HI Nonowner,
I've praised the use of cover before, and here I am saying again. And I will get shouted down.
OK, so you can't keep the car inside. Yes, treat the car and use a good quality cover. From my experience, they will keep the car better than a car with no cover. That was your question wasn't it. You didn't ask if they don't mark the paint or outdoor covers are better than a garage.
We kept our P6 outside for a few years, no cover.
The car was OK it survived. Moss grew in the corners of the windows, water marks got ground into the paint, UV matted the paint work, UV dried the window rubbers, the dash clock stopped working and the inside started to smell worse. But it survived and I enjoyed it.
We then replaced some window rubbers, painted the whole car, treated with Dinitrol their complete car kit and again kept the car outside.
This time I bought a cover from Cover-zone Stormforce, for 2 years it was under the cover, still used but always put back under the cover.
The car stayed clean, no moss, no UV degrading the rubber or paint, the brakes kept free, the clock kept perfect time twice a day. The paint work after 2 years, was ever so slightly marked. A short time with a polish would take out the marks, I still haven't polished the marks out years later.
So, good on you for getting a P6. Use a cover or not, it will survive outside you look after it.
My tips for keeping car outside:
- Park on flat ground to allow the car to drain water as designed.
- Park on a sealed surface, under the car will dry quicker.
- Keep out from under trees etc, help stop weeds growing on it.
- Put a quality cover over it.
P.s. The P6 has a new cover and is back outside, this time I've gone for a CarCoversFactory, better fitting but not as thick, we'll how it fairs. I'd only expect to get 2 years out of a cover, no matter what the guarantee says.
P.P.s if you do go for a cover, cover the top the of lights front and rear, their pointy tops will punch holes in the cover in no time.