An editorial overview, not legal or insurance advice. Deposit, tax and policy follow the canton and the contract. As of September 2026.
Why winter costs the classic
Standing still does a different kind of harm from kilometres. Condensation in the tank and the cabin, a flat battery, flat spots on the tyres and martens in the air-filter boxes are the typical spring damage, not the frost itself. If you drive, you keep a lot of things moving; if you park the car, you have to replace what the road would have done.
Before you park it
- Mechanicals: change the oil before the break, not after. Old oil carries acids. Check the coolant for antifreeze. If the brake fluid is due, change it now: it absorbs water.
- Fuel: tank full, so less air and less condensate stay in the tank. Petrol with ethanol ages; if the car stands for more than a few months, you plan the first tankful in spring on purpose. Detail is under Fuel and standing still.
- Battery: take it out and store it cool and dry, or connect a maintainer. A classic that spends the winter on a trickle charger in the damp barn gains nothing.
- Tyres: raise the pressure a little. Put the car on stands if you can, or at least move it every few weeks. Six-year-old tyres are not younger after the winter. See Tyres.
- Body and interior: store it clean and dry. Wet floor mats and a full ashtray are sources of moisture. Check the marten guard, open air filters and reachable looms.
- Handbrake: release it and chock the car, or the linings stick.
The space decides
Dry, frost-free, ventilated, without salt air blowing straight in: that is the measure. An uninsulated tin garage with a leaking roof is often worse than a dry space in a solid building. Covers that condense on painted sheet metal leave ring marks; a breathable cover on a dry car is the exception, not the rule.
If you have no suitable space: the workshops whose focus is storage. A looked-after space, with a check, beats the improvised barn. Many Oldtimer policies require a closed or equivalent space anyway. That applies in winter too.
Deposit the plates, or interchangeable plates
German seasonal plates with a fixed period of use do not exist here. For the winter, two paths count:
Deposit the number plates with the road traffic office: statutory third-party liability insurance is suspended from the day after handover or posting (Art. 68 Abs. 3 SVG, Art. 8 VVV). The office notifies the insurer of the deposit. Vehicle tax usually falls away from the following day; amounts already paid are often refunded pro rata. Reservation of the plates is limited by the canton, often to twelve months. An extension is possible or ruled out, depending on the canton. To put the car back on the road you need a new electronic insurance certificate (eVn).
Interchangeable plates: one plate for two vehicles of the same category (often more, for pure veterans). Useful when the everyday car and the classic share the season: in winter the plate is on the daily car, and the Oldtimer stays without plates in its space. Tax and insurance follow the interchangeable-plate rules of the canton and the insurer, not those of a deposit.
What the policy still covers during the suspension (theft in the garage, natural perils, collision only on private land) is in the contract, not in the SVG. Some insurers refund the full premium for the time of the deposit, others charge a reduced premium or set a maximum duration. Before you deposit, read the policy, not only in spring.
In spring
Not straight into the first outing. Check the battery and the fluids, look under the car, check the tyres for cracks and pressure, then start from cold and drive the first kilometres without load. Rust that arrived over the winter often shows on the edges. See Recognising rust.
If you deposited the plates: order the eVn, collect the plates, and only then drive. If you have veteran status, you stay bound to the annual mileage. Winter must not spend the few allowed kilometres on a rushed first tour; it must not replace them either. Standing still is no substitute for the short, warm run on a dry day.
Sources
- SVG Art. 68 Abs. 3 (insurance suspended when plates are deposited)
- VVV Art. 8 (deposit of the vehicle registration certificate and number plates)
- Cantonal notes on depositing plates, including Luzern, Graubünden, Zürich (September 2026)
- ASTRA directives for veteran vehicles, 10 July 2026 (interchangeable plates for more than two veterans)