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ATP: Car Advice

DeaconSoDear

DeaconSoDear

A.W. Hamilton
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If Car Talk was still running I feel like this would be a great question for them, but since that is not an option I humbly ask The Pit car experts to settle a spousal dispute.

With our work schedules, vehicles, and driveway set up it is generally necessary for one of us to park on the street; we live on the end of a cul-de-sac and this does not inconvenience any of the neighbors and does not impede traffic. One of us insists on moving the car that is parked on the street into the driveway over night, while the other believes this is bad for the car and unnecessary.

So, is it bad for a car to make the trip every night to move from the street to the driveway?

Thanks!
 
Yes. Cars are clearly not Intended for motion. That's why we have garages and car museums.
 
DistrictDeacon said:
You're both right. It's not bad for the car and also unnecessary.
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Lol

I don't get why you'd move it. Either you park it in the driveway originally or you leave it. Its not like moving it is good for the car either. I can't think of something more unnecessary.
 
Intuitively it seemed like starting the car to move it 50 feet every night would cause unnecessary wear and tear, if nothing else drain the battery.

Though I am probably just being fussy because I find it so unnecessary.
 
And why doesn't the person who gets home second just park in the driveway?
 
wakelaw13 said:
And why doesn't the person who gets home second just park in the driveway?
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Idk how it is in their household but here's an example from our household. My work start time is later than my husbands so I go in after he has left. Most evenings I get home first because he is wonderful and does the grocery shopping while I do the household chores (start a load of laundry, take the dog out, vacuum or mop, etc). There are a couple times a month that I'm the second one home because I occasionally work until 9pm or 10. Those nights I'm the second one home. My car is newer/nicer so he is awesome and just parks on the street leaving a spot for my car in the driveway. To us it isn't worth it to move his car from the road to he driveway. Our neighborhood street is littered with cars so everyone has to go very slowly.
 
i want to pos rep the 'deaconsodumb' tag so bad
 
i think the more interesting question is which of you is the female.
 
Park that shit in the yard if you don't want it on the street.
 
DeaconSoDear said:
If Car Talk was still running I feel like this would be a great question for them, but since that is not an option I humbly ask The Pit car experts to settle a spousal dispute.

With our work schedules, vehicles, and driveway set up it is generally necessary for one of us to park on the street; we live on the end of a cul-de-sac and this does not inconvenience any of the neighbors and does not impede traffic. One of us insists on moving the car that is parked on the street into the driveway over night, while the other believes this is bad for the car and unnecessary.

So, is it bad for a car to make the trip every night to move from the street to the driveway?

Thanks!
Click to expand...


The answer to this is "it depends."

The battery use for starting etc has been mentioned before. Because the car is being driven everyday and not that long after the quick trip from driveway to street, this isn't anything to worry about.

The possible issue is condensation of water vapor and other stuff in a cold exhaust system. When a vehicle has been sitting and the exhaust system is cold (outside air temperature) the water vapor and other stuff condenses inside the exhaust system. As the exhaust system warms up, this water is evaporated and sent out the tailpipe. The exhaust system generally warms up from the engine to the tail pipe. That is why you will see water drip from the tail pipe on occasion. Car has been running, but not for too long. So if the car is driven only the short distance between the driveway and the street and the exhaust system is cold, water vapor plus the NOx plus SOx etc will condense in the exhaust system, produce nitric acid, sulfuric and sulfurous acid and contribute to shorter life of exhaust system components. Car manufacturers have gone to making exhaust system components more and more out of stainless steel, so rusting isn't as big a factor, but the acids will still do a number on stainless eventually. It just takes longer.

Here is the it "depends" part. If the exhaust system is still warm from the drive home, none of the above happens. The warmer the weather, the longer the car exhaust system stays warm enough to avoid condensation issues. Thus in summer you have more time and in winter less. Also depends (to a point) on how far the car is driven from work to home. Is it far enough (or does it take long enough, with traffic) to get the exhaust system fully warm?


A personal example of how I manage this: When we take my mom out in her car, we normally park in the middle of the turn around area and get her out of the car into her wheel chair and wheel her into the house. Very shortly, I try to get her car turned around and parked properly where it will sit for another week. This way the car is still warm when moved the few feet from the middle of the driveway to the parking spot.
 
My god, we're talking about someone who obsesses over moving the car from the street to the driveway. Count them in the group that buys a new car every three years whether they need it or not. No way exhaust corrosion matters in this situation.
 
PhysDeac said:
My god, we're talking about someone who obsesses over moving the car from the street to the driveway. Count them in the group that buys a new car every three years whether they need it or not. No way exhaust corrosion matters in this situation.
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The car in question is a 7 year old Toyota w/ 100k miles, I am really trying to keep this thing running because I hate buying cars.

Rubbins is right about being #nervous when it comes to car care/maintenance.

Click and Clack would have just asked how I spell my name and politely told me it doesn't matter...

Thank you Deaonblue for the legitimate answer.
 
DeaconSoDear said:
The car in question is a 7 year old Toyota w/ 100k miles, I am really trying to keep this thing running because I hate buying cars.

Rubbins is right about being #nervous when it comes to car care/maintenance.

Click and Clack would have just asked how I spell my name and politely told me it doesn't matter...

Thank you Deaonblue for the legitimate answer.
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It's fine to move the car. There will be no noticeable decrease to the life of the car as a result of moving it at night. It's a Toyota - keep up on the maintenance and it will run forever.
 
WhatUTalkinBout Willis said:
It matters who drives which car? We don't have this problem (plenty of room for lots of cars) but we just drive whichever car each day. Sometimes I take the black car. Sometimes I take the blue car. Whatever.
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For us I have a parking pass. If I take my husbands car we have to pay a $50 fine. It's very annoying.
 
My firm gives me two parking cards to avoid this but we used to have this issue in our one car garage. She got home before me and left before me some days and she would just move both cars when that happened.
 
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