Car Covers

[Justin Kirkham]

I am looking to get a car cover for my 2000 bird. I am wondering, what is a good cover that will work for all seasons? Also, is there anything I should know about car covers that could damage my car?

-Justin

[raxxus]

I heard that you shouldn't get the ones that are waterproof. The reasoning behind this is:

water will eventually get into them regardless, and if its water proof, it will just linger on your car. Sitting water is never good! But other then that, nope.

[Chrisz24]

I was all set to go buy a really expensive one last year but in a hurry to get one before I went away I bought a wall mart one for $20
It isnt water proof, the only one's I found that were, were made out of nylon and I really wasnt excited about that on the paint.

For the most part I just use this when I have the car cleaned up so it doesent get trashed by the birds, but I am now affrade that if I put it on I wouldnt be able to get it off with the snow and ice.

[Everglades W68]

Some people have asked from time to time about car covers. I put this little memo together to try to put in one spot some of the information I've found more useful.
Some basics:

Custom cover v. generic size
If you buy from WalMart or Discount Auto Parts, you're buying a generic cover. This cover will be made to fit a general class of car sizes, but will not be fitted to your car. The quality will be low and the movement of the cover across the finish of the car can hurt it more than protect it. On the other hand, the generic covers might be less expensive.

A custom cover is made from a pattern specifically tailored for your car. However, if you have extraordinarily large ground effects or wings, the custom covers may not fit because the cover is made for the factory car dimensions. But minor variations (like my W68 ground effects) will work just fine with the custom car covers available.

The three parts of making and selling the cover:

The Seller/Distributor is the place that sells you the cover. For example, California Car Cover is an excellent source for covers. However, California Car Covers does not manufacture covers; they take your order and then place an order with the Cover Manufacturer. Usually, the Cover Manufacturer will then ship the cover directly to you.

The Cover Manufacturer buys fabrics, designs cover patterns to fit various models of cars, and manufacturers the covers. The big Cover Manufacturer is Covercraft.

The Fabric Manufacturer is the Cover Manufacturer's source for the cover fabrics. Some of the more common Fabric Manufacurers are Kimberly-Clark and Nextec.

Overall cover information I found useful:
http://www.miata.net/faq/carcover.html
http://www.covercraft.com/cover_faq.htm

Some good comparisons of different covers:
http://www.covercraft.com/cover_fabrics.htm
http://www.calcarcover.com/car_cover_select.asp

Note that California Car Cover ("CCC") sometimes gives some of the covers different names than that of the manufacturers. For example, the Weathershield is called "Superweave."

I bought Weathershield; see more about it here:
http://www.calcarcover.com/car_cover_superweave.asp
http://www.covercraft.com/weathershield.htm
http://www.nextec.com/thetech/

Where to buy?
Do a search for "car covers" on Google; you'll find lots of places.

Where did I buy?
I bought my Weathershield cover from here; he was $20 less expensive than California Car Covers. My cover arrived quickly and was exactly what I ordered. However,you need to comparison shop and judge for yourself:
http://www.bigskycarcover.com/

[ February 10, 2003: Message edited by: Everglades W68 ]</p>

[Everglades W68]

I bought Weathreshiled because I wanted something that would shield my car from the intense south Florida sun. The Weathershield is very good at repelling water. It is extremely lightweight when dry. It does not break down in the sunlight over time.

I am extremely pleased with the performance of the Weathershield cover. I highly recommend it.

[Everglades W68]

Here's a picture of the car cover:

http://www.angelfire.com/theforce/gl...ndercover.html

[Justin Kirkham]

Everglades, thanks so much for all the info. Would that cover work for my all seasons use? Specifically snow? Thanks for all the help!

-Justin

[Everglades W68]

I am most unqualified to advise on matters involving snow! :D :D :D

[good2Bking]

Damn, I just typed in this long response on the post in the general tech section only to find out the freagin' topic was closed ... I lost it, sorry. Anyway, http://www.covercraft.com/cover_fabrics.htm has a good guide for choosing what type of cover you want. I bought a custom cover through these guys. Pretty pricey, $125 + shipping, but worth it IMO, I've had it during all seasons/weather by now. As far as snow goes, any breathable cover that gets wet and exposed to sub-freezing temps is going to freeze, and you have to make sure to melt any frozen ice before you try to take off the cover, or you'll ruin your paint.

I got the evolution, it's the most padded cover and has the highest rating for UV protection (if I remember correctly) ... drawback: it's bulky for storage purposes. If you park under trees or get a lot of hail, I recommend.

[Dominic]

I bought an awesome cover from classicindustries! Mine even came with a lock [img]smile.gif[/img]

I got their evolution model
http://www.block-it.com/evolution.html is the fabric advertisement [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Tutin]

Hmm I need some advice on that as well. My case is a bit more particular though, I've taken my bird off the road since a couple of months and intend to keep it off the road for the next 1-2 years at least...

So far it was in a garage well kept so no problems but it seems soon I'll have to leave the garage..

Can a cover do well enough the trick to protect the car if it stays outside for 2 years for example ?

I live in Belgium so rains are very common. Not to say every f..king day :(

Or is there no other option than garage ?

[Dominic]

My car sits outside 50% of the time under the cover, I only cover it when its clean. It keeps the leaves, the bird doo, the rain, everything off the paint.

The cover eventually saturates and the car does get wet, and its not FLAWLESS after a hard heavy rain, but it doesn't have a waterspot on it and no paint damage occurs. Did I mention it keeps the interior cool and UV protected?

[Everglades W68]

I use my cover similar to what Dominic described.

[Tutin]

But would it be enough, if the cover stays on the car for lets say 3 weeks without being touched ?

I start and make the car run atleast once a month so I can (and will have to) remove the cover at that time.. I would care more about rust and stuff, i suppose i have to find a cover that's 100% waterproof ? Any ideas ?

[good2Bking]

It's OK if water seeps through it, because any breathable cover will dry, and allow any water that reaches the car surface to evaporate also. My evolution dries out pretty fast too.