# Garaging my car during the winter...



## gemvv (Jul 18, 2010)

HI, I would appreciate some advice on whether I need to garage my car over the winter, or have undercover parking etc. I am presently looking for rented accommodation in Calgary, and need to know if my car will be fine standing outside or if I need to give it more protection than that. I am seeing adverts referring to parking spaces with 'plug in' and heated parking etc, and I have no idea what this is or if its necessary. Any advice on this would be much appreciated. Thanks. :confused2:


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

gemvv said:


> HI, I would appreciate some advice on whether I need to garage my car over the winter, or have undercover parking etc. I am presently looking for rented accommodation in Calgary, and need to know if my car will be fine standing outside or if I need to give it more protection than that. I am seeing adverts referring to parking spaces with 'plug in' and heated parking etc, and I have no idea what this is or if its necessary. Any advice on this would be much appreciated. Thanks. :confused2:


In some areas of Canada cars are equipped with what's known as a Block Heater. It is attached to the engine block and has a cord running from it which is plugged into an electrical outlet. This keeps the engine from freezing up and the viscosity of the oil as it should be. I doubt such things are truly needed in Calgary but some people swear by them. If your car has a good battery it will survive outside and start readily. If the battery is older and weak it could cause it not to have sufficient power to turnover the engine. 
Inside parking is desirable on a couple of fronts. The car engine will not be cold and will start as it should and, of course, you will not have the issue of clearing off snow or heavy ice on the windshield. Indoor/underground parking is desirable but can be expensive and there is a certain personal security issue with it.


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## gemvv (Jul 18, 2010)

Auld Yin said:


> In some areas of Canada cars are equipped with what's known as a Block Heater. It is attached to the engine block and has a cord running from it which is plugged into an electrical outlet. This keeps the engine from freezing up and the viscosity of the oil as it should be. I doubt such things are truly needed in Calgary but some people swear by them. If your car has a good battery it will survive outside and start readily. If the battery is older and weak it could cause it not to have sufficient power to turnover the engine.
> Inside parking is desirable on a couple of fronts. The car engine will not be cold and will start as it should and, of course, you will not have the issue of clearing off snow or heavy ice on the windshield. Indoor/underground parking is desirable but can be expensive and there is a certain personal security issue with it.


Thanks for the info, much appreciated!


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## Guest (Jul 24, 2010)

I lived in Calgary several years ago. My car had a block heater. In one place I had covered outside parking and didn't have trouble starting my car if the block heater wasn't plugged in. At another place I lived, however, I had to park outside with no cover. I didn't always plug my car in and on a couple of occasions on particularly nights, I couldn't get it started in the morning. 

So covered parking makes a big difference, I think, as to whether or not you will need a block heater. If you have to park outside and your car is exposed to the wind, i.e., not covered (by that I mean a concrete type roof like you might see in parkades) I would highly recommend a block heater. Who needs the hassle of going outside on a freezing cold morning to find your car won't start?

That said, as mentioned, this was several years ago, and it could well be that car batteries are better than they used to be.

And re rented accommodation, most, but not all, apartment buildings will at least have covered parking. Some will have underground parking, but as Auld mentioned, it can be expensive, the cost of which will likely be built into your rent.


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## oddball (Aug 1, 2007)

For all of my years in Canada , I have never used a block heater , but made sure the front of the vehicle was shielded from the wind (Chill factor) , my reasoning for this is quite simple realy , should the vehicle not start at home , at least I am not stuck out in the sub-zero conditions , I live in southern Ontario . I have always kept our vehicles in a good state of tune with specialised tune ups in the winter , I am a vehicle mechanic by trade but have overhauled motor cycles as a preference for many years , not once has a vehicle failed to start in the morning (5 am) . There are tricks to the trade of course which many mechanics(?) are not aware of , which make a considerable difference to cold starts . The most important one is to run a cable from the starter side of the solenoid to the ignition connection on the distributor giving you full current feed at start up .


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## Guest (Jul 24, 2010)

Yes, I agree, when the car is shielded from the wind, i.e., chill factor, it does make a difference. However, when exposed to the wind it can be a problem getting it started.

Good points about keeping up the maintenance on your vehicle.

Calgary can and does get much colder in the winter, too, so the temperatures, along with the wind chill can definitely make a difference.

By the way, always back into a parking space in winter LOL! That way, if you have to jumpstart it, the battery is easily accessible - I learned that the hard way


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## gemvv (Jul 18, 2010)

nola said:


> Yes, I agree, when the car is shielded from the wind, i.e., chill factor, it does make a difference. However, when exposed to the wind it can be a problem getting it started.
> 
> Good points about keeping up the maintenance on your vehicle.
> 
> ...


Excellent! Thanks for all the advice I am getting. Its very handy. Now just need to sort out a car!


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## canajun (Jul 10, 2010)

If your car doesn't have a block heater, you can get one installed for probably $200.


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