Prevent rodents from moving in

Hi,

My son is off to college and his car will be sitting in the driveway. How often should I move the car and should I/ can I do anything to prevent rodents from moving into the engine area or interior of the car?

Thanks

I am not into rodent control, so I will leave the mothballs and steel wool to others.

How often should I move the car

Wrong question! The question is should you move it at all.

How often will the son return and be driving the car? How long do you believe he will be at college before he decides he needs a car there?

Driving a car a shot distance (anything less than a full warmup plus additional miles) is bad for a car. Moving a car on a public road means you need active collusion insurance. That is expensive and if they car is not going to be moved for some time, you can save money by canceling the collusion part of the insurance.

While sitting the first issue is usually the battery. It needs to be charged, another reason for not using just short trips because short trips may not change the battery enough. I suggest removing the battery and storing it someplace away from the car with a “battery tender” (as special kind of charger for this kind of storage) Without a battery that car will be a lot harder to steal. If it is going to be more than a few months, I would suggest adding some fuel stabilizer to keep the fuel in better condition.

Everytime rodents come up, I report that our house in rural Puebla, Mexico, has had virtually no rodents or scorpions since I bought the ultrasonic repellers and plugged them in. Home Depot and Lowes sell lower powered versions than we get in Mexico. Since the car will not be driven, keeping them plugged in may not be a big problem. One in engine compartment, one in cabin.

If it doesn’t work, my name is Docnick. Just kidding!