Mia
Imagine you have parked your very expensive, highly leveraged car outside your home while you go away on vacation. It’s ok, you think to yourself. You live in a very safe area, your neighbours are the right amount of nosy, and the weather is forecast to be relatively clement over the time you’re away. But then you come back home, only to discover that your pride and joy is covered in the detritus of nature, causing your paint to peel and rubber seals to become sticky and brittle. This could be the scene, whether you’re storing your family car for a long time, a bike that you use on the rare Sunday you have free, or even that golf cart that you use once in a while and don’t want to discover that it’s been stolen while you’re at work, but the key thread combining them is that choosing to store a vehicle outside without protection from the elements could really ruin your day.
Understanding Vehicle Storage Needs
The vehicle you want to store and the reasons for choosing to do so will vary from person to person. As we touched on in the introduction, you might be searching for a place to store your golf cart until you break it out for a cheeky round of golf, or it could be that you want to store your collection of highly prized classic motorcycles, but don’t have the space. Whatever it is, you always need to take a step back and assess what will work best for you. When it comes to your various options, you have plenty to choose from.
Indoor Storage
For most folks, this will be the most obvious and acceptable solution for their car storage needs. By opting for an indoor space or unit, you will be assured that it will be secure, safe from the elements, and ready to use as soon as you need it. Some storage facilities will even have dedicated climate-controlled units that keep the ambient temperature at levels most conducive for keeping your vehicle or vehicles in fine fettle. The primary drawback is always going to be price with this sort of thing. But when compared with specialized storage, this might offer a happy middle ground between that and outdoor storage.
Outdoor Storage
These tend to consist of large, outdoor lots that are filled with rows and rows of parking spaces. In most cases, they are usually adequately protected by a security team and technology, but what you save in cost compared to the other options, you lose in terms of being exposed to the weather. Now, that isn’t to say that this isn’t a perfectly adequate option for your particular circumstances, but it is something to bear in mind.
Specialized Vehicle Storage
If you happen to own an expensive classic car or other sort of high-value vehicle, then this option should be a no-brainer. You will get all of the advantages of indoor storage, but with a team that will know how to care for such vehicles. You will inevitably pay a heap more, but if your car is valuable enough, you can’t really put a number on the peace of mind this option can provide.
The Hidden Costs of Insecure Storage
So, what exactly are you paying for? Well, aside from the peace of mind of knowing that possibly the second most expensive purchase of life is safe, there are specific reasons for choosing to pay for secure storage:
- Environmental damage: Mother Nature is a fickle mistress, and if you allow her to roll over your car, you’ll soon end up with a sorry mess on your hands. And it isn’t just inclement weather that can wreak havoc, UV rays can deteriorate your paint over time and turn once flexible materials highly brittle. Storing your vehicles properly can mitigate many of these issues and keep them in tip-top condition for far longer, boosting resale price and reducing maintenance bills.
- Theft, vandalism, accidental damage: It’s a sad fact, but one that is unfortunately true, that some folks just want to make trouble. And if your car happens to be in their way, then you may wake to find that some reprobate has selected your car out of all others. You also run the risk of theft. While modern cars are pretty impervious to being stolen outright, criminals can still smash the windows and steal whatever’s inside. There is also the possibility that another road user might crash into it, and even if you’re insured and they pay for damages, it’s an annoyance you could do without.
- Incremental wear that most owners underestimate: Normal storage can cause issues that you might not have thought about before. These include rats and bugs infiltrating and destroying it from the inside out, causing massive amounts of costly damage.
How Secure Facilities Eliminate These Risks
Choosing to spend a bit of money on holding your vehicle in a dedicated, secure facility can mitigate and, in some cases, eliminate many of the usual suspects involved with making your life miserable (at least with regards to your vehicles!)
Climate Control
Having a unit that is climate-controlled ensures that the temperature and moisture levels remain stable. This can be critical to ensure everything from the paintwork to the electronics remains looking great and in working order.
Physical Security Layers
If you’re more worried about security, these facilities usually have you covered. Most of the higher-quality solutions will have several layers of security that include things like sophisticated CCTV systems, to guards that regularly patrol the lot.
Operational Protocols That Matter More Than You Think
Some of the very top facilities might even offer additional services for longer-term storage that keep checks on fluid levels and battery condition, etc. If you opt for a specialized facility catering to high-value vehicles, they may also place your car on cradles so they can rotate the wheels to avoid flat spotting.
If you care about the vehicle you own, there is really no other option aside from investing in a secure storage facility. By selecting one that fits your needs and budget, you will gain peace of mind that your investment will be well taken care of and remain safe from almost any eventuality.
