Outdoor car cover options?

[pablo993]

Well after much searching I've eventually found my new daily driver - I've just picked up a mint e21 BMW 316 which had been dry sored for the past 20yrs. Id like to ask my fellow piston-headers if they've had any experience with outdoor covers and if anyone could recommend any specific ones.
Unfortunately she's going to have to stay out doors and with a suspected bad winter on its way thought I'd invest in a cover to try and prevent the dreaded rust.

Any advise would be much appreciated

[pablo993]

HUFC said:

Your best bet is to build a wooden structure to vaguely shield your car from the elements

As much as a wooden structure sounds good I don't unfortunately have the room or a front drive way to build such an item. I currently live in a cul-de-sac with an allocated parking space between two neighbours so the only options are - cover or no cover.
and I figured with the new technology in covers that it could be a viable solution for the winter months.

thanks
pablo

[pablo993]

sday12 said:

Don't. I'll kill your paint.

So your suggestion would be to leave it outside without a cover?

[pablo993]

MintSprint said:

One of these, then:


Your neighbours won't mind, so don't even bother asking them, and you don't need Planning Permission on account of it being a temporary building (apparently).

Same as the wooden structure - no room.
the only option is a cover or to leave it out in the elements, If Id the space Id have opted for a hard stand but she lives between two other cars in allocated parking.

[pablo993]

driverrob said:

I put £160 worth of superb cover on the wife's MR2 about 2 months ago.
Leaves and dirt have blown up past the engine and out the vents, I doubt if it has done any rust protecting and I had to dry the inside this week so I could wipe and vacuum the mould off the leather and upholstery.
Unless you need to protect the car from tree sap or pigeon droppings I wouldn't bother, not in this climate.

Have been looking at 4-layer covers that are tailored for your specific model - but from what your saying I might be better off leaving the cover all together?

[pablo993]

SidJames said:

yes indeed he is.

Here's a link to a company I've used for years. No problems with moisture in the car, totally fitted. I used a couple of additional flat straps to stop it moving around in higher winds.

http://www.covercraft-europe.com/our-covers/car-co...

Hi - well it looks as if your in the minority. The covers I looked at are tailored to the car and suggest that it wouldn't blow up from the car underside. They also quote as being 100% water tight. But after reading through the above thread am now in two minds if a cover is a viable solution.

[pablo993]

kambites said:

100% water tight is bad - the cover needs to let any water that does get under it out. I think really good covers are somehow hydrophobic on the outside causing water to run off, but wick any water that does get underneath away from the paint.

They're quoted as being fully breathable - just trying to get an idea if a cover is the way to go

[pablo993]

Leptons said:

Why would you put a cover on a daily driver? Youre driving it in the wet/salted roads and then putting a cover on top of all the muck I'd going to do more harm than good.

When I say daily driver what I should have said my main car - however I do cycle to work so is mostly used in the evenings and weekends. The idea behind the cover is that when the weather gets really bad I can cover the car for the whole week if required or longer in order to keep the bodywork in good shape.

Any advise is much appreciated

[pablo993]

sday12 said:

Cover will do more damage than good IMHO, get a lock up, make sure it is dry.

Lock up's are few and far so figured a cover would be an option over the winter months, however after this thread might give it a miss.

[pablo993]

pablo993 said:

Lock up's are few and far so figured a cover would be an option over the winter months, however after this thread might give it a miss.

Rang the local council as advised - good price £6.59 a week
However none available in my area and if there was it'd be a long wait - looks like I'll be keeping an eye on the weather reports and give the cover a miss.

[pablo993]

swisstoni said:

OP originally said he was going to use a cover on a daily driver and later corrected this.
If you put a cover on a dirty car you certainly will need a respray after a while. If the car is clean, that's a different matter.

That's correct which I corrected later in the thread - no commuting required just evening and weekends, the advise so far however doesn't really revolve around how often I use the car but that covers are generally bad for the paint work etc. If anyone differs from this I'm still in the balance.

The covers I've looked at so far range between £200 and £400 and are multi layered breathable and tailored to the car so in terms of covers I'd anticipate they would be at the better end of the spectrum.

As always - thanks for the sdvise

[pablo993]

Ej74 said:

I have a carcoon for my open top car. It lives in it for most of the year March until Dec

It has withstood high winds and snow no issues just brush it off and has a built in trickle car charger

Now that's another option - looks as if it doesn't take up anymore room than a regular car space and secured with the car sitting on the base. I guess there must be some kind of internal frame work, my only concern would be if there was a frame would it not keep crashing against the car in windy situations. Do you have a link - might be worth further investigation.