Classic car storage

Classic, vintage and veteran cars are treasured possessions, and they cry out for special care. When not in use, they need to be stored somewhere ‒ and the garage at home may not be good enough. Enter the specialists in car storage, some of whom come from the self storage industry.

Why classic car storage?

Classic, vintage and veteran cars can be worth a lot ‒ from tens of thousands to many millions of pounds. The definitions, by the way, are somewhat vague, but as a broad rule of thumb for the non-specialist, they go something like this:

• A classic car is usually either built before 1973, or more than 15 years old and worth over £15,000.
• A vintage car usually dates between 1919 and 1930.
• A veteran car was usually made prior to 1919.

For the sake of brevity, from here on we’ll use the term “classic car” to cover all three categories.

When parked and unused, classic cars are vulnerable to two main threats: theft, and deterioration through atmospheric conditions (notably damp) and lack of use.

So owners might need storage if they are going away for a time and/or feel they need extra security, or want to overwinter a car in dry conditions, or simply need to keep a vehicle off the road for a while.

Self storage

A number of self storage facilities offer car storage (or indeed storage for any vehicle). This may be little more that 24/7 use of the car park, benefiting from CCTV security; or it could be a lock-up garage within a secure compound; or it could be a storage unit on the ground level of a purpose-built self storage facility.

LockAway Self Storage and Safehouse Self Storage in North London, Sparkford Storage, near Yeovil, and Easy Access Self Storage’s Stockport branch all offer vehicle storage in their range of services.

Some self storage companies will allow owners to do maintenance work on their vehicles while in the storage units ‒ but it would be wise to check with the facility manager first.

Specialist classic car storage

Some companies specialise only in classic (or high-value) car storage. Often staffed by knowledgeable car enthusiasts, these are for car owners who really care about their vehicles, because of their monetary value, or historic or sentimental value, or all of these.

Usually the main asset of specialist car storage companies is an insulated, warehouse-like building (without partitions), with dehumidified climate control, and 24-hour security with CCTV.

They may also offer a range of services to keep the vehicles in peak condition, such as:

• Washing, waxing and valeting
• Providing dust covers
• Applying a battery conditioner to maintain the charge
• Rotating the wheels to protect tyres and ball-bearings
• Checking tyre pressure
• Lubrication and other routine maintenance
• “Exercise programmes”, from regularly starting the engine (and warming it to operating temperature) to 12‒20 mile road runs
• Providing regular mechanical reports
• Servicing

They may also offer transportation services, to pick up and deliver a vehicle using open or covered transporters, from and to homes, airports, film studios, even abroad.

Such services are also available for treasured motorbikes, of course.

Here are just a few of the specialist car storage companies offering this kind of product: Classic Car Storage, near Petersfield, Hampshire; Storacar, near Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire; AutoVault, near Stansted; and Elite Auto Storage, near Saffron Walden, Essex.

Just for the super-rich?

This may look like the preserve of the super-rich, but the essential storage service is usually reasonably priced, relative to self storage ‒ about £22‒£30 per week (a garage-size self storage unit in London might cost £48 per week).

So ‒ is your car worth it?

3 Responses to “Classic car storage”

1. Antony says:

   January 11, 2011 at 2:38 pm

   The most famous case of classic car storage? The actor Richard Harris (Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series), who died in 2003, kept a Rolls Royce Phantom V in a garage in New York for 25 years at the cost of about $400 a week. He had apparently been given the car as part of his payment for his role in The Heroes of Telemark (1965), then promptly forgot all about it.

   Some reports say that the final bill came to $526,400 (£329,000), which had to be paid off by his estate through the sale of the car. Others say that the bill was mounting up at about $400 per month (not week), and the total had reached $92,000 by 1997, when he realised his error, brought the Rolls back to UK, and sold it.

   Whatever version you believe, this was a massive bill for a car he didn’t even know he had.

2. Reinaldo Dinius says:

   February 11, 2011 at 8:01 pm

   Thanks for the awesome blog. Looking forward to staying current with your website.

   Til’ Next Time

3. caar service says:

   May 31, 2013 at 11:34 am

   I love those stories that come out when a classic car has been stored for years and it’s worth millions! Usually the owners don’t have a clue either!