Tips & Tricks

How you store your car over winter will dictate how well it performs all year round. From daily runners to supercars, youngtimers to oldtimer classic cars, here’s the essential advice from Windrush’s long term car storage experts Do the prep work As the nights draw in and leaves cover the lawn, start the groundwork for your car’s winter storage. To counteract the deteriorating weather, clean your wiper blades, then refill the washer fluid for both windscreen and headlights, while checking your chosen brand is sufficiently strong not to freeze in the system. Check the battery and tyre treads, too, while also running the air con now and then to keep the system ticking over. By taking these measures now, you’ll avoid last-minute bombshells when you finally put your vehicle into long term car storage. Wash and dry your car one last time Winter will do its worst to your car’s cosmetics, from dirt-specked windscreens to leaf-clogged wheelarches. A professional final wash will fix all that, but the benefits go deeper, too. By blasting contaminants off the car’s surface, you’ll ensure the finish won’t suffer while you’re off the road. Likewise, by jet-washing alloy wheels, you’ll halt the salt corrosion that can occur if left unchecked during long term car storage. Needless to say, this process should conclude with a thorough dry, followed by a coat or two of wax, a vacuum of the interior and a checkover for any scratches that might need attention. Finally, use a high-quality multi-layer car cover that won’t restrict airflow or cause condensation. At Windrush classic car storage, we’re more than happy to do all this for you, adapting our washing, drying, valeting and detailing services depending on the model, from robust youngtimers to the oldtimer classic cars that might need a lighter touch.   Think fluids Before your car beds down for the winter months, open the bonnet, take out the dipstick and do a quick visual test. Dirty oil – to the point where you can’t see the metal through the liquid – will need changing before temperatures drop. Your next steps are to fill the car up with high octane rated fuel (this will stop it degrading), pay a little more for a high-quality fuel stabiliser and top up with strong anti-freeze. Of course, a full fluid checkover is part of our renowned twelve-step induction process at Windrush, and for long term car storage clients we’ll revisit and optimise your fluids every 60 days. Optimise your tyre pressure Tyres are an important but often overlooked element in preparing your vehicle for long term car storage over winter. You needn’t remove them altogether, but putting your car to bed with the wrong PSI risks creating flat spots (announced by an ominous vibration when you take your classic for a spin next spring). We’d suggest overinflating the tyres to 50psi, and applying tyre preserver to the sidewalls to stop perishing. At Windrush long term car storage, we’ll handle everything, monitoring your tyre pressures every 60 days and adjusting as required. Use a battery conditioner A battery lying idle for weeks on end will deteriorate, so consider investing in a professional battery conditioner, which will prevent this by monitoring the health of the battery and topping up as necessary (without the risk of under or overcharging). Trust the long term car storage experts this winter Winter preparations are all well and good, but your choice of long term car storage location is just as critical. A poorly ventilated garage with a rusty padlock is no place for your pride and joy. Once you’ve seen Windrush’s state-of-the-art car storage facility in the Cotswolds – and our new and improved location in Central London – you’ll never go back. At Windrush, our classic car storage solution sets the bar. After a deep twelve-step induction, we’ll bring your car to its dehumidified, climate-controlled indoor storage bay. With round-the-clock security, twice-daily checks, battery and drip tray inspections each week, plus an expert maintenance checkover every 60 days, no long term car storage solution goes further. Windrush’s classic car storage team is ready to tell you more about our services. Get in touch on info@windrushcarstorage.co.uk

Through research and experience Windrush Car Storage have found that CTEK battery conditioners to be the best battery conditioners available. Made in Sweden, where they experience some of the coldest winters in the World, these are fully automatic and can be left for long periods unattended. These conditioners will charge a flat battery and then ‘condition’ it by monitoring the voltage and pulsing to maintain peak battery performance. CTEK offer a 5 year warranty, which in itself proves how good these really are. Available for 6, 12 and 24 Volt Batteries – Charger and Conditioner. Connector kits available for difficult to reach batteries. Monitors voltage and turns on & off automatically. Can be used without disconnecting the car electrics. Can charge negative & positive earth vehicles. Waterproof case for vehicles kept outside. (IP65)

At Windrush Car Storage, our clients run the gamut. Of course, we welcome plenty of monogamous owners who trust our classic car storage in London and the Cotswolds to keep a cherished vintage in the form of its life. But then there are those clients whose turnover of vehicles is a little faster, using our prestige car storage to keep investment vehicles primed for resale – and enjoying all the benefits of our status as an HMRC Customs Warehouse. Investor or enthusiast, you’ll want to hear about recent developments in the car market. Of course, vehicle valuations are notoriously hard to call, but last month, the experts at Hagerty noted an unmistakable trend in their latest market report. If you were driving in the ’80s and ’90s, you’ll remember the homologation specials: road-going versions of the era’s competition cars, complete with fearsome turbocharged performance, stripped interiors and box-arched attitude unlike anything else on the road. Recently, we’ve been able to enjoy a modern interpretation of the homologation car in the acclaimed Toyota Yaris GR, but with buyers in the 45-65 bracket rediscovering the cars of their youth, it’s the rise of the classic homologation specials that we’re focused on here. “Hagerty Price Guide values of many high-performance ’80s and ’90s modern classics have been rising quickly,” says John Mayhead, Head of Automotive Intelligence UK. “Hagerty believes the combination of low production numbers, high performance and solid motorsport credentials gives these cars exactly what the market wants.” If you’re lucky enough to own a homologation special, be sure to enhance its lifespan and protect its value with our classic car storage. Meanwhile, if you’re an auction regular, keep your eyes peeled for these five investments.     Ford Sierra RS Cosworth Produced from ’86 to ’92, the Cossie’s stock is rising fast, with values up by an average of £20,200 over the past year and pristine examples commanding up to £75,000 at auction houses like Bonhams. Unmodified models are rare and highly sought-after, but even if your ’86 is showing wear and tear, you might be surprised by the return: in February, ACA sold a Cossie that Hagerty rated just #3 (good) for £59,400. If you own one, don’t mess with the spec – and protect it with long term car storage whenever you’re not driving. Audi Quattro Sport Launched in 1980 and achieving instant rally glory, Audi’s four-wheel-drive icon has climbed the valuations almost as fast. Just a year ago, an ‘excellent’ example would change hands for £265,000: today Hagery values the same model at £284,000, with concours examples rocketing to £404,000. That’s not just ‘in theory’, either: in February, Artcurial sold a motorsport-prepared, ex-Race of Champions Sport Quattro S1 for a staggering €2.016m, more than twice its pre-sale low estimate. Lancia Delta HF Integrale Rewind 15 years and the Lancia Delta HF Integrale was a slow mover with a top guide price of £7,500. But what a difference a decade makes. By 2015, Hagerty valued an ‘excellent’ example at £40,300, rising (a little slower) to £50,200 by late 2019, then spiking in the past year to £64,500 for the same model, and up to £85,400 for the very best. If you secure one, keep that valuation ticking steadily upwards with prestige car storage. BMW M3 Debuting in ’86 with a mighty (and non-turbocharged) 200hp, the M3’s cultural impact is reflected in its modern valuation. The standard coupe will give solid return on investment – but the real prizes are the special editions, with average values of the Evo II rising from £57,575 to £64,025 over the past year. At Windrush, we’ve welcomed countless M3s to our long term car storage in London and the Cotswolds, so you’re in safe hands. Renault Clio Williams It snatched the hot hatch crown from Peugeot back in ’93, but for many years, valuations of the Clio Williams remained frustratingly static. No longer: a surge of interest over the last year now sees the Hagerty Price Guide pegging an ‘excellent’ example at £18,100 and noting that values across the board are up by an average of £5,700 in the year. Windrush classic car storage – the home of homologation specials With the homologation specials of yesteryear now commanding top prices – and the Toyota Yaris GR joining the pantheon – you’ll want to keep your example in perfect running order, whether it’s for investment or enjoyment. Come to Windrush. Our classic car storage is run by experts and enthusiasts who know your cherished model inside-out. From our famous 12-step induction programme to our ongoing mechanical checkovers, we’ll provide long term car storage that’s tailored to you. And remember: thanks to our new status as an HMRC Customs Warehouse, our prestige car storage sites can offer a host of tax breaks on imported cars. Windrush’s expert team is ready to safeguard your vehicle at our long term car storage in London and the Cotswolds. Drop us a line today on info@windrushcarstorage.co.uk

Back in 1975, when Queen’s Roger Taylor wrote I’m In Love With My Car for the Night At The Opera album – sample lyric: ‘Told my girl I’d have to forget her/rather buy me a new carburettor’ – he spoke for every rock star on the planet. Ever since Chuck Berry’s No Particular Place To Go (‘Riding along in my automobile’), there’s been a special relationship between musicians and their motors – which explains why Windrush counts several household names amongst our long term car storage clients (although we’re not saying who!). Here are 10 legendary rock cars, chosen by our prestige car storage team. Noel Gallagher – 1978 Rolls-Royce The Oasis guv’nor demanded a chocolate brown roller from Creation label boss Alan McGee in the mid-’90s – then remembered he’d need a chauffeur, too, given that he hadn’t passed his test. It wasn’t the last classic that Noel would waste: he also paid £110k for a refitted 1967 Mark II Jag, forgot he’d ordered it and garaged the vehicle with 12 miles on the clock. Should have used Windrush prestige car storage… Jay Kay – Ferrari 365 GT4 Berlinetta Boxer Since entering the classics market as a teenager (“because I couldn’t get insurance on a modern car”), Jamiroquai’s cat in the hat has owned ’em all. Take a stroll through his garages since the ’90s and you’d find every stripe of automobile exotica, from the one-off LaFerrari hypercar with the world’s only green finish (“I wanted to make a statement”) to the love it/hate it Ferrari 330 GT Shooting Brake (“It’s not everyone’s cup of tea”) – and don’t forget the classic Cosmic Girl video that includes cameos from his Lambo SE30 and Ferrari F355/F40. Against stiff competition, then, it’s this stunner from the prancing horse that he considers “the best in the world”. Dave Grohl – 1965 Ford Falcon Van The millions might roll in, but the Foo Fighters leader still has a spiritual connection to the punk-rock van tours of his youth. Found in the Arizona Desert, where it was nursing three flat tyres, it fell to California bodyshop King T’s Kustoms to restore the Falcon to former glories. “We threw some gas in the carb and it fired up,” recalls builder Troy Honeycutt, “even though it’d been sitting for eight years.” Jeff Beck – 1932 Ford Deuce Coupé The story goes that when fellow Sixties guitar god Eric Clapton showed off his fleet of Ferraris, Beck was dismissive (“Anyone can buy those”). The Hi Ho Silver Lining man prefers to get his hands dirty, having built over 30 hot rods, and modding this vintage Ford in homage to 1973’s American Graffiti. “If I worried about my fingers,” he says, “I’d never pick up a pair of pliers.” Pete Townshend – Mercedes 600 Pullman Limousine The Who will always be notorious for the apocryphal tale of the Rolls-Royce and the swimming pool, but the band’s guitarist treated his Merc better, having saved for five years to buy it. With an ominous, faintly hearse-like vibe – and the dubious patronage of Saddam Hussein – it wasn’t entirely surprising when the production run wrapped up in 1981. John Lennon – Rolls Royce Phantom V It’s probably the most famous rock car of them all – thanks to a psychedelic paint job that was pure summer of love – but not necessarily the best-loved. Lennon loved to tell the story of the automobile purist who attacked the car with an umbrella as he drove through Piccadilly in 1967: “You swine! How dare you do that to a Rolls-Royce…?” Nick Mason – 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Pink Floyd’s avuncular drummer made the most of his Dark Side Of The Moon royalties, becoming one of just 39 lucky owners of Ferrari’s ’62 GTO vintage. “I mean, it is a joyriding car,” he told The Telegraph. “But far better is to take it on some particular mission. So if there’s a good rally or something…” Steven Tyler – Hennessey Venom GT Spyder Aerosmith’s loose-lipped frontman was the first in the world to own the Venom, having spotted the model when it debuted at the 2011 Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance (“I figured, I gotta have it”). To Tyler’s credit, he let the car go for just $800k at a charity auction in 2017. Eric Clapton – Ferrari SP12 EC The superstar bluesman laughs in the face of ‘off the shelf’. In 2012, Clapton commissioned Ferrari’s One Off Programme for a custom model that tipped its hat to the BB 512i – and paid a cool $4.75 million for the privilege. Elvis Presley – De Tomaso Pantera The King was losing his grip by 1974, and while his new Pantera was a stunner on first inspection, the model’s overheating and ignition issues played havoc with its new owner’s fragile mindset. One morning, after too many turns of the key, Elvis went full Basil Fawlty, discharging his revolver into the steering wheel. At Windrush classic car storage, everyone gets the rock star treatment You don’t have to be a rock star to benefit from Windrush long term car storage. With a range of packages to suit your budget, our prestige car storage in London and the Cotswolds lets every proud owner benefit from a service that’s simply the best in the business. From our famous 12-step induction process to the checkovers and maintenance programmes that keep your classic in peak condition, nobody else takes better care of your pride and joy. Windrush’s team is ready to chat about our prestige car storage service. Get in touch on info@windrushcarstorage.co.uk and let’s find the car storage solution that works for you.