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WE FLEW BACK TO the U.S. last week from Madrid, and were reunited with our car of 12 years. After selling our house in late 2022 and going nomadic, we had headed to Europe six months ago, opting to have our 2008 Lexus SUV professionally stored.
In an earlier article, I recounted the thought process behind this decision. Suffice it to say, we chose this option largely because we had no firm plans for when we’d need our car again, but wanted to know we could have it back—and ready to be driven an extended distance—at virtually no notice. It turned out to be in storage for six months, but it might have been far longer and, in the future, it could be.
For $180 a month, the facility’s staff provided indoor storage and performed monthly maintenance, including running the engine and air-conditioning, cycling all the windows, maintaining tire pressure and fluid levels, and moving the car a short distance within the facility. The staff let us know each month that maintenance was performed and whether there were any issues. We had one issue a few months in: The battery failed to stay charged.
Our battery was under warranty, and we had gotten it from a national chain. The storage facility staff offered to take the car to a local branch, so we could have the problem fixed under the warranty. But the testing showed the battery to be good, which meant that we potentially had a car problem, not a battery problem. That meant an issue could still exist, but at least we’d be prepared.
Getting the car back was a breeze, and everything was as we expected. The staff had put the car on a trickle charger, so it was charged and ready to roll when we got it. Everything inside was as we’d left it. After flying in from Spain very late in the evening, we slept in an airport hotel and took an Uber the next morning to pick up the car.
We’d already set up an appointment for preventive maintenance with a Lexus specialist that was on our route. The day after we got the car back, we handed it over for service and picked up a loaner. Later that day, with a new light bulb and rear brakes, our car was pronounced in excellent health, including its battery and electrical system. We’ll only have it out of storage for a few weeks and a few hundred miles before we store it again.
Some readers will be thinking it would have been better to leave the car with a friend or family member, or just park it, and save money that way. We considered but then rejected these options. With no set return date, it made little sense to ask someone to care for the car indefinitely, or to just leave it somewhere with nobody paying attention. We wanted to know our car would be immediately drivable whenever we needed it, and there was no one able to store it conveniently and in the way we desired.
A side benefit to storing the car—one we hadn’t initially considered: We can store a few belongings in it. We decided shortly before leaving the U.S. to lighten our load and left a kettlebell in the car, along with roughly a small suitcase’s worth of shoes and clothing. While we were gone, the staff were happy to take delivery of some small boxes and put them in the car for us. We’ll again store some belongings when we hand the car back to the storage folks in a few weeks, before we return to the other side of the pond.
Brief mention of my kettlebell dilemma in my previous article sparked some interest and advice from readers, so I owe an update. As you might have gathered, my bell did not make the trip to Europe but rested comfortably in the car. An Italian acquaintance referred me to a gym not far from where we were staying, and it had the equipment I needed for my kettlebell instructor recertification. That worked out well, but I’ve now been without a kettlebell since June. That’s had a silver lining, forcing me to work more on other skills, but I do miss my bells. I’m glad to have one back in my hands for a little while. But soon enough, it’ll be hibernating in our car once again.
Michael Perry is a former career Army officer and external affairs executive for a Fortune 100 company. In addition to personal finance and investing, his interests include reading, traveling, being outdoors, strength training and coaching, and cocktails. Check out his earlier articles.
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Very good advice, Michael. I’m hoping to do more extensive traveling soon and, like you, I have no obvious candidates to mind my car. $6 a day for peace of mind and immediate availability, as well as some storage, sounds reasonable. Good luck and bon voyage on the next round of your itinerant life. Have you read the National Geographic articles by Paul Salopek who has been walking around the world for the last ten years? They’re very interesting, especially the recent one about Yunnan Province in China.
Thanks for the comment Linda. Looking at the cost on a daily basis does add some perspective.
Thanks for the mention of Paul as well. I wasn’t aware of his writing, but a quick glance looks quite interesting.
I follow this advice. You might get a kick out of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oh6XaCrSGJ8
Primarily because my movements become compromised by health issues.
Excellent advice indeed. Thanks for sharing.
For $180/month ($2160/year) plus depreciation (~10-15% per year of the remaining value) would it not be better to just sell the vehicle and buy another when done traveling in a few years? When home, you could use Uber for single trips or something like Turo (or their competitors) for longer term vehicle rental needs.
Thanks for the question Nate. We thought about selling the car, and if we knew we would be traveling for a few years, then it probably would make sense. But we started our travels with no particular plan other than to go, and to be done when we decide to be.
Btw, when getting our car serviced we had a 2023 loaner. Sweet ride! We may be back in the US next year for an extended period, but likely not definitively. When approaching the car decision again, we’ll be glad not to be thinking of storing or selling a >$50k one.
I remember your earlier articles, glad the decisions worked out well. Hope the trip was everything you hoped for, too.
Thanks Kathy. The overseas travel turned out great, especially considering we left with about three months out of six planned.
Michael, I’d thought you were without a permanent address, but it turns out you had place to receive your packages. The homecoming with your lonely kettlebell must have been sweet.
Thanks Ed. It was indeed.
Handling a few packages was an extra offered out of kindness, so we didn’t overdo it. Otherwise, we have a mail service that opens and scans our mail, and they’ll forward things to wherever we are. We don’t overdo this either, as of course there’s a cost for it, and in fact have only done it for paper checks.