If you have a classic, muscle or sports car that you rarely drive, you should consider storing it. You can pay to keep it in a storage facility, or you can store it at home if you have enough space in your garage. Before you store a vehicle for an extended period of time, you will need to take care of some things with your car first. You will need to clean it, keep it covered, check up on all the fluids and keep the battery charged. Sports car with protective cover. Clean a vehicle before you store it If you are going to store a vehicle for a long term, you will want to clean it first. Take it to the car wash and dry it properly after. Clean your interior as well and remove any trash, dirt or debris you find. If you want to spend the extra money and consider it necessary, get the vehicle detailed before you plan to store it. Use a car cover To make sure your car remains clean, consider buying a car cover. These covers will keep the car protected from the weather, dust and other potential contaminants. If you are storing the vehicle inside or outside, there are car covers specifically made for both instances. Look after your fuel When storing your car, you will want the tank to be full. Before storing the vehicle, make sure you add some fuel stabilizer to the gas tank during your last fill up. The stabilizer works by preventing rust and absorbs moisture to protect the fuel tank. Make sure your tires have enough air Before storing a vehicle, you will want the tires to be filled to the manufacturer recommended levels. To find this information, you can look at the sticker in the passenger side door jamb or in your owner's manual. If a vehicle sits for too long at the incorrect pressures, the weight of the vehicle could cause flat spots on the tires. Tires should be round and flat spots will cause them to wear faster. Take care of your battery Car batteries are charged by the alternator when the car is turned on. If they sit for a long time, they won’t receive a charge and won’t have enough voltage to start the car. To prevent this, consider using a battery tender. They attach to your battery and connect to a wall outlet to keep your battery charged. Check on the car occasionally You may have done everything previously listed to your vehicle before storing it, but you still need to check occasionally that everything is OK with the car. Take the car cover off and look at the exterior and interior of the car to make sure it’s in tip-top shape. Look at the battery maintainer to make sure it's getting the juice it needs to reach its recommended voltage. Don’t be afraid to look underneath the car and check for any fluid leaks. If you want to store a vehicle long term at home, then you will need to prep the vehicle. Maintaining the battery, cleaning the car thoroughly, taking care of the tires, stabilizing the fuel and checking on the car from time to time will ensure the vehicle is in as good a shape as when you first parked it. If you don’t plan on putting it in a storage facility where they may do these things for you, doing it yourself at home is a great alternative if you have the garage space. Keenan Thompson is a car culture reporter for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Keenan at kthompson@freepress.com. Follow him on Instagram at @keenanautos. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.