Car cover for my Japanese import E39

[d_a_n1979]

With it coming to that time of year and the car being used little to none during the week; I'm considering getting a car cover for it whilst it's sat on the drive etc...

a) does anyone else do this and do you have any issues with the car being under cover; are they not worth the outlay/hassle?

b) are there any risks to using car covers that I need to look out for

c) any suggestions for a decent cover; that'll cover the whole length of the car and down the sides (doesn't necessarily need to go all the way down to the bottom of the car?

I obviously keep my car very clean and it's generally towel dried every time I wash it. Usually over the winter period I only give our cars a contactless wash and hand dry the glass/wheels & treat the tyre sidewalls etc

Unfortunately due to stockpiling fire wood and coal (using more of that rather then gas & electric etc); the garage won't have the room for the car (sods law as it'd be ideal otherwise)!

Cheers

[Deep Thought]

My E63 was sitting out last winter so i bought an outdoor cover pro from these guys.

https://www.carcovers.co.uk/

To be honest i didnt get on with it. Even though it had straps that went under the car to secure it i found that strong winds pulled it up off the front of the car quite regularly and more annoyingly even the tiniest amount of grit in it or on the car would end up scratching it.

So i sold it on and just endured it being outside.

For this winter though i need to have cover for both my R32 and Z4C. I've only inside space for one car at the minute so i've bought one of these -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084ZXW3LM/ref...

Its from these guys but i bought it through Amazon

https://inthegarage.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwmdGYBhDRARI...


As the R32 needs work doing i need to have easy access to it, so its getting the garage space and i got one sized for the Z4C

Its a rival to Carcoon which i also looked at but - as per other reviews for carcoon - when i contacted them via email they didnt bother replying. Also they gave no indication of lead time on their site just "if its in stock it will be dispatched immediately, otherwise it will be put on back order until we get stock". I didnt like that.

So, the Outdoor Car Cover arrives on Tuesday. I've also bought an ultra soft indoor car cover which i'll be putting on the car first (after carefully washing it, waxing it and drying it), then putting it in the bubble.

I dont need quick access, so if thats a deciding factor then this probably isnt for you.

Also, its not cheap - but for me it was a lot cheaper than getting a shed of some sort built. I can also run a battery trickle charger in to keep the battery charged.

Might be overkill for what you want, but i'm personally wary of regular outdoor covers that can touch your car.

[d_a_n1979]

Deep Thought said:

My E63 was sitting out last winter so i bought an outdoor cover pro from these guys.

https://www.carcovers.co.uk/

To be honest i didnt get on with it. Even though it had straps that went under the car to secure it i found that strong winds pulled it up off the front of the car quite regularly and more annoyingly even the tiniest amount of grit in it or on the car would end up scratching it.

So i sold it on and just endured it being outside.

For this winter though i need to have cover for both my R32 and Z4C. I've only inside space for one car at the minute so i've bought one of these -

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B084ZXW3LM/ref...

Its from these guys but i bought it through Amazon

https://inthegarage.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwmdGYBhDRARI...


As the R32 needs work doing i need to have easy access to it, so its getting the garage space and i got one sized for the Z4C

Its a rival to Carcoon which i also looked at but - as per other reviews for carcoon - when i contacted them via email they didnt bother replying. Also they gave no indication of lead time on their site just "if its in stock it will be dispatched immediately, otherwise it will be put on back order until we get stock". I didnt like that.

So, the Outdoor Car Cover arrives on Tuesday. I've also bought an ultra soft indoor car cover which i'll be putting on the car first (after carefully washing it, waxing it and drying it), then putting it in the bubble.

I dont need quick access, so if thats a deciding factor then this probably isnt for you.

Also, its not cheap - but for me it was a lot cheaper than getting a shed of some sort built. I can also run a battery trickle charger in to keep the battery charged.

Might be overkill for what you want, but i'm personally wary of regular outdoor covers that can touch your car.

Cheers for that

That looks superb; but a) way over what I want to spend ideally and b), as you said, overkill really...

I'm fortunate that my car is right at the top of the driveway, in front of the garage and between the houses / fences etc; so it doesn't really get too much wind there, it's fairly well protected

But agree that in really bad winds; I doubt it'll be protected enough!

[Deep Thought]

d_a_n1979 said:

Cheers for that

That looks superb; but a) way over what I want to spend ideally and b), as you said, overkill really...

I'm fortunate that my car is right at the top of the driveway, in front of the garage and between the houses / fences etc; so it doesn't really get too much wind there, it's fairly well protected

But agree that in really bad winds; I doubt it'll be protected enough!

Yes, i reckoned it would be too much but thought i'd mention it.

I cant really recommend that car covers one to be honest that i had initially.

[rfsteel]

I use a Covercraft Noah on my M5 and other cars, with no lasting damage to the paint work





http://www.covercraft-europe.com/carcovers/custom_...



The longest I've left a cover on, is on my Mk4 golf for over 4 years;









Bar some light marring on the roof, that a wash and polish sorted out, I'm more that happy with benefits of using a cover, though as mentioned, and I'm sure it's not a issue for you, just make sure the car is clean before covering up

[d_a_n1979]

rfsteel said:

I use a Covercraft Noah on my M5 and other cars, with no lasting damage to the paint work





http://www.covercraft-europe.com/carcovers/custom_...



The longest I've left a cover on, is on my Mk4 golf for over 4 years;









Bar some light marring on the roof, that a wash and polish sorted out, I'm more that happy with benefits of using a cover, though as mentioned, and I'm sure it's not a issue for you, just make sure the car is clean before covering up

That's brilliant; cheers for that

Some good choices in there & I like how it's bespoke to the car as well...

[rfsteel]

d_a_n1979 said:

That's brilliant; cheers for that

Some good choices in there & I like how it's bespoke to the car as well...

No problem, only other advice I'd give is see if you can source a cover via the US, as the prices are so much more favourable compared to UK pricing.

These 2 I ordered via Amazon back in 2016 and had them delivered states side as I was due out on holiday anyway

Edited by rfsteel on Monday 5th September 10:39

[4004]

It seemed to me that only the US market got Noah covers, I thought BMW only offered tarp ones in Europe for some reason.
Not sure which material is better, but Noah is presumably softer to the paint