I do 6 months in Florida and 6 months in NY own a 330 in NY and a 350 in Fla.
Looking for advice..I leave the car sitting for 6 months at a time in each state.Should I change the oil before I leave a state or when I return ?

 

The oil will wait patiently in the oil pan until you return. Change the oil when you hit 5000 miles.

 

+1... just change at 5k mile intervals. The time recommendation that most people make is WAY too conservative. You should hit 5k well before the oil 'times out,' even if you're only in each place half the year.

 

I would change the oil and start the car to circulate the oil before you park it. You want clean oil to sit in the crankcase and not oil laden with acidic combustion byproducts.

 

I do something similar with several months in Wisconsin and several in Florida. I change my oil just before departing and use 100% synthetic oil. No problems after 6 years.

I also put a Battery Minder on the battery and put a couple layers of visqueen vapor barrier down to inhibit any moisture from leaching up from the concrete garage floor.

I use a car cover and to insure that nothing nests in the car and keep the dust off. I put out a few boxes of D-Con around the garage just to be sure.

 

^now that's the right idea!!

 

Speaking from experience, I suppose!

 

I couldn't agree more. If you have the opportunity to change oil BEFORE a big sit, do it. As an extreme example, I have a classic Corvette that sits all winter long in the garage. I change my oil before I store it. Lots of nasties can sit in hibernation in your oil pan.

 

I would do this UNLESS any of the cars are leased in which case I would just follow the service schedule... not your problem after 3 years.

 

[QUOTE=joako;4717578]I would do this UNLESS any of the cars are leased in which case I would just follow the service schedule... not your problem after 3 years.[/QUOT

This is exactly why I would never by a CPO.....Would you want a car this guy leased..Hell No.....You just don't know how the car as been driven,what gas,what oil, how they drove the car.....Lease vehicles are not cared for by the driver as if they planed to keep it...Not all cases but sounds to me most cases...