insured


red_zebra
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I'm taking the supra off the road this weekend for it's winter hibernation and declaring it sorn as the insurance is due for renewal next week.

 

I live in the countryside and although I've never had anyone try and break into one of my cars before I am slightly worried at the thought of it getting stolen whilst it's not covered by any insurance.

 

Has anyone had any experience with fire and theft only insurance?

 

If not that I was thinking of just putting a wheel clamp on it, for some sort of piece of mind.

 

There's no way it's getting in the garage and there would be absolutely no chance you could get a flat loader or something like that up the drive .

 

Opinions?

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Google search for 'laid up cover'

 

Ah so that's what it's called!

 

Cheers chaps, I will pop out the fuse, ECU... and the battery ;)

 

It's a TT so I'll leave the coil packs, I'm not chancing those self destructing clips again.

 

May have a go at the steering wheel as that would put anyone off who happened to look through the window. Does the three spoke wheel have an airbag before I blow my face off?

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2 risks: car itself is stolen, or someone steals parts from it (ICE, wheels, etc).

 

It's not too hard to disable the whole car from being stolen (good suggestions in this thread which will deter all but the most determined thief). It's harder to protect against ICE/wheel theft. Use locking wheel nuts, more than one on each wheel if you're super-cautious. Remove the face plate from the head unit if possible. Some people leave glove boxes open to show shifty people that there's nothing in there. What to do about the battery is a tricky one. It all depends on if you can get power to the car for a few hours every fortnight. If you can, consider leaving the battery where it is and occasionally use a trickle charger to keep it topped up. Get laid-up insurance as Ollie says.

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Guest Knightrider1980

I have mine currently uninsured, don't know what all this take this out BS is for and i am sure as hell none of it is necessary but its up to you, what i do while mine is off the road is every now and then i go and sit in the car and start it up leave it running for awhile to have the fluids go through the engine, wash the car every week simple as that.

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2 risks: car itself is stolen, or someone steals parts from it (ICE, wheels, etc).

 

It's not too hard to disable the whole car from being stolen (good suggestions in this thread which will deter all but the most determined thief). It's harder to protect against ICE/wheel theft. Use locking wheel nuts, more than one on each wheel if you're super-cautious. Remove the face plate from the head unit if possible. Some people leave glove boxes open to show shifty people that there's nothing in there. What to do about the battery is a tricky one. It all depends on if you can get power to the car for a few hours every fortnight. If you can, consider leaving the battery where it is and occasionally use a trickle charger to keep it topped up. Get laid-up insurance as Ollie says.

 

Could get the extra wheel nuts although they are pretty easy to get off without the key anyway, I managed to lose a key on a previous car. I won't post on here how. The ICE is a double din and fascia doesn't come out but may be an idea to just take out the headunit as it doesn't take long, and then take out the AVCR headunit bit. The battery charger is a good idea.

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I have mine currently uninsured, don't know what all this take this out BS is for and i am sure as hell none of it is necessary but its up to you, what i do while mine is off the road is every now and then i go and sit in the car and start it up leave it running for awhile to have the fluids go through the engine, wash the car every week simple as that.

 

It probably is unnecessary tbh. It's just the thought of someone coming along and taking it whilst it's uninsured that worries me even though it's pretty unlikely to happen and therefore I'm just talking about making it as hard as possible to do/getting the laid up cover.

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I used to keep my supra in a garage outside my home. If the battery's in good condition, I found that using the charger for 8 hours every fortnight was sufficient to allow starting of the car to drive it (and obviously plenty to keep the alarm working).

 

Personally I wouldn't start it just to warm it up on the spot: I don't see the point. When you start a cold engine, there'll be a disproportionate amount of wear on the components and it'll take a while to burn off the moisture that will be in the exhaust and may be in the engine oil. I would just give it a long run before tucking it away.

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I keep my cars in a garage somewhat between November-march and in Sweden we get something called garage-insurance (5-6£/month) and it covers about everything except alien invasion, the downside is that the car cannot be driven on public roads during this time :)

My checklist is the following: Full tank, remove battery, remove fuel pump relay (if the thieves finds the battery and put it back in), dehumidifiers (engine bay, cabin, trunk), and either put it on several axel stands or cheep rims and tires.

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