5 things to do with your classic car when the snow’s too deep to drive it

Winter can seem like the worst time of the year for those of us in the classic car hobby, especially those of us who live in a place where that white stuff falls from the sky on a regular basis. So instead of driving our cars, we spend most of our time shoveling snow and wondering when the deluge will ever end.

However, there are a number of things you can — and often need to — do when the weather will not permit you to actually drive your classic car.

Here are a few that we recommend:

1. Give your car a really good detail.
Winter is the perfect time to give your car that truly awesome detail that it deserves. If you have never detailed your car before, there are a number of how to books on how to do so.

Beyond the obvious benefit of having a clean car you will be amazed at how much better you will know the condition of your car after detailing it yourself. You are likely to notice things you had never seen before, including needs your car might have or even a wonderful stylistic detail that you had never noticed before.

Basically, you become more of an expert on the condition and the little details of that car you love.

2. Bring your car to the next level
After detailing you car you are likely to find a number of things that could be improved. Maybe your chassis could use a good repaint or your interior could use a good re-dye of its seats. Winter is the perfect time to deal with these things.

The benefit is that come spring, if it ever does arrive this year, you will have a car in better condition than you did when you put it away for winter. Maybe you might even win the trophy at that car show or concours that has eluded you in the past.

3. Buy a new car for your collection.
There s no better time to get a good deal on a classic car than during the winter. Lots of people are as daunted by the weather as you are and there are a fewer people willing to go out there in the weather and crawl around a cold garage to see a car that they can’t drive for another three months. This means that many people selling a car have a lot less interest in their car and are willing to deal.

Also, that winter is just before tax time makes shopping in the winter months for that deal even better because often people may be selling even a prized classic to pay an upcoming tax bill. We call this a target rich environment.

Try a search on ClassicCars.com and search the winter states for that next car you have always wanted. You just might find it.

4. Join a car club and attend the monthly meetings.
If you not yet joined a car club for your marque or time period, then winter is the perfect time to do so. Many clubs have tech sessions and such during the non-driving months and you might actually learn something that can help you with some of the issues your own car has and save you some money. You also have the opportunity to meet a bunch of like-minded car crazy people just like you and are bound to make many new friends.

5. Buy and read a car book or three:
There are some great automotive books out there and winter is the perfect time to buy and read some. You will end up learning more about your own car or a car you have been considering buying. All you need to do is to search Amazon or many of the car centric book dealers to find just the book you were looking for.

We have to warn you that this car book deal can be just as addictive as the cars themselves and you are likely to end up with quite a large collection of car books. The benefit of this is that some of these books are as collectible as the cars themselves and often can appreciate in value at the same rate as the cars themselves.

We promise that this eternally long winter will eventually end, even if you live in Minnesota, and hope that some of these ideas will make these grim winter months a bit more fun for your hobby.