I'm pretty sure the whole thing is made of leather, except for the middle piece where the horn is. My car has almost 60,000 miles and the steering wheel looks great. I think a big thing would be how clean peoples hands are. If you have a dirty job, just keep some handy wipes in your car. Other than that, just care for it like any other leather, conditioner and don't scrape it with your keys, zippers etc.