As the clocks go back and the gritters hit the roads, owners of modern prestige cars face a decision. Is it time to garage the “special” car, or is your vehicle the ultimate all-weather machine built to be driven?
Unlike classic cars, the value of your newer prestige vehicle (think a 2-year-old Porsche 911, a 4-year-old Bentley Continental GT, or a 1-year-old Range Rover SVR, etc.) is less about nostalgic value and more about its condition, mileage, and electronic health.
How you handle the winter months has a direct impact on all three. Whether you’re storing a weekend sports car or driving a luxury SUV, here’s how to protect your investment.
Part 1: The “Daily Driver” – Using Your Prestige Car in Winter
This is for the owners of a Range Rover, Porsche Cayenne, Bentley Bentayga, etc. These cars are built for this… but they are not invincible.
The #1 Threat: Salt and Grime
Road salt is the single biggest enemy of a modern car’s value. It’s highly corrosive and doesn’t just attack old metal. On a new car, it aggressively pits expensive, diamond-cut alloy wheels, corrodes brake callipers, and damages suspension components.
- The Action Plan:
- Get it Coated: A high-quality wax, sealant, or (ideally) a ceramic coating applied before winter is not about shine; it’s a sacrificial, protective barrier. It stops grime from bonding to the paint and makes washing it off infinitely easier.
- Wash Often (and Underneath): Don’t let salt sit. A weekly wash is essential. Crucially, pay for an “underbody” or “chassis wash” regularly. A clean, gleaming body on a corroded undercarriage will be spotted by any specialist buyer.
- Alloy Wheel Protection: After cleaning, apply a wheel-specific sealant to your alloys. This will help repel the highly corrosive brake dust and salt mixture.
The #2 Threat: The Battery
You’re driving the car, so the battery is fine, right? Not necessarily. Short, stop-start trips (like a school run) with heated seats, windscreen, and steering wheel all blazing, use more power than the alternator can easily replace. This “battery fatigue” is a primary killer of modern, high-spec batteries.
- The Action Plan:
- Take the car for at least one solid 30-40 minute run every week at motorway speeds. This gives the alternator a real chance to top the battery up.
- If you ever leave the car for more than a week (e.g., a holiday), connect a battery conditioner.
Part 2: The “Stored Special” – Garaging a Modern Performance Car
This is for the owner of the Porsche 911 Cabriolet, the Bentley Continental GTC, etc. You are not storing a simple classic; you are storing a complex, high-performance computer.
The #1 Non-Negotiable: The Battery
Here is a critical fact about modern prestige cars: they are never truly “off.” Even when parked, your car is running security systems, trackers, keyless entry receivers, and computer memory. This constant, low-level drain (known as “parasitic drain”) is the #1 threat to a stored vehicle and can kill a battery in just a few weeks.
- The Action Plan:
- Buy a “Smart” Battery Conditioner/Tender. This is not an old-fashioned “battery charger.” A modern conditioner (like a CTEK) talks to your battery. It charges it, monitors it, and then “floats” or “pulses” a tiny charge to keep it at 100% without overcharging. It is the single best investment you can make for a stored modern car. A dead battery can cause thousands in electronic headaches.
The #2 Threat: Flat-Spotting Tyres
Your wide, low-profile performance tyres are soft. If the car sits in one spot for three months, the weight will flatten the section of the tyre touching the ground. This creates a “flat spot” that causes an annoying and often permanent vibration when you drive it in spring.
- The Action Plan:
- Inflate your tyres to a higher pressure. Check your manual, but adding 10-15 PSI over the normal pressure (e.g., up to 50 PSI) makes the tyre “rounder” and far more resistant to flat-spotting.
- If you’re truly meticulous, you can buy “tyre cushions” or “tyre cradles” that spread the load.
The #3 Threat: The Handbrake
Do not leave the handbrake on. Over winter, brake pads can rust or fuse to the brake discs. This is a common and costly issue to fix.
- The Action Plan:
- For Manuals: Leave the car in gear, on a level surface, and use wheel chocks (a couple of small wooden blocks) to stop it from moving.
- For Automatics/Electronic Brakes: This is trickier. Most will disengage the electronic handbrake when the car is put in Park and turned off. Check your manual. The goal is to have the car held by the transmission’s parking pawl, not the brakes. Use wheel chocks for security.
The Auto VIP Verdict: Why Winter Care is Key to Resale Value
Whether you drive or store, the goal is the same: to arrive in spring with a car in perfect mechanical and electronic health.
When we value a car for a premium, instant cash offer, these are the exact things we look for. A car with a strong battery, a clean chassis, and no electronic gremlins is a car that has been meticulously owned. A vehicle that needs a new battery, has corroded alloys, or vibrates from flat-spotted tyres is not.
Protecting your car through winter is a direct investment in its future value.
A Note for Prestige EV Owners
You may have noticed we haven’t covered your Tesla or Porsche Taycan in this guide. There’s a very good reason for that: storing a high-performance EV is a completely different process with its own set of rules.
From managing the high-voltage battery to preventing “vampire drain,” the challenges are unique.
Look out for our upcoming guide next month: “The Prestige EV Owner’s Guide: How to Store Your Tesla This Winter.”