[Bubbalarry]

Originally Posted by redwitch

Larry, I understand your fear of liability but why in heck would someone watching your house drive your car? There is no way I would even consider doing that (well, maybe if it were Testarosa but nothing less), let alone do it! I think the same would be true of any service. It's just not worth the risk and loss of business to drive someone's vehicle. Write down the odometer mileage (better yet, take a picture of it), let it be known that you did so and then don't worry about it. Obviously, you would know they did in fact drive your car without permission and, if they did, I'm sure you could report it to the police and press charges for, at the very least, joy riding.

I do understand wanting to protect yourself from liability but why hire someone if you can't trust them? Or, as Sidney said, asking a friend you can trust? (Personally, I'd trust the service more than a friend because a friend might use the logic that a quick trip to the store won't hurt.)

Lets say for example you do everything mentioned above and someone still uses your car and creates an accident. Although the court decision is not against you it still creates a headache that you must address whether you like it or not. In addition who's to repair at what cost to your car, that you hope was to be someday a classic car. The car is now 14 years young and is in excellent like new condition with less than 40K.

So my decision is to find a trickle charger that turns off when they are fully charged. I also plan to have the batteries out of the vehicle while away.

[tony]

How about getting a boot, like the police use for people who haven't paid parking tickekts.

Boot the car in the garage, and take the key for the boot with you.

[Bubbalarry]

Great idea about the boot so I will look for one. Thanks.

[dadspet]

I wouldn't get carried away with all this. I have a 71 jag that just sits in a garage in NY most of the time and about all I do is start it every few months and let it run a bit with the AC on. No special battery disconnecting or adding anything to the fuel or anything else . After about 35 years of this treatment it runs great. At most all I need to do is charge the battery when I'm ready to bring it out of its cage / This might not be the right thing to do but it sure doesn't seem to have hurt this old cat. THis will be my first complete winter away from it without any starting at all but with a little luck all I expect to do is charge the battery and start her up. I guess all those other recommendations wouldn't hurt and might help something,

[Bubbalarry]

Originally Posted by tony

How about getting a boot, like the police use for people who haven't paid parking tickekts.

Boot the car in the garage, and take the key for the boot with you.

Couldn't locate a boot but did find an automatic charger that comes on when the battery's charge drops down to a certain point. You just leave the battery in and connected so the systems and alarms remain intact.

[F16 1UB]

You won't need a 10-20 amp charger even if it has the auto cut off. 1.5 amp chargers are a popular item for bikes,boats,vehicles.

F16

[Bubbalarry]

Originally Posted by F16 1UB

You won't need a 10-20 amp charger even if it has the auto cut off. 1.5 amp chargers are a popular item for bikes,boats,vehicles.

F16

Thats what I got at Auto Zone on RT 441 & 466.

$ 20.00

[F16 1UB]

That'll work fine. I too will do the same. I changed the battery on Mrs "F's" car and had to take the vehicle back to the dealer to have the sunroof reprogrammed. Just a pain to make the trip to the dealer. One simple job to do....UGH! >

[Russ_Boston]

Admittedly i don't know much about cars but every year when i need to restart my lawn tractor after it has sat idle all winter i just charge the battery for an hour or so and let it rip. Seems to work fine and I've used the same battery for the 5 years.

Is this just a convenience issue so the car will be ready at a moments notice when you return or is there some issue with letting a battery run down (length of life issue?)?