Dear Tom and Ray:
My boyfriend and I disagree on whether to keep the car in the garage. He thinks it cuts down on the life of the car (something about cooling the engine). I think a car lives longer if kept in a garage. I understand that a heated garage is not a good idea -- but what about just a regular attached garage? —Evelyn
Tom: Your boyfriend is being an oil stain on the garage floor of your life, Evelyn. Garages are great for cars -- and for their drivers.
Ray: At the very least, a garage will protect the exterior of your car from the elements, including those acidic pigeon and pterodactyl droppings. And if it spends every night -- or half its life -- under a roof, it'll look good for about twice as long.
Tom: From what we see in real life, that's about right. Cars we work on that are garaged look a lot better than non-garaged cars their age.
Ray: I have no idea what your boyfriend is talking about regarding engine cooling. Maybe he thinks the engine won't cool down as fast if it's closed in a garage? Or that the heat of the engine will warm up the garage and shorten its life?
Tom: The length of time it takes the engine to cool down makes no difference to anything. So, as far as we know, there's absolutely no downside to keeping your car in an unheated garage.
Ray: Plus, there are some very real mechanical advantages to parking your car in a heated garage overnight. Most notably, because the oil remains warmer and less viscous, it does a much better job of lubricating your engine from the moment you start the car. You prevent a lot of long-term damage to the engine that way.
Tom: And because the coolant also is kept warmer, the heat comes faster and your butt doesn't freeze to the seats, requiring an embarrassing call to AAA and the accompanying blowtorch extraction.
Ray: Plus, you don't have to clean snow or ice off the car, so your visibility always will be excellent.
(Car Talk is a nationally syndicated column by automotive experts (and brothers) Tom and Ray Magliozzi. Write to them at the Car Talk website.)
3 Comments
By Brian on December 16, 2012 8:10 AM
Also, you're less likely to have some meth addled piece of pond scum break into your car and steal your radio. And your car is less likely to be the target of a tagger or vandal.
By Les on December 16, 2012 9:07 AM
And all the window crevices will not accumulate tree pollen deposits, and your sunroof and door drain holes will not become plugged with needles and twigs so the water can't drain out, and your headlight lenses won't craze and yellow in the sun.
By Sam on December 17, 2012 3:24 PM
What else is the BF wanting to do with that garage? Clearly nobody would seriously believe that keeping a car out of the elements is bad for it. So, he must be up to something. Has he started keeping collections of strange things in there? Is he building a gym? A man cave?