It is often mentioned that when looking for the right car, one should avoid a Garage Queen for the reasons that have been mentioned here numerous times. My question is, when one happens to live in the land of ice and snow and SALT for 5 months of the year, owning a Garage Queen is unavoidable and is there anything I can or should do to mitigate the effects of longer term winter storage? Vehicle is a C2S Cab. Not going to see the light of day from November to April. Even for a moment.

All wisdom welcome.

 

In the same boat. Once it drops into the 30/40s its a wrap for me.

Fill up the tank, put some fuel stabilizer in and perform your maintenance/detailing those months. I also rotate a battery tender between the two cars.

 

I’m in the Northeast (NJ), and I don’t hibernate my 997.1 C2S Cab. Even take it out as low as 15F as long as there is no snow on the ground. Salt, I just wash the underside of the car every two weeks or so. I can’t not drive such a fun car for 4 or 5 months and the car is 15 yrs old now so I don’t consider it a big deal if it’s a total loss by the time I sell it as long as I had fun with it. This ain’t no Ferrari and I ain’t saving it for the next guy.

 

I personally don’t understand the “won’t see the light of day from November to April” sentiment for a 15-year old car that’s not a GT3 or anything. Wash the underbody periodically if you’re worried about salt. Even so, 911s are well protected against corrosion and a little surface rust isn’t going to kill you.

 

Is this thread about buying or preserving/best use case story for the next owner?

 

I think he just recently bought his 997 and wants to know how to preserve it being that he decides to hibernate it for the winter.

 

New England states have been using extremely harsh chemicals in recent years. This isn't about surface rust. The oil pan rusted out on my Dakota. My Suburban needed a full brake line replacement. Fluid Film helps a bit, but the stuff they use will eat your car quickly.

I'm out in the winter months if the road is clear, but not when wet or salty. I never understood why one would avoid a garage queen...?

 

Cause some people think that in general, a car used more frequently runs better since the engine is exercised more often (seals and hoses and such stay in good condition) whereas the car that is put up for the winter loses that reliability. Who knows if that is true or not. I just use the car cause I am more concerned about enjoying the car as much as I can as opposed to preserving it for resale or the next guy.

FWIW, I drove my Boxster for 17 yrs in NYC/NJ all year long with a set of dedicated snow tires in the winter and it didn’t rust apart. Guy I sold it to is still enjoying it.

 

It's the hardware and fasteners that become a nightmare once the car sees treated roads. I can tell in 10nsedinds when I'm working on a car if it's been driven in the winter where the roads a treated.

I live in upstate NY and Chicago for part of my life and as a DIY mechanic, never care to again.

My DD pickup truck is a 2001 and has zero body rust and the fasteners come out without snapping or rounding off.

My Porsches are too special to me and too custom to subject them to winter exposure so if I did live in a climate like that, I probably wouldn't have them (or fewer of them) since I would only drive them half the year.

 

When I lived in Nj I drove mine all day every day...they were C4 Cabs and they went1 Every sports car I ever owned I drove in the winter....most of my life it was my only car!

 

The snow/salt has an impact on driving surfaces to add, besides the corrosion, the potholes here in NY are horrendous. My RS3 which I used as a daily to commute with, 3 wheels and two tires, one season. One wheel cracked so badly it was pushed into the caliper.

When I have a perfectly capable Volvo for poor weather why would I drag a 911 into it? For the driving pleasure of salt/snow and potholes and the additional maintenance/corrosion? No thanks.

Now add to all of that, the "Bozo's" who think their jeeps, pickup trucks ect can go through everything, only to end up in the center median, into the woods or into oncoming traffic.

I can see a lightly snow dusted B road and driving along that for a good time...that's about it. Nice dry days and some cold, sure the car will come out but in general its in the garage until the weather clears.

 

My garage queen is 14 years old. It runs and looks like new. Much of what we read on these forums about garage queens being bad cars is pure nonsense. A good battery tender combined with breaking in and warming up properly are important. Driving for at least 45 minutes per drive and frequent/ annual oil changes are all that is needed. Don't start it up in winter to run it for 5 minutes.

My car uses no oil and the IMS bearing has not exploded. The latter was expected to happen to this garage queen years ago according to some "experts" here.

 

I have another car for commuting in bad weather, but what I mean is I like to drive my 911 on mountain roads on weekends and I don’t the salt stop me.

 

My car gets parked here in Boston over the winter as well. Having lived up here my whole life, as others have mentioned, the salt reeks havoc on fasteners, etc. And, without a second set of wheels with snows, I just won't drive it in sub-freezing temps. All this being said, I don't think of my car as a "garage queen" at all. When the weather is above freezing, and the roads are clear of salt, I drive the crap out of it. I drive it as much as possible, and enjoy it as much as I can. This also includes a few HPDE's per season. And - to add to all this, as I wear the car out and replace suspension components, brakes, etc, everything comes apart nicely.....no grinders, no torches, no bloody knuckles etc!

After parking the car for a few months - the excitement/anticipation of driving it in the spring is like having a new car all over again. Lastly - I usually knock out a few repairs/upgrades on the car during the winter as well.

 

I totally get that and I am with you on that. I would do the same.