To Cover Or Not To Cover?
Discussion
Hi, I'm in an unfortunate poisition not to have a garage for the next six months to lay my Chim to rest at night. So I was wonder what are your thoughts on covers?
Are they worth the effort? Do they not blow around in the wind and knock the paint work doing more damage then good? Or, is it an essential element which I should be putting on every night to help prevent the daily damage and leakage?
(PS. I use the car every other day).
Are they worth the effort? Do they not blow around in the wind and knock the paint work doing more damage then good? Or, is it an essential element which I should be putting on every night to help prevent the daily damage and leakage?
(PS. I use the car every other day).
There is some talk of covers causing damage by trapping dirt and scratching it around the paintwork. I have had a cover from classic additions for five months and have not noticed a problem - the alternative was having the car out and unprotected in the wind/rain/snow/hail/cats/kids/vandals
(dont joke - the cats round the neighborhood have scratched the paint more than would a sandpaper car cover - little b@&%ards need to be
)
(dont joke - the cats round the neighborhood have scratched the paint more than would a sandpaper car cover - little b@&%ards need to be
) I think the secret is ensuring that a) there is no dirt, twigs, bits etc on the inside lining and b) it is secured such that it won't blow around.
After that as long as there is ventilation it should be fine, make sure that you allow the engine to cool down a bit before putting it in.
After that as long as there is ventilation it should be fine, make sure that you allow the engine to cool down a bit before putting it in.
There has been quite a lot of talk about this before, with the consensus appearing to agree that putting a cover on a car that isn't perfectly clean leads to the paintwork being worn away over a period of time due to movement of the cover.
However, I balance this up with the fact that I don't get bird sh*t on it, the cats scratch the cover, not the car, the local youths don't key it, it has never been damp when I get in it, and, when I do wash it, I'm careful to put a good layer of polish on it to try and counter any possible abrasion. Plus, I'd rather get it resprayed after a couple of years because the paint is no longer perfect than ever get it done because it's been keyed. IMHO of course!
However, I balance this up with the fact that I don't get bird sh*t on it, the cats scratch the cover, not the car, the local youths don't key it, it has never been damp when I get in it, and, when I do wash it, I'm careful to put a good layer of polish on it to try and counter any possible abrasion. Plus, I'd rather get it resprayed after a couple of years because the paint is no longer perfect than ever get it done because it's been keyed. IMHO of course!
I will be selling my tailored Classic Additions cover very shortly as I have just given the OK to builders to rebuild my garage where the Chim will be housed.
E-mail me if you are interested - its only a few months old in its original bag and comes with the optional lock. e-mail me if you are interested.
E-mail me if you are interested - its only a few months old in its original bag and comes with the optional lock. e-mail me if you are interested.
Cliff
I don't want to be a pain, but have you informed your insurance company that the car will be parked outside for the next 6 months?
If you have to make a claim for any reason (theft from vehicle or vandalism for instance), they may void your insurance. It is better to advise them in writing in advance, they may increase your premium, but it will be worth it.
>> Edited by PeterC on Tuesday 6th April 13:36
I don't want to be a pain, but have you informed your insurance company that the car will be parked outside for the next 6 months?
If you have to make a claim for any reason (theft from vehicle or vandalism for instance), they may void your insurance. It is better to advise them in writing in advance, they may increase your premium, but it will be worth it.
>> Edited by PeterC on Tuesday 6th April 13:36
Thanks. Insurance are in the know, and the cover has been fitted.
Was a bit of fun fitting it in todays gusty winds.
My only worry is that with a cover on, its going to invite someone to think, ah something someone cares about, better give it the key job!
Probably (hope) I'm just paranoid. How much trouble do people have with the soft window? Is vandilisation common? (Sorry to hear about the Bournemouth incident).
Was a bit of fun fitting it in todays gusty winds.
My only worry is that with a cover on, its going to invite someone to think, ah something someone cares about, better give it the key job!
Probably (hope) I'm just paranoid. How much trouble do people have with the soft window? Is vandilisation common? (Sorry to hear about the Bournemouth incident).
cliff123 said:
Thanks. Insurance are in the know, and the cover has been fitted.
Was a bit of fun fitting it in todays gusty winds.
My only worry is that with a cover on, its going to invite someone to think, ah something someone cares about, better give it the key job!
Probably (hope) I'm just paranoid. How much trouble do people have with the soft window? Is vandilisation common? (Sorry to hear about the Bournemouth incident).
fitted cover and never had anyone take any notice - to me it means more effort for the tw@s that might key the car. OK, so car thieves might not worry, but it will add a few seconds to any crime having to remove the cover.
Word of advice, add bungess straps to the front and rear of the cover to ensure it doesnt blow off in high winds.
I've had two covers now (two different cars) from these guys: www.specialisedcarcovers.co.uk I can't imagine that you'd get much better quality than their covers, they have full, heavy duty strapping at four points under the car and a really tailored to fit very well. Not that cheap at about £300ish a pop but very good.
Perhaps more to the point is why cover it. Do you ever drive it in the rain, leave it parked at work, etc - if the answer is yes are you going to cover it at all these times also?
If it's your weekend toy that only gets it's leg's stretched when it's dry then yes cover it!
Just my opinion.
A neighbour of mine covers his car every night - yet drives it every day / wet /dry etc and then leaves it parked at work uncovered - so why bother at night.
Lee
If it's your weekend toy that only gets it's leg's stretched when it's dry then yes cover it!
Just my opinion.
A neighbour of mine covers his car every night - yet drives it every day / wet /dry etc and then leaves it parked at work uncovered - so why bother at night.
Lee
UIL9794 said:
Perhaps more to the point is why cover it. Do you ever drive it in the rain, leave it parked at work, etc - if the answer is yes are you going to cover it at all these times also?
If it's your weekend toy that only gets it's leg's stretched when it's dry then yes cover it!
Just my opinion.
A neighbour of mine covers his car every night - yet drives it every day / wet /dry etc and then leaves it parked at work uncovered - so why bother at night.
Lee
I have to say I agree - when I first got the car the first thing i thought was that I must get a car cover. I have painful memories of car covers, re: causing micro-blistering, which led me to get the backend resprayed.
Ever since then I have left the car naked, regardless of weather, and the car has been fine - no scratches, no leaking (well a little) and vandalism.
strange thing with my car is that if I try and money cuddle it, it just seems to repel and spit back. If i leave the slag to get lashed on, it's happy as larry.
Ours has been on the driveway for 8 months with no major problems other than a roof tile hitting the windscreen in the recent high winds (now replaced). The cats do sit on the roof as they have done on my Taimar for the last 14 years with no damage other than paw prints. My guess is that the cover would do more damage than not having one.
FFG
FFG
Spot on Morgala,
Car's (or bikes) cannot be cotton-balled, the minute you get too paranoid you're garanteed to trash it.
Like the time I didn't properly secure my brand new GSXR750 to the trailer, because I was worried the forks were going to get scratched....yeah you guessed it, it came off and cost me £2500, only had it two weeks
DOH!
Little life lesson in there somewhere me thinks!
However if the car is on the street a cover does stop the opportunist from seeing it and keying it - cover more to stop w***ers than the elements.
GUK
Car's (or bikes) cannot be cotton-balled, the minute you get too paranoid you're garanteed to trash it.
Like the time I didn't properly secure my brand new GSXR750 to the trailer, because I was worried the forks were going to get scratched....yeah you guessed it, it came off and cost me £2500, only had it two weeks
DOH! Little life lesson in there somewhere me thinks!
However if the car is on the street a cover does stop the opportunist from seeing it and keying it - cover more to stop w***ers than the elements.
GUK
FlipFlopGriff said:
Ours has been on the driveway for 8 months with no major problems other than a roof tile hitting the windscreen in the recent high winds (now replaced). The cats do sit on the roof as they have done on my Taimar for the last 14 years with no damage other than paw prints. My guess is that the cover would do more damage than not having one.
FFG
I have used a cover on mine for about 6 months and it has stopped neighbours cats scratching the shit out of the bonnet when they lose grip (especially after a good polish), its stopped trees sap all over the paintwork, stopped any water getting into the car and making it smell, bird shit has stayed off and no water marks whens its rained in between cleans.
Just as an aside, I bought some stuff in a Petshop to keep the fecking cats away from the car in the end and then charged the neighbour for it - its supposed to be for keeping them off the lawn or something like that but works on the driveway too. As does a CO2 gun.
Not had any probs with it when its fully secure. It does mean spending 1 minute fitting it after a run but if you arent using the car daily its well worth it. After all, why would people bother with garages if its not worth having the car covered. Its also another hassle for a thief/vandal which is an added bonus.
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