After years or even decades of planning and dreaming and saving, the day has finally arrived—you can finally get behind the wheel of your new supercar. You’ve put in plenty of time researching your dream ride and have sacrificed countless hours working to make sure that you had the financial wherewithal to get your hands on what you wanted. Now, the moment is finally here—you have the car that you’ve always dreamed of.

It’s an exciting moment for anyone who’s ever had the pleasure of experiencing it, but there’s also several responsibilities that go hand in hand with securing such a beautiful piece of machinery. Regular maintenance and care, for example, has never been as important as it is with the acquisition of a supercar—tire rotations and system checks take on a new sense of urgency when repairs can be so prohibitively expensive.

Something else to keep in mind when it comes to maintenance is storage. You want to make sure that you are properly stashing your ride when it’s not in use for either the short or the long-term—keeping your car protected from the elements is one of the best things that you can do for it. Read on for some more tips about proper storage of luxury cars and how it can pay dividends for you.

Invest in the Right Cover

This may sound obvious, but more people get it wrong than you might imagine. Even if your car is safely stored away under a roof, it’s still vital that you get a premium cover for it. The reason for this is simple—dust and dirt can work themselves into basically any crevice, including any gap or hole that might be in your car’s exterior.

Covers also help protect against things like animal droppings, which can still occur no matter how many precautions you take to protect your ride from the elements (both big and small and furry). Make sure that you get the right size cover for your car, too. It’s unsightly to get the wrong size, and it won’t necessarily offer the same degree of protection that the right-sized cover will.

Clean Before Storing

If you’re planning on storing your car for any extended period (more than a few weeks or so) then it’s also time to wash it up before you stash it away. Any dirt that’s been left on its surface will only serve to gradually wear away at the finish and the paint job as the cover rubs against it with the elements. It’s best to ensure that you have a clean slate and thoroughly clean the car, both inside and out, before you pack it away.

Protect the Tires

A car left at rest for any extended period, no matter the price point, will eventually be at the mercy of its tires. Rubber is a fallible material, and dry rotting can cause serious damage if tires are left under pressure or unused for extended periods. Tires left unused, without moving for extended periods, will result in flat spots and the rubber deteriorating, cracking, and flaking to the point of obsolescence.

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to prevent this. Your number one tactic, of course, is to just take the car out for a spin every few weeks. Even taking it around the corner for a gallon of milk is better than just letting it sit there.

Your other option is to invest in some simple tools that allow you to take the pressure off the tires and create a friendlier weight distribution scenario. Our team here at Race Ramps sells a number of devices that you can rest tires on, from our Pro-Stop Parking Guides to our Flatstoppers Car Storage Ramps. All these items provide essentially the same benefit – they give your tire a friendlier surface on which to rest, which means that you’re less at risk of experiencing dry rotting and other preventable tire wear. These items also come at a price that can be surprisingly affordable, so they’re well worth your time to explore.

Let the Car Run

Even if you can’t take your car out on the road regularly while it’s in storage, it’s still important to let it run every now and then. Bringing the engine up to its optimal temperature will burn off any impurities, charge up the battery, and remove moisture from the vehicle’s exhaust system. And, of course, make sure that your storage space is properly ventilated before attempting anything like this.

Protecting a supercar is a new experience that’s part and parcel of owning such a beautiful machine. It’s well worth your time and money to invest in doing so properly, so give our team at Race Ramps a call today, We have the expertise to help guide you through this process and ensure that your car is ready to roll the next time it hits the road.