Aston Martin V8 Vantage

The Aston is tucked away for the winter, while plans are made for 2022

AMONTH AGO I REPORTED THAT I WAS torn between keeping the Aston on the road through the winter and tucking it away somewhere dry and secure until the end of February. A glance at the pics will tell you which way I eventually jumped.

It wasn’t an easy decision. We all know that cars benefit from regular use – but as November wore on and the days got danker and darker, I was less and less inclined to use the Aston. With no garage at home, I decided the only thing worse than not using a car was not using a car and leaving it standing out in all weathers.

So I found a local storage facility that was convenient, dry and secure, and mid-november in it went: £85 a month, and the first month covered by the refund for three months’ unused road tax.

So, how do you prepare a car for winter storage? In the Aston’s case I would need a trickle-charger for the battery, since various systems slowly drain the cells and a flat battery opens the door to all manner of electrical gremlins. CTEK chargers are highly rated, so I went for the mid-range MXS 7.0 (£99.99), and since the Vantage’s battery is buried behind the seats I’d need an adaptor (£7.99) so that I could charge it via the 12V socket in the boot. The MXS 7.0 has a range of modes, from reconditioning a spent battery to supplying a gentle pulse to keep a healthy one topped up – which is what I’m hoping will be the case here.

Next on the shopping list was a cover to protect the paintwork. I went for an indoor cover from Concours Auto Products that had been highly rated by our colleagues at Auto Express. The ‘Luxor’ is semi-tailored with a slight stretch so it fits snugly, breathable so it shouldn’t trap any moisture, and with a soft fleece lining. In V8V size it cost £129.95.

The final outlay was to brim the fuel tank with E5 superunleaded. The Aston runs perfectly well on E10, but if left standing the consensus is that E10’s higher ethanol content makes it more prone to absorb water from any air in the tank. Hence E5 and filling it to the brim.

I waited for a fine, dry day for the final prep – a thorough wash and dry, followed by a brisk run to chase out any remaining drops of water, then off to the petrol station to brim the tank and pump up the tyres. To avoid flat-spots, the advice is to inflate them to between 50 and 60psi. Which does seem a lot. I chickened out at 50.

Then it was into the unit while the car was warm and dry; handbrake off to avoid it seizing on; doors and windows tightly shut to keep out any rodents, charger on, cover on, then home to reclaim the tax and notify the insurers. I know I’m going to miss it like hell, but the anticipation of bringing it out of hibernation is already delicious. And I’ve a couple of months to plan some road trips for 2022. In the meantime you might want to skip the next couple of reports…

Date acquired March 2021 Total mileage 43,388 Mileage this month 0 Cost this month £237.93 mpg this month n/a