Outdoor Parking (Not Garaged) risks, worth it?

[George]

On my journey for getting a GT40 replica, trying to tackle some obstacles and one of them (living in London) is not having a garage, hence the reason why sadly the option of building my own vehicle (as much as I would love to) is not possible. My current option is private building outdoor parking lot (not gated).

I was wondering, being the type of car GT40 is and the attention it attracts, how much of a risk it is to own one knowing that your only parking option is outside (outdoor car park or driveway)?
Any London or UK members out there who are owners under those conditions?

Thank you in advance

 

[Ian Anderson]

On my journey for getting a GT40 replica, trying to tackle some obstacles and one of them (living in London) is not having a garage, hence the reason why sadly the option of building my own vehicle (as much as I would love to) is not possible. My current option is private building outdoor parking lot (not gated).

I was wondering, being the type of car GT40 is and the attention it attracts, how much of a risk it is to own one knowing that your only parking option is outside (outdoor car park or driveway)?
Any London or UK members out there who are owners under those conditions?

Thank you in advance

Would not do it. They do not seal as a current car eg window flaps, most do not lock and even if you lock the doors 5 mins with a screwdriver removes a window for access. They get a lot of attention everywhere they go -filling petrol normally has people asking questions.

Driving one in London traffic would not be fun as vision to the rear 3/4 view is non existent

Expect to sweat as they generate a lot of heat and even aircon will struggle when in traffic

 

[Mike Christian]

My first reaction reading you request for opinions was to wince...for a couple of reasons. First. I don't think they are that watertight to deal with weather like that. I imagine they could be made so if that were a focus. Second, you would need to consider ways to secure the doors and hoods to prevent unwanted access. Third, you would need to find a way to secure the car from being started and driven away. Fourth, you would plan for and expect more rapid deterioration of materials/parts. All of these can be done, of course, but at a cost of $ and effort. Why not rent a space inside somewhere?

 

[Ady]

A decision might ultimately lie with an insurer, to get a realistic quote for my GT it has to be in a locked garaged overnight if within a mile of the nominated keeper address in addition to a tracker. After 5 years of ownership I have not yet ventured into town (Nottingham, UK) nor do I intend to. Visibility in traffic etc is not something I’d call fun, parking would be a mare and I’d be too anxious to leave it unattended.

 

[George]

Would not do it. They do not seal as a current car eg window flaps, most do not lock and even if you lock the doors 5 mins with a screwdriver removes a window for access. They get a lot of attention everywhere they go -filling petrol normally has people asking questions.

Driving one in London traffic would not be fun as vision to the rear 3/4 view is non existent

Expect to sweat as they generate a lot of heat and even aircon will struggle when in traffic

Hi Mike,

I totally understand. It looks like I won’t be owning one then anytime soon.

Better face the reality check than daydreaming and have consequences later

Thank you for your feedback

PS: watertightness is the only solvable issue here with proper thick cover. All the rest are valid points.

 

[George]

Would not do it. They do not seal as a current car eg window flaps, most do not lock and even if you lock the doors 5 mins with a screwdriver removes a window for access. They get a lot of attention everywhere they go -filling petrol normally has people asking questions.

Driving one in London traffic would not be fun as vision to the rear 3/4 view is non existent

Expect to sweat as they generate a lot of heat and even aircon will struggle when in traffic

Hi Ian,

It looks like quite obvious that they are not for outdoor/driveway storage. I guess I’ll have to wait till I get a house with an indoor garage, which is high unlikely in my current status.
Sadly don’t see it ever happening.

Thank you though, needed to know this before I get into trying materialising my GT40 ownership dream. Hopefully I get to experience driving it on track at some point .

 

[Ady]

I daydreamed for 30+ years… all the sweeter when things fell into place after moving to a village with more space and quieter roads. Don’t give up and fingers X’d for you.

 

[George]

A decision might ultimately lie with an insurer, to get a realistic quote for my GT it has to be in a locked garaged overnight if within a mile of the nominated keeper address in addition to a tracker. After 5 years of ownership I have not yet ventured into town (Nottingham, UK) nor do I intend to. Visibility in traffic etc is not something I’d call fun, parking would be a mare and I’d be too anxious to leave it unattended.

Hi Andy,

I can only imagine. I would only get one for fun driving country roads and small towns. I would never go to central London with a car let alone a GT40. But not having an indoor garage sounds like a major issue so the matter sadly ends there for me.

Thanks for your feedback

 

[Walter]

how about renting garage space in one of the suburbs?

 

[George]

how about renting garage space in one of the suburbs?

I was planning on having it as my only car.

Living in London suburbs (as a single - no family) I have found the need for a car almost wasteful (for me). I used to own one and ended up selling it since public transport covered 90% of my needs. My passion for driving is mostly recreational and hardly utilitarian. Sadly I can’t afford to have multiple vehicles so I was planning on getting the GT40 as my only childhood passion car that would use 3-4 times a week for drives around countryside, small towns and as a long grand tourer (no way for big cities). Stroring it on facilities far away from my house and also paying high annual fees was never a plan (don’t know if I could afford it in the long run).

Will see what the future holds.

Thank you for your advise though Walter.

 

[Bill Kearley]

Have a chat with your wife. TELL her you are going to take out the living room window, install a door and park your wonderful car that you love so much indoors .
Trust me, she will understand.

 

[George]

Have a chat with your wife. TELL her you are going to take out the living room window, install a door and park your wonderful car that you love so much indoors .
Trust me, she will understand.

Single and 2nd floor apartment tenant, sadly none of the options are on the table. ;-)

It’s ok. I’ll just have to settle for renting one out for track days and enjoy it that way. Will see in the future.

 

[Ian Anderson]

Hi

What about safe store or similar self storage. I know the sunbury one had some and someone stored a Jeep WW2 era in it

 

[George]

Hi

What about safe store or similar self storage. I know the sunbury one had some and someone stored a Jeep WW2 era in it

If I can find a secure one at a walking distance from my house in Kingston I will definitely consider it. It’s important to walk (10-12 mins) for frequent usage.

Also have to look at the annual fee, have zero idea what those places charge but living in South-West London can’t imagine being cheap.

I was basing my scenario on the fact that some really expensive cars (Porsche, Astons, Jags) are on exposed front driveways where I live so hoped a GT40 wouldn’t be any different but I guess it is a special kind of car with idiosyncrasies that I didn’t consider.

 

[Alex]

I was planning on having it as my only car.

god no that would be absolutely horribly miserable. If you told me my choice was I had to either daily drive my 65 cobra/sl-c/917/962 or a 1980 civic, i'd take the civic without even thinking about it. For the occasional track day or cruise in the back roads these are great cars. As a daily drive, oh hell no, from a practicality/safety/any perspective you look at

I was basing my scenario on the fact that some really expensive cars (Porsche, Astons, Jags) are on exposed front driveways where I live so hoped a GT40 wouldn’t be any different but I guess it is a special kind of car with idiosyncrasies that I didn’t consider.

not comparable; you'd be asking for a lot of trouble because of how much attention these cars get.

 

[George]

god no that would be absolutely horribly miserable. If you told me my choice was I had to either daily drive my 65 cobra/sl-c/917/962 or a 1980 civic, i'd take the civic without even thinking about it. For the occasional track day or cruise in the back roads these are great cars. As a daily drive, oh hell no, from a practicality/safety/any perspective you look at



not comparable; you'd be asking for a lot of trouble because of how much attention these cars get.

Hi Alex,

I was not planning on daily driving it. I live on the outskirts of London and the amount of times I ever felt I needed a car during the year are maybe numbered in low single digits. London transport is so good where I live, I bus it to work and as I result I sold my car a few years back. I would use it for recreational purposes and fun drives in the countryside and small towns and of course long grand tours to Europe, all that would be frequently within a month. Obviously all that after modifying it (sound deadening, waterproofing, rear sensors for parking, rear camera etc). Anyway that was my plan but with no indoor garage can’t do nada. So be it.

Thanks for your input