I did this myself, unintentionally of course. I inherited a car but didn’t have a driver’s license, so the car stayed on the driveway for roughly a year until I got around to getting the license. I did do some minimal maintenance on it - every once in a while I’d go out and start the engine, I moved it slightly back and forth in the driveway to ensure that the wheels weren’t always in the same position, and I trickle-charged the battery once or twice when it wouldn’t start.
The car seemed to come out of the experience perfectly fine. I needed to change the battery about another year later, after I’d been driving it a while, but I’m sure that’s just because the battery was super old to begin with.
Only three things I can think of, two of which have been covered already:
- Battery, ideally disconnected.
- Gas, ideally add a stabilizer.
- Tires, tricky, ideally you’d move the vehicle every so often by 20-30 cm to even the load, but worse case your tires are going to wear out quite a bit quicker after a year standing on the same spot.
Full tank of gas, disconnect the battery, no problem.
Biggest thing to know is what sort of climate are we talking about? Extreme heat and cold are big factors. As well as sitting the thing down beneath some big trees or in a very dusty place.
I’d make sure it’s driven every couple of months or so.
With a moderate climate the gas and tyres are probably fine for a year. And the battery is probably fine if it’s left disconnected and charged up again before putting it back in service. But a year is about the limit, after that the chance of the gas going bad, the tyres getting out of round and rubbers drying out is high.
In a more harsh climate, things can go bad much sooner. Probably better to sell it and buy another one, once you need it again. If for example you are going away for a year or more.
Your battery will likely need a jump start/charge. I don’t know enough about cars to say anything else
Gas is likely bad. There are other factors that could influence the situation. Is this a hypothetical, or do you have more details?
hypothetical. I live alone and have no one to help with such things, and kinda wanna spend a year in the hospital
Disconnect the battery. Don’t leave gas in it. Make sure you’ve got proper antifreeze mixture in the coolant, if you’re in an area where winters get freezing. And if you can, get a proper car cover.
