Tell me about outdoor car covers

[Gixer968CS]

My car (2006 Porsche 911) sits on my drive all year round. Never garaged (that's full of other stuff). Also, I really only drive it at weekends and then not every weekend. I'm thinking of putting a cover over it for protection and maybe because it might make it easier to use in winter (no defrosting etc). Does anyone have any experience of this - is it a ball ache, do you actually use the cover, are they waterproof, do they rub the paint, can you only put it on a clean car etc etc. Any/all experiences welcome.

Also, any recommendations on a good one (if I'm persuaded by the feedback)?

Thanks

[d_a_n1979]

Gixer968CS said:

My car (2006 Porsche 911) sits on my drive all year round. Never garaged (that's full of other stuff). Also, I really only drive it at weekends and then not every weekend. I'm thinking of putting a cover over it for protection and maybe because it might make it easier to use in winter (no defrosting etc). Does anyone have any experience of this - is it a ball ache, do you actually use the cover, are they waterproof, do they rub the paint, can you only put it on a clean car etc etc. Any/all experiences welcome.

Also, any recommendations on a good one (if I'm persuaded by the feedback)?

Thanks

I'm using this one currently:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Waterproof-Breathable-Out...

This is covering my Japanese import BMW E39 540i and it fits superbly and does the job it needs to do!

As I'd been midst of selling it and not using it; I washed & waxed it a few weeks back, plugged it onto trickle charge and covered it up & its done a superb job

I had to use the car a few times last week; so it was left uncovered for a few days; got it absolutely filthy in the recent wintry weather; so yesterday, it was cleaned, dried, tyres treated and plugged back onto trickle and covered again

It fits brilliant; nice and tight either end and around the corners, holds really well once you've got the tautness sorted on the straps and held really well in some strong winds we had until they got really bad and then I removed it for peace of mind... Not sure how you'd get around this with any car cover TBH unless it's one of those car cocoons...

[Alex_225]

I have used a few different types from Coveryourcar.co.uk. The lightweight Voyager is easy to to store and nice and light but for winter protection it's not great.

The Monsoon is heavy and rubberised so doesn't budge so I quite like that, wouldn't put it on a convertible (if that's what your 911 is) as it could trap condensation. Go for a Stormforce cover if it were me. They're breathable, any moisture evaporates back through and they're strong. I recommend some over body straps if it gets windy though. Also make sure the car is extremely clean and dry before fitting the cover.

I kept my Twingo 133 under one for quite some time, was perfect underneath. The netting was from the same place and does a great job of stopping the cover moving.

[sixor8]

Unless these are fake copies, the ones with the orange reflective corners are £32 on eBay:


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/385192005625?hash=item5...

[Custerdome]

I'll admit I'm not convinced by a lot of the manufacturers claims of their covers being breathable. I guess it depends on how they define breathable, but I suspect it's different to how most people would expect. If you look at how much an outer shell breathable jacket costs, then I don't think you're going to get 20 square meters of gore-tex for 50 quid.

I've got a Richbrook cover, which was around £250 IIRC, and it's a pretty good cover. It was a good thing to have in the summer, - keeping the UV off the car and the interior cool isn't a bad thing. It's soft, a good fit, quick to put on and take off and comes with underbody straps to hold it on in a breeze. Sales support was great. However, even in fairly dry weather there will be condensation on the car if I peel the cover back, so I doubt it's breathable at all. This means the car's sitting in a damp/humid environment a lot of the time, - the benefit of keeping the car clean and protected is definitely there, but I'm not too sure about what the effects of all that moisture will be.

[d_a_n1979]

sixor8 said:

Unless these are fake copies, the ones with the orange reflective corners are £32 on eBay:


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/385192005625?hash=item5...

Sellers address is China and delivery is end of Dec, if you're lucky!

The one I have, from my reading and digging, is the same as the Halfrauds one, albeit a bit cheaper etc

However, I'd say they're all very much of the same, with different names etc

I just didn't want to spend £hundreds on one!

[TheLoraxxZeus]

Gixer968CS said:

Does anyone have any experience of this - is it a ball ache, do you actually use the cover, are they waterproof, do they rub the paint, can you only put it on a clean car etc etc. Any/all experiences welcome.

I store my MX-5 outside most of the time with a cover however this is the first winter (so it's inside now). It's been covered anytime it's never been used, even if I park it at 5pm and intend to drive it in the morning, it's covered. My 2 cents:

Gixer968CS said:

is it a ball ache

Car is small, takes a few minutes to put on. A few minutes to fold.

Gixer968CS said:

do you actually use the cover

If the car is dry and I'm not driving it, it goes on because why not? Keeps cats and birdst off the soft top.

Gixer968CS said:

are they waterproof

Apparently. The one I have is defo waterproof but every review for it says it is only good for a year, but it has a 2 year warranty so I don't care. This doesn't apply to you but the biggest issue is moisture being trapped which is terrible for a soft top car.

Gixer968CS said:

do they rub the paint

Probably, I've never really cared. However if you care about the paint (I don't care about mine because well, it's an MX-5, not a Porsche) you can buy a car-coon which is basically a big climate controlled tent you park the car in. Those go for around £500-800? Quite a bit more than my cover, which cost £130.

Gixer968CS said:

can you only put it on a clean car

Kind of, you should never put it on a wet car or very muddy car. If you think rubbing on the paint when the car is clean is a problem, you probably won't be happy if it's rubbing dirt/grit against your paint and basically turning the inside of your cover into 80 grit sandpaper.

[Miserablegit]

TheLoraxxZeus said:

Kind of, you should never put it on a wet car or very muddy car. If you think rubbing on the paint when the car is clean is a problem, you probably won't be happy if it's rubbing dirt/grit against your paint and basically turning the inside of your cover into 80 grit sandpaper.

This is a problem with the outdoor carcoon as well.
The indoor carcoons work well as there is an internal frame which supports the bubble. The outdoor carcoons rely on the airflow to inflate so a car with dirty wheels gets the floor dirty which is then transferred to the roof when the vehicles is removed and the carcoon is reinflated
without a car in it.

[Ryan_T]

I never had any luck with outdoor car covers.

In the end I used two, one nice breathable, supposedly waterproof soft cover over the car itself, then a heavier duty waterproof cover over the top of the lot. It was the only thing I could do to keep the car properly dry.

[steveo3002]

Gixer968CS said:

can you only put it on a clean car etc etc. Any/all experiences welcome.


Thanks

if you really need to ask this , sounds like theyre not for you

[Gixer968CS]

steveo3002 said:

Gixer968CS said:

can you only put it on a clean car etc etc. Any/all experiences welcome.


Thanks

if you really need to ask this , sounds like theyre not for you

That's helpful thanks. Sadly, I don't know everything about everything and so the benefit of other peoples' experience can be helpful. I do know how to use punctuation though, but maybe that's not for you?

[Cledus Snow]

I’ve been using breathable stormforce covers for 10(ish)years, not had any issues. They do get a bit fragile and easily torn once they’re a few years old.

[VeeReihenmotor6]

I only use a car cover if I am forced to - i.e car leaks and garage space not available. I've tried a few different types but they always rub the edges of the car. Also I found it a pain to have to wash it and thoroughly dry it after every use if I wanted to put the cover on. Besides surely the UV rays during summer months damage the paint and rubber trim far more than wet weather?

[Draxindustries1]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&amp...

This company supply the very best covers on the market. Made of a stretchy neoprene material and come with three under straps. The quality is superb.
Used by top marques for protection/ reveals ect.
Not a generic cover but made for specific cars Inc mirror pockets.
Not cheap but as ever you get what you pay for ect ect..

• Edit- DO NOT buy the 4 layer covers from Cover Zone, after around 12 months the outer layer disintegrates leaving behind a thick layer of grey dust, it's total rubbish.

Edited by Draxindustries1 on Monday 12th December 16:04

[_Neal_]

VeeReihenmotor6 said:

I only use a car cover if I am forced to - i.e car leaks and garage space not available. I've tried a few different types but they always rub the edges of the car. Also I found it a pain to have to wash it and thoroughly dry it after every use if I wanted to put the cover on. Besides surely the UV rays during summer months damage the paint and rubber trim far more than wet weather?

Conversely I used covers for a few years (TVRs and Caterhams kept outside) and never noticed any rubbing or similar. Can't remember the brands (may have been a Coverzone Stormforce as referred to above) but they worked well. Certainly kept the cars nicer than they would have been otherwise, and I used to put them on a wet/not massively clean car as well.

[swisstoni]

I’ve been through all this and my advice to the op would be don’t do it.

If the car is watertight you have to ask yourself what you are trying to achieve.

If you really must, then a ‘car cap’ is a decent compromise. It covers the glasshouse of the car only.
It’s small enough to prevent you feeling you are dismantling a circus big top every time you want to take the car out.

[VeeReihenmotor6]

_Neal_ said:

VeeReihenmotor6 said:

I only use a car cover if I am forced to - i.e car leaks and garage space not available. I've tried a few different types but they always rub the edges of the car. Also I found it a pain to have to wash it and thoroughly dry it after every use if I wanted to put the cover on. Besides surely the UV rays during summer months damage the paint and rubber trim far more than wet weather?

Conversely I used covers for a few years (TVRs and Caterhams kept outside) and never noticed any rubbing or similar. Can't remember the brands (may have been a Coverzone Stormforce as referred to above) but they worked well. Certainly kept the cars nicer than they would have been otherwise, and I used to put them on a wet/not massively clean car as well.

Suppose it depends on the car thinking about it - my cars have angular edges whereas TVRs/ Caterhams / Porsche are all quite rounded. The areas of damage for mine was on the corners/tops of wings. I also used a net over the cover to secure it.

[Alex_225]

Just re-reading the comments and your post, what are you thinking you want to protect the car from mate?

I'd say a cover is for longer term storage rather than regular use because it'll be fiddly and two, you really really don't want to apply a covered to a dirty car, even if it's slightly dirty.

A cover will move and a good cover won't cause noticeable abrasion, although it is certainly a thing for covers outdoors. But if you think about it, even a fine layer of dust trapped under a cover is not a good and will cause abrasion, even when just taking the cover on and off.

If you're still planning to use the car regularly and you're not wanting to or planning to clean the car every time you cover it, I'd just get the car thoroughly detailed, have a ceramic coating applied or even apply some decent protection yourself and leave it at that.

[anonymous-user]

Gixer968CS said:

My car (2006 Porsche 911) sits on my drive all year round. Never garaged (that's full of other stuff). Also, I really only drive it at weekends and then not every weekend.

If I had a 911 and a garage full of stuff, the stuff would quickly be taken to the local tip/sold on eBay and the 911 put in the garage.

What is in there that is more important than your 911?

[_Neal_]

Joey Deacon said:

Gixer968CS said:

My car (2006 Porsche 911) sits on my drive all year round. Never garaged (that's full of other stuff). Also, I really only drive it at weekends and then not every weekend.

If I had a 911 and a garage full of stuff, the stuff would quickly be taken to the local tip/sold on eBay and the 911 put in the garage.

What is in there that is more important than your 911?

His collection of motorbikes, at a guess. Also plenty of other stuff that can't be stored outside (unlike a car) goes in a garage e.g. bikes, tents, roof boxes, beach gear etc.

Either way it's up to him.