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The taxi is due in twenty minutes and the car is sitting on the drive, keys on the hall table a few feet from the front door. Two weeks from now you will land late, tired and keen to get home, and the last thing you want is a dead battery, a soft tyre or an empty space where the car used to be. Most of those problems are avoidable, and the work to avoid them takes less than an hour.
This guide covers leaving your own car while you travel, from the UK point of view: where to leave it, how to check airport parking, what to do to the car before you go, the paperwork people forget, and what to check when you get back.
What actually goes wrong when a car stands still
A car that sits for a couple of weeks does not suffer much damage, but it does develop a few predictable problems. Knowing them tells you where to spend your preparation time.
- The battery runs down. Even locked and switched off, a modern car keeps drawing a little power for the alarm, the central locking receiver, keyless entry and various control modules. Over a few weeks, especially in cold weather or with an older battery, that drain can leave too little charge to start the engine. Repeatedly flattening a battery also shortens its life.
- Tyres lose pressure. All tyres lose a little air over time, and a tyre that was slightly low when you left can be soft when you return. They also develop temporary flat spots where they rest on the ground, which cause a vibration for the first few miles and are worse when the pressure is low.
- Brake discs rust. Discs are bare steel, and a film of surface rust appears within days in damp weather. Over much longer periods a handbrake left on in a damp place can make pads stick, and rodents sometimes move into engine bays and chew wiring.
- It becomes a target. A car that has not moved for days is easier to steal or break into, because nobody is coming back to it soon. Thieves look for visible bags, cables and phone mounts, and for keyless cars whose fobs are within range of the front door.
Where to leave it: home or the airport
The first decision is whether the car stays at home while you get to the airport another way, or whether you drive and park there. Each option moves the risk somewhere different.
Home driveway or garage
A locked garage gives a car more protection than anywhere else at home: out of sight, out of the weather and usually near a socket for a battery maintainer. If the garage has become a store room, it can be worth clearing it before a long trip just for this. Check that the door locks properly and that nothing valuable is visible through a window.
A driveway is free, but the car is visible to anyone walking past, and a car that does not move for two weeks is one of the clearest signs that a house is empty. Getting to the airport by train, coach or taxi avoids parking fees entirely, which is worth comparing before you book anything.
On-airport short stay and long stay
Short-stay car parks sit closest to the terminal, often in multi-storey buildings with barriers and cameras. They are priced for drop-offs and short trips, so they rarely make sense for a fortnight away, but they can suit a weekend trip with a late landing. Long-stay car parks are further out, with a shuttle bus to the terminal, and are usually large fenced sites with barriers and patrols. The costs there are time and weather: allow for the shuttle in both directions, and expect to wait at a stop with luggage on the way back.
Off-site park and ride
Independent car parks near the airport run their own shuttles and are often cheaper than the airport's own sites. Quality varies a great deal. A good one is fenced, lit, staffed and covered by cameras. A poor one can be a field with a portable cabin. Check the distance, how the shuttle works late at night, and whether you keep your own keys or hand them over.
Meet and greet
With meet and greet, sometimes called valet parking, you drive to the terminal, a driver takes the car to a compound, and it is brought back when you land. It is very convenient, but it asks for a lot of trust, because a stranger has your keys for the whole trip. Most operators are honest, but complaints tend to involve cars left in unsecured places, extra mileage or long waits on return, which is why checking the operator is essential.
Parking is one of the costs people most often underestimate, so read Unexpected Holiday Expenses before you decide. Turning up without a booking usually costs far more than booking ahead, so check prices on the airport's official website and book once you have chosen.
Checking an airport parking operator before you book
A booking page with smiling stock photos tells you nothing about where your car will actually spend the week. A few checks separate the solid operators from the risky ones.
Is it approved by the airport?
Many UK airports publish a list of their own car parks and, in some cases, of approved partners. If an off-site or meet and greet operator claims to be official, check that on the airport's own website rather than trusting the operator's wording. Some airports also warn passengers about unauthorised operators working their forecourts.
Recognised standards and reviews
The Park Mark safer parking award is given to car parks assessed for lighting, surveillance and management, and membership of the British Parking Association means an operator is accountable to a code of practice. Neither is a guarantee, but their absence on a large site is worth asking about.
Ignore star ratings and read recent reviews in full. Look for comments about how keys are handled, whether cars came back with extra miles on the clock, how long the return took, and how damage complaints were dealt with. Several stories about cars moved to unofficial sites are a strong reason to look elsewhere.
Questions to ask
- Where exactly is the car stored, and is the site fenced, lit and staffed around the clock?
- Are keys kept in a locked key safe, and who can access it?
- Does the operator's insurance cover customers' cars in its care, and how do you claim?
- What happens if your flight is delayed or lands in the middle of the night?
Record the car at hand-over
Before you hand over the keys or walk away, photograph all four sides, the wheels and the dashboard showing the mileage and fuel level. Phone photos carry a time stamp, which is what makes them useful in a dispute. Do the same when you collect the car, before you drive off, and raise any damage or extra mileage with staff there and then. A complaint made a day later is much harder to prove.
When you hand keys to a valet, take your house keys off the ring first. For the same reason, clear the home address stored in the sat nav and take any garage door remote out of the car. House keys, an address and an empty house are exactly what a burglar wants.
Preparing the car before you leave
Most of the mechanical preparation can be done the evening before you travel, with nothing more than a tyre pressure gauge.
The battery
If the car will be in a garage or on a drive next to a socket, a smart battery maintainer is the simplest way to make sure it starts when you return. Unlike an old-fashioned trickle charger, it monitors the battery and only tops it up when needed, so it can stay connected for weeks. Cars with stop-start systems often use special battery types, so check that the maintainer suits yours, and follow the handbook on where to connect it, as some cars have dedicated charging points under the bonnet. Never run a cable across a pavement.
Disconnecting the battery stops the drain, but on many modern cars it resets electronic settings and leaves the car without a working alarm. Check the handbook first, and only consider it for a car stored securely. If neither option works, give the car a proper drive in the days before you leave so the battery is fully charged rather than half-flat from short trips.
Tyres and fuel
Check the pressures with the tyres cold and set them to the figures in the handbook, on the sticker inside the driver's door pillar or inside the fuel flap. Look at the tread and sidewalls too. A slow puncture you have been ignoring will be a flat tyre by the time you get home.
Leave with a full or nearly full tank. It leaves less space for moist air, and it means you can drive straight home without hunting for an open filling station late at night.
Clean out the interior
Empty the car properly, not just the front seats. Crumbs attract mice, damp kit leaves the car smelling of mould, and loose change, sunglasses and charging cables all look like reasons to break a window. Remove phone holders and wipe away the suction ring on the windscreen, since it suggests a device in the glovebox. Close the load cover so the boot cannot be seen into, and shut every window and the sunroof.
Do not leave the V5C registration document in the car. It is useful to anyone trying to sell a stolen car or clone its identity, so keep it at home.
Keyless theft, locks and what thieves look for
Keyless entry is convenient, but it brings a specific risk that owners should deal with before going away.
How relay theft works
Many keyless cars unlock and start when the fob is close by. In a relay attack, one thief stands near the house with a device that picks up the faint signal from the fob inside, and a second stands by the car with a device that repeats it. The car believes the key is next to it, unlocks and starts. It is quick, usually done at night, and leaves no broken glass.
Protecting the fobs
- Keep fobs well away from the front door and from windows near the car. A hook by the door is the worst place for them.
- Store them in a Faraday pouch or a signal-blocking tin. Test it: put the fob inside, walk to the car and try the handle. If the car opens, the pouch is not working.
- Check the handbook for a fob sleep mode or a way to switch keyless entry off. Some manufacturers offer one or both.
- Treat the spare fob the same way. A spare in a drawer by the front door is as vulnerable as the main key.
Physical deterrents
A steering wheel lock is old technology, but it still works because it is visible and slows a thief down. A car that needs a tool and several minutes to drive away is a worse target than the one next to it. On a driveway, parking so that another car or a gate blocks the way out adds a further delay. Never hide a spare key in or on the car, including magnetic boxes under the wheel arch, because thieves know the usual places.
If you are visiting the UK and renting rather than leaving your own car, many of the same habits apply. Holiday Car Rental Tips When Visiting The UK covers the rental side, and 5 Tips to Choosing the Right Car to Rent helps if you are deciding what to hire at your destination.
Insurance, SORN, MOT and tax
This is the part people skip, and the one most likely to cause an expensive surprise.
Tell your insurer what is happening
For an ordinary holiday you rarely need to tell your insurer anything if the car stays where it normally lives. Call if it will be kept somewhere else, such as at a relative's house or a storage site, because the overnight location is part of how your policy is priced, and if it will be unused or stored off the road for a long time. Some policies also have conditions about keyless fobs, alarms or how keys are kept, so read the security section before you go.
SORN only works off the road
A Statutory Off Road Notification, or SORN, tells the DVLA that a car is not being used or kept on a public road, so it does not need to be taxed. It is only valid if the car really is off the public road, for example in a garage, on a private driveway or on private land. A car parked on the street or in a public car park cannot be on SORN, and a declared car cannot be driven on the road except to a pre-booked MOT test.
SORN suits a car that will be off the road for months, such as during a long trip abroad. For a normal holiday it is pointless, because you would have to re-tax the car before driving it again. If you do declare SORN, think before cancelling the insurance too, since fire and theft cover is still worth having on a car sitting on a driveway.
MOT and tax still matter if it stays on the road
A car kept on a public road while you are away must stay taxed and should have a valid MOT, so check both expiry dates before you leave. Untaxed cars on public roads can be clamped or removed by the DVLA, and tax does not renew automatically unless you have set it up to. An MOT can be done a little before it runs out without losing the renewal date (check the current window on GOV.UK), which is a simple fix if the expiry falls during your trip. The current rules are on the official government website.
Keeping the house and driveway looking lived-in
A car is only as secure as the house it is parked outside, and the two give away the same signal when nobody is home.
- Ask a neighbour to use the drive. A second car that comes and goes makes the house look occupied and can block yours in.
- Arrange for someone to look in. A neighbour can check that the car has not been tampered with, that the maintainer is still connected and that nothing has fallen on it in a storm.
- Deal with the small signals. Pause deliveries, ask someone to move post away from the door, and put bins out and back on collection day.
- Keep the trip off social media. Posting the dates, the airport or holiday photos in real time tells anyone looking that the house and car are unattended. Share the photos when you are home.
If a neighbour has a spare house key, keep the car keys separate. For more on protecting your home while away, see 5 Tips for a Safe Happy Holiday.
When you get back
It is tempting to throw the cases in the boot and go, especially late at night. A few minutes of checks can save a breakdown on the way home.
Walk round the car
Look at every panel and wheel, compare with your departure photos if you used a car park, and check the mileage and fuel against what you recorded. Report anything to staff before you leave the site. If the car has stood for a long time, look underneath for fresh leaks and into the engine bay for nesting material or chewed wires.
Tyres, lights and brakes
Check that no tyre looks soft and top them up at the first opportunity. Switch on the lights and indicators and walk round to see that they all work. When you start the engine, watch for warning lights that stay on. If the battery is too weak, use your breakdown cover or a jump start done as the handbook describes.
The first few brake applications may feel slightly rough or make a light scraping noise. That is surface rust on the discs, and it clears after a few gentle stops at low speed. If grinding or a pull to one side continues after the first few miles, have the brakes checked by a garage.
Keep the first drive short
Make the first drive a short, steady one rather than heading straight onto a motorway. It gives you time to notice vibration from flat-spotted tyres, odd noises or warning lights while you are still close to home. If the battery went flat while you were away, have it tested before it lets you down again.
Before you unpack, put the tyre pressure figures, the parking operator's contact details and your hand-over photos in one place with the car's paperwork, so the next departure takes minutes rather than an evening.
Official sources and further reading
Opening times, entry rules and prices change, so check them on the official sites before you travel:
- GOV.UK: driving abroad: Licence, insurance and documents needed to drive abroad.
