Mice can be an issue but these cars are decently sealed so mice shouldn't be able to get inside. I park my cars outside beside my house, and have not had mouse issues there. But the mousetraps in the house gets a mouse a week or so! I guess I shouldn't curse the neghbourhood feral (?) cat for sitting on the convertible roof. It sheds fur on the top, but maybe it also keeps the mice away.
A good car cover won't hurt your paint. It's important that you get one that fits snugly (but not tightly), so that it doesn't come loose in wind. And yes, a car cover will keep needles, leaves, sap etc from your car.
Inflate the tires maybe up to the maximum on the sidewall.
I like to change the oil last thing before winter, so the oil sitting in the crankcase is fresh and has no acids etc.
I leave my NG9-3 unlocked under the car cover, and the battery installed. I think this prevents excessive drain on the battery, which I charge up every couple of weeks. When I took the battery out for winter, when I reinstalled I had a lot of steering column lock failures and key not accepted. There was no permanent issue (and I have access to a Tech II), however the plan of just leaving the car and charging periodically seems to work fine.
When I get a warm spell and rain has washed the salt off the road, I will take the car for a 20-30 minute drive, with at least some at highway speeds to thoroughly warm it up. That keeps seals lubricated.
Fill up the tank and throw in a bottle of gas line antifreeze if you want. In my experience, modern sealed gas tanks have little condensation. There's no need for Sta-Bit or anything else given that the car will sit only until spring is here.
You may want to put on cheap or crappy wiper blades, assuming you have good ones on the car. I do that; also I have a set of usable older tires on steel rims that I install, taking off the good performance Michelins/ on alloys.
I don't understand Saab's recommendations about washer fluid. Put in some good -40º fluid, run the front and rear washers, including headlight, until you are sure the good stuff has pushed out any old summer fluid. It will be fine sitting like that.
A good car cover won't hurt your paint. It's important that you get one that fits snugly (but not tightly), so that it doesn't come loose in wind. And yes, a car cover will keep needles, leaves, sap etc from your car.
Inflate the tires maybe up to the maximum on the sidewall.
I like to change the oil last thing before winter, so the oil sitting in the crankcase is fresh and has no acids etc.
I leave my NG9-3 unlocked under the car cover, and the battery installed. I think this prevents excessive drain on the battery, which I charge up every couple of weeks. When I took the battery out for winter, when I reinstalled I had a lot of steering column lock failures and key not accepted. There was no permanent issue (and I have access to a Tech II), however the plan of just leaving the car and charging periodically seems to work fine.
When I get a warm spell and rain has washed the salt off the road, I will take the car for a 20-30 minute drive, with at least some at highway speeds to thoroughly warm it up. That keeps seals lubricated.
Fill up the tank and throw in a bottle of gas line antifreeze if you want. In my experience, modern sealed gas tanks have little condensation. There's no need for Sta-Bit or anything else given that the car will sit only until spring is here.
You may want to put on cheap or crappy wiper blades, assuming you have good ones on the car. I do that; also I have a set of usable older tires on steel rims that I install, taking off the good performance Michelins/ on alloys.
I don't understand Saab's recommendations about washer fluid. Put in some good -40º fluid, run the front and rear washers, including headlight, until you are sure the good stuff has pushed out any old summer fluid. It will be fine sitting like that.
