For reference, I have a '13 non-S r56

Without having to buy $500 of product, what are some things I can do to prevent wear and keep everything in good condition? I'm particularly interested in the steering wheel, as that can start to look ugly over time. Not just the rim itself but the airbag cover gets little spots on it that no matter how hard I try I just cant remove (on my old '08, but I think its starting to happen on my '13). Any tips to keep everything looking like new for as long as possible, without breaking the bank?

 

Specific to your steering wheel, if it is leather-wrapped, get a leather cleaner/conditioner. I don't know what could be causing spots on the airbag cover, but I guess you can find interior cleaners to try. What are you cleaning it with? Maybe that's what's spotting it!

I think the best thing you can do for any car is to wash it yourself by hand. You can do a two-bucket and a hose wash or try a waterless product. If you don't have any supplies, you are going to spend money upfront, but it's worth it because any commercial car wash is going to be bad for your finish over time. Try not to skimp on microfiber towels - good ones will last longer.

After washing it yourself, keeping wax on it is as important. To make it easy, add a wax-as-you-dry product like Prima Hydro every time you wash. You can easily keep a coating of wax on your finish that way.

If you wash it yourself and keep wax on it, you'll be ahead of at least 90% of the car owners out there!

For the interior, get a windshield sun shade - cheap way to keep your dashboard from fading and cracking from sun exposure. You'll still need to put a protective product on the plastic (and definitely leather) to keep it looking new. I've used Prima Nero. My detailer recommends CarPro PERL. You can get by with Meguiar's from Target if you don't want to spend as much. For exterior plastic, Mother's Back to Black will do fine.

My 04 MCS has 130,000 miles on it and has never been garaged, but looks almost like new. The main thing to remember is that if you want your car to look good for a long time, you're going to have to spend time and money on it. You can choose to spend more time doing things yourself and save money, or you can spend money for someone to do it for you and save time, but you can't do both!

 

Whatever you do, dont use Armor-All. It hurts for dash/trim rather than helping it. Spend a little bit and get a good quality leather cleaner and conditioner like Meguairs, Mothers etc...

Not Armor-All!

 

Another good car care product is from Griot's Garage. I've been to their shop in Tacoma and they really know what they're doing. They wouldn't let me test drive the Lambo parked in their demo room though.
+1 on NO armoral and no drive in car washes of any kind. If your favorite charity is having a car wash, give them a few bucks and drive away.

 

The greatest enemy of any vehicle's interior are UV rays aka the sun. We religiously use windshield sun screens and the interior of our soon to be 12 year old R53 looks brand new. I also frequently treat the bolsters on the front seats with a vinyl conditioner, since that is the highest wear area on the seat, and they still look new. Another area on the exterior that takes a hit from UV rays is the belt line trim. I regulary treat that with a UV protectorant and it too still has no sign of cracking or splitting. From experience, very little effort caring for our MINI has gone a long way. Good luck.

 

Your first statement about ArmorAll is no longer true. They have reformulated their products to eliminate this. I don't use their protectants, but I also don't trash them with falsehoods. ArmorAll glass cleaner is one of the best glass cleaners I have been able to find.

The other advice about buying good quality stuff for your leather is right on.