Winter Car Cover
Discussion
Bought a MG and looking to buy a car cover for it, wondering if I really need to spend a couple of hundred pounds on one?
Looked on reviews on line and Auto Car is recommending Halford covers at £50, other recommendations I found include Leader and OxGord both from Amazon, yet there are other reviews that suggest anything under £150 is a waste of money.
I would appreciate some advice. Car won't be used until April.
Any storage advice welcome too.
Looked on reviews on line and Auto Car is recommending Halford covers at £50, other recommendations I found include Leader and OxGord both from Amazon, yet there are other reviews that suggest anything under £150 is a waste of money.
I would appreciate some advice. Car won't be used until April.
Any storage advice welcome too.
I used to use a Stormforce car cover from these guys: https://www.cover-zone.com . As mentioned though long term use can ruin your paint as the cover will chafe against the paintwork in the wind. even though the inside lining of the cover is soft. To mitigate this you can apply a ceramic coating and /or several layers heavy duty wax (I use Collinite 476).
You need to make sure your paintwork is absolutely spotless before putting the cover on.
.
You need to make sure your paintwork is absolutely spotless before putting the cover on.
.
As aeropilot and POORCARDEALER have said, if it's for outdoor use then you want a 'non-contact' cover.
My experience with the 'contact' style of outdoor cover is:
1. Water damage to the paint, due to one of the paintwork being in any way wet when the cover was put on/any water getting on the inside of the cover when it's removed or put back on/condensation forming between a bone dry car and bone dry cover.
2. A life span of about 18 months before UV weakens the cover and a winter storm rips it to pieces.
If you can, garage it.
If you can't check it regularly for any water getting inside and address that.
If it's a convertable with the period idea of how waterproof a soft top should be (i.e. keep out 100% of the water...until it rains/you drive in spray) then a 'top only' cover could be worth it. Doesn't contact the paintwork (except windscreen pillars) so removes one of the issues. Hopefully cheaper than a full car cover too, so goes some way to mitigate the other.
My experience with the 'contact' style of outdoor cover is:
1. Water damage to the paint, due to one of the paintwork being in any way wet when the cover was put on/any water getting on the inside of the cover when it's removed or put back on/condensation forming between a bone dry car and bone dry cover.
2. A life span of about 18 months before UV weakens the cover and a winter storm rips it to pieces.
If you can, garage it.
If you can't check it regularly for any water getting inside and address that.
If it's a convertable with the period idea of how waterproof a soft top should be (i.e. keep out 100% of the water...until it rains/you drive in spray) then a 'top only' cover could be worth it. Doesn't contact the paintwork (except windscreen pillars) so removes one of the issues. Hopefully cheaper than a full car cover too, so goes some way to mitigate the other.
POORCARDEALER said:
If its an outdoor cover, my advice is don't...it will ruin your paint in time
Exactly. My silver shadow had to live outside for 6 months during a house move, I bought a cover, 5 layer, breathable, soft fleece inner, all that jazz, the paint on the roof of the car went all milky white. Gutted.My Shadow is vermillion red, so the whitening of the paint particularly visible!
My advice would be to keep it cleaned, well waxed and used as often as you can.
aeropilot said:
I agree.
If you are forced to keep a classic outside, spend the money on one of those folding portable covers so the cover isn't in contact with the car......like this
How good and robust is this in wind as there are days when its really windy in winter and I wonder if this is strong enoughIf you are forced to keep a classic outside, spend the money on one of those folding portable covers so the cover isn't in contact with the car......like this
My Cougar has lived outside under a (several, the don’t last much more than a couple of years) breathable Stormforce cover for nearly 10 years. The old paint was never affected and the new paint is doing just fine too. I do make sure it’s clean and waxed and try and uncover it on dry bright days to air everything out.
I find the to cover or not to cover decision difficult. At the moment mine is under a cover (stormforce) and i try to air it whenever possible.
My paint isn't amazing so i'm less worried but there are signs of rubbage even though i make sure the car is clean before putting it on.
I can't decide if it is better for the car overall to have a cover on and therefore minimise the amount of water getting into the nocks and crannies but risk a bit of paint rubbage or to just leave it out in the elements with a good coat of wax on it.
I find I use the car less when it has a cover on it as I can't be bothered with the clean up. That is probably a good thing at this time of year though.
One day I'll move house and get one with a garage.
My paint isn't amazing so i'm less worried but there are signs of rubbage even though i make sure the car is clean before putting it on.
I can't decide if it is better for the car overall to have a cover on and therefore minimise the amount of water getting into the nocks and crannies but risk a bit of paint rubbage or to just leave it out in the elements with a good coat of wax on it.
I find I use the car less when it has a cover on it as I can't be bothered with the clean up. That is probably a good thing at this time of year though.
One day I'll move house and get one with a garage.
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