Aston outside?

[milu]

We are all a bit sad with our cars I expect. Otherwise we would be driving ordinary stuff.
As a result of my car ‘illness’ I’ve always liked to keep the weekend car in a garage. Nice and safe/dry.

However I may be moving house soon, a bit unexpectedly and the new place doesn’t have a garage at the moment. Could be like that for quite a while
So do I keep the Vantage and have it outdoors or sell instead.? My particular car hasn’t got or suffered from things like leather shrinkage or aluminium bubbling. I’m assuming because of its pampered life
Will I spoil it? Don’t really like car covers that scratch etc
Just wondering what I might do

[Tin Hat]

This might be a half way solution : https://www.carcoon.com/

[EdJ]

milu said:

We are all a bit sad with our cars I expect. Otherwise we would be driving ordinary stuff.
As a result of my car ‘illness’ I’ve always liked to keep the weekend car in a garage. Nice and safe/dry.

However I may be moving house soon, a bit unexpectedly and the new place doesn’t have a garage at the moment. Could be like that for quite a while
So do I keep the Vantage and have it outdoors or sell instead.? My particular car hasn’t got or suffered from things like leather shrinkage or aluminium bubbling. I’m assuming because of its pampered life
Will I spoil it? Don’t really like car covers that scratch etc
Just wondering what I might do

I've had this problem fairly recently and rather than leave the car on the road, I found a local storage place. Not quite as convenient as having the car in my own garage, but a good temporary solution.

[milu]

I’m ok for privacy. Car will be well hidden from prying eyes. Just a bit bothered by outdoor combined with infrequent use

[Fleckers]

Rent a garage or parking space in a dry and secure facility

[M1AGM]

milu said:

I’m ok for privacy. Car will be well hidden from prying eyes. Just a bit bothered by outdoor combined with infrequent use

Sorry to say that I had a year with my DB9 outside. Prior it was in near perfect condition. It suffered paint bubbling, leather delaminating and rear light condensation during its time in the elements. Perhaps just bad luck but I dont think leaving them out in all seasons is going to be a good thing. You could mitigate the leather issue by using internal dashboard reflective screens. What about having a temporary carport type structure put up to keep the worst of the weather off it?

[Nigel_O]

What about one of the canvas ‘garages’ that Machine Mart sells?

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/categories/?search=G...

[atrossity]

I'm getting a garage built, and the builders are taking their time.

Until it's ready, I've been keeping my Aston in one of these: https://www.brianscottengineering.co.uk/products/1...

It works well enough, although because mine is erected on grass I find I have to keep the front flap open otherwise the tent fills with condensation. Not 100% ideal, but much better than being out in the raw elements.

[Irish_Stu]

I used an outdoor carcoon for a few months last year for my vanquish- works well if you don’t use the car but complete faff if you want to use it regularly.

[milu]

Cheers all.
I looked at carcoon but as stated probably too much of a faff. I’ll have a look in more detail at the canvas ones

[Simpo Two]

milu said:

I’m ok for privacy. Car will be well hidden from prying eyes. Just a bit bothered by outdoor combined with infrequent use

Mine lives outside because the approach to the garage is angled so won't take a large car, and besides, I've turned it into a workshop. I wanted to put up a car port but my neighbour blocked it, the git.

The position is quite shady and I use a battery conditioner to keep the battery happy as the car may not be used for up to two weeks. In prolonged wet spells I put a dehumidifier on the back seat. If the car is clean I use a cover, but otherwise not. It seems fine.

Rear light condensation is a known issue with DB9s and denotes a leaky housing; units can be repaired (but avoid the bloke in Guildford).

[ridds]

atrossity said:

I'm getting a garage built, and the builders are taking their time.

Until it's ready, I've been keeping my Aston in one of these: https://www.brianscottengineering.co.uk/products/1...

It works well enough, although because mine is erected on grass I find I have to keep the front flap open otherwise the tent fills with condensation. Not 100% ideal, but much better than being out in the raw elements.

If you have the space (on hardstanding not grass or gravel) this is the best option imho. With a Silica Gel bag inside the car.

End doors down and a £100 Dehumidifier from Amazon with a constant drain pipe.

I've just put one of those tiny cheap dehumidifiers in my metal shed with my motorbikes in. Not air tight in any way but has removed all moisture from the air inside. Runs continuously but the power draw is very low.

[F1NDW]

I saw these at the Classic show NEC yesterday. They where very robust.

https://inthegarage.com/product/next-gen-ultimate-...

[cayman-black]

milu said:

Cheers all.
I looked at carcoon but as stated probably too much of a faff. I’ll have a look in more detail at the canvas ones

Hmm. Thought you where fussy about the Aston? Carcoon is great for a weekend car car is safe from all the elements (Wind) and the fan keeps air flowing around the car so no damp or condensation, I had one about 18 years ago when I had no garage even snowed on the thing car was perfect in there, I recommend them .

[milu]

cayman-black said:

milu said:

Cheers all.
I looked at carcoon but as stated probably too much of a faff. I’ll have a look in more detail at the canvas ones

Hmm. Thought you where fussy about the Aston? Carcoon is great for a weekend car car is safe from all the elements (Wind) and the fan keeps air flowing around the car so no damp or condensation, I had one about 18 years ago when I had no garage even snowed on the thing car was perfect in there, I recommend them .

Fair point.
I suppose faff is all part of the game lol

[Shnozz]

M1AGM said:

Sorry to say that I had a year with my DB9 outside. Prior it was in near perfect condition. It suffered paint bubbling, leather delaminating and rear light condensation during its time in the elements. Perhaps just bad luck but I dont think leaving them out in all seasons is going to be a good thing. You could mitigate the leather issue by using internal dashboard reflective screens. What about having a temporary carport type structure put up to keep the worst of the weather off it?

Likewise. Because of Covid and a convoluted set of circumstances, my Vantage spent a year outside. Paintwork ended up with numerous areas of bubbling, electrics went to ste and sadly led to me selling the car for peanuts as I didn’t then have the time to start rectifying all the faults that had developed.

Prior to that I had owned the car 5 or so years and had next to no real issues with it.

[Dewi 2]

Shnozz said:

M1AGM said:

Sorry to say that I had a year with my DB9 outside. Prior it was in near perfect condition. It suffered paint bubbling, leather delaminating and rear light condensation during its time in the elements. Perhaps just bad luck but I dont think leaving them out in all seasons is going to be a good thing. You could mitigate the leather issue by using internal dashboard reflective screens. What about having a temporary carport type structure put up to keep the worst of the weather off it?

Likewise. Because of Covid and a convoluted set of circumstances, my Vantage spent a year outside. Paintwork ended up with numerous areas of bubbling, electrics went to ste and sadly led to me selling the car for peanuts as I didn’t then have the time to start rectifying all the faults that had developed.

Prior to that I had owned the car 5 or so years and had next to no real issues with it.

Disappointing to read that both of you have had a bad experience.
Why cannot these expensive cars cope with being outside?

Fortunately my Vantage has always been kept inside a garage, and even has a dehumidifier operating during the winter months. It has also only rarely been driven in the rain.

Contrast that with a far cheaper Mercedes-Benz daily driver, which has stood outside for many years. Weather seems to have had no detrimental effect on that car and all the metallic silver paintwork (not wheel arches) still looks as it did when new.

Certainly our OP does now have good reason to be wary.

[Minglar]

I think when you look at the list of common problems associated with VH Gaydon cars it really is asking for trouble if you leave your car outside all the time, particularly in the U.K. It shouldn’t be like that but it is. Paint bubbling, wing mirror stalk corrosion, water ingress to front and rear lights….the list goes on. If I was in the same situation as the OP I would definitely try to rent a garage, or leave the car with a specialist storage company. Any other course of action, apart from selling it, makes very little sense to me. BRM.

[M1AGM]

You;ve just reminded me minglar, my DB9 also suffered wing mirror stalk corrosion and every fastener on the car rusted, as well as the exhaust finishers and the wiper arms. The DT alloys milked (although not sure if this is due to being outside?).

On the other hand, having had the car turn to cheese in 12 months of outside living it gave me an excellent excuse to buy another Aston! Every cloud…

[V8V Pete]

Well mine's lived outside for at least 8.5 years of its 10 year life and is still in excellent condition. It gets regular use and I keep it clean but I think some might be overstating the risks somewhat. I can't deny that I've had the usual paint bubbling issues (all rectified FOC) but is aluminium bubbling/corrosion really due to water ..........?