Car cover?

Any comments or experience with covers? Outdoor storage in Florida for my autocross only miata.

I'm not going to cheap out, but would like to keep below $200.

Moss is having a sale right now, their Coverking brand Stormproof is $175.99.

When I kept a car outside I bought $30 covers every few years

In reply to jfryjfry :

I have considered that but this would be under extreme conditions. It's very hot and humid here, and the cover would stay on the car for a week or two at a time. Condensation build up would be a disaster.

Wearing of the paint is also a concern. A $30 cover isn't going to fit well enough to keep it from shifting around a lot.

I use California Car Cover Company as well as Beverly Hills Motoring Accessories covers.  Both have multiple lines based on usage,  so wouldn’t hurt to give them a call and see which they recommend.

Following.

Anyone know what would work best to extend the life of the car cover being in the sun all the time?

Also following. Saturday I’m moving from covered parking to outside 24/7 and the paint on my car isn’t doing well to begin with...

Bueller? Bueller?

Stay away from the "quilted" ones like Noah. They're basically just Kleenex, and they will degrade and start leaving dust all over the car. Plus they're bulky and not very wet-friendly.

What you want is the Covercraft Weathershield HP or equivalent. They're compact and appear to be almost immune to UV. They're basically waterproof and I've seen no sign of paint damage after all this time. I've been using them for decades for cars that live outside even in snow, and I've only had one wear out. That one tore due to lot of wind (and possibly due to sharp edges on the MG), and they replaced it for free. The one on my father's Miata is 20 years old and that car is parked outside all summer, every summer. You can pay less, but you may pay it more than once.

No affiliation, just a guy who owns fitted car covers for a surprising number of his cars.

The one on my RX7 is a Covercraft Custom Fit Car Cover for Mazda RX-7 (WeatherShield HD Fabric, Gray) purchased through Amazon in 2013. It is pretty beat by now and I have a new one ready to go on next time I move the car. The elastic is shot and will blow off the car in a heavy wind if the belly grommets are not tied securely together. The material is very faded but it has kept the pain in great shape underneath.

FL sun is killer on covers. I've never gotten anywhere close to 10 years on a cover.

BTW, I use a big bungee cord under the car. Easy to toss from one side to the other, easy to attach - and you can use it to wrap the cover up when you're not using it :)

Another vote for big bungee cords. I add several grommets to the covers and use extras because the consistent breeze near the coast here caused a nice California car cover to wear through the paint on one of my classics years ago. I hook one end of the bungee on a broom to push it under the car so it's easier to reach on the other side. Tie knots in the bungee till you get the tension you want.

I've had them from the cheap ones on up to a couple hundred dollars. Most burn up in 6 months here in S FL with the really expensive ones lasting maybe 2 years so no matter which way I go it still ends up being about $100.00 per year per car.

Keith Tanner said:

Stay away from the "quilted" ones like Noah. They're basically just Kleenex, and they will degrade and start leaving dust all over the car. Plus they're bulky and not very wet-friendly.

What you want is the Covercraft Weathershield HP or equivalent. They're compact and appear to be almost immune to UV. They're basically waterproof and I've seen no sign of paint damage after all this time. I've been using them for decades for cars that live outside even in snow, and I've only had one wear out. That one tore due to lot of wind (and possibly due to sharp edges on the MG), and they replaced it for free. The one on my father's Miata is 20 years old and that car is parked outside all summer, every summer. You can pay less, but you may pay it more than once.

No affiliation, just a guy who owns fitted car covers for a surprising number of his cars.

I have used Covercraft Weathershield HP on cars stored outside in the harsh Alabama sun and have been very happy with them. Used one on a BMW Z4 and also a Ford Maverick. Had stitching fail on the Z4 cover and contacted first Covercraft and also company I purchased from. Sent cover back for their review and was sent brand new cover shipped second day air. Fit and workmanship is excellent. 

Covercraft Weathershield HP it is. more than I wanted to spend, but there was a very obvious consensus in this thread.

Here it is, tucked under a friend's carport at a secure, undisclosed location (we're leaving town for a few weeks).

The two-tone ones look really nice, but I'm going for less obvious and coolest under the Florida sun.

Addendum:

I didn't want to cut a hole in the cover to add the included grommet for the non-retracting stubby antenna (as per instructions).

I unscrewed the antenna mast but that still left the bolt sticking up, which was sure to wear a hole in the cover.

I cut a little piece of vacuum line to slip over the top but I still felt it was going to concentrate too much tension at that site. Digging through my junk box, I found an old shock absorber bushing and cut it in half to shorten the height.

I glued the little piece of heater hose into the center of the modified shock bushing.

Finally, following the instructions for putting the cover over a sharp corner or protruding spot on the car, I reinforced the inside of the cover with a layer of duck tape. 

Covercraft Weathershield HP is what I have too - 3 different sizes (Jensen Interceptor = large, BMW z4M = medum, MGA = small). They are worth the cost IMHO as they perform very well.

Have a Covercraft Weathershield HP (Taupe) for a BMW Z4 that is brand new will make someone a great deal.

pirate said:

Have a Covercraft Weathershield HP (Taupe) for a BMW Z4 that is brand new will make someone a great deal.

That would be a score for a Z4 owner.  I suggest starting a discussion in parts for sale so you have the most eyes on your offering. 

Long term update. The stitching started to break down. The cover material itself has held up quite well but they used really light weight thread on the stitching to hold the panels together.
 

My wife sews a lot, she redid it all in a few hours and I didn't have to go through trying to send it back while leaving the car uncovered. 

I still recommend this one. 

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

So about 2 1/2 years of full time outdoor use? Was the car in sun or shade?

Full sun, combined with almost daily rain for much of the year.  

And it's done. Fabric is breaking down, and it picked up a bunch of rips from a hailstorm last week. The holes in it from the hailstorm were incidental damage. If the fabric wasn't breaking down, the hailstones wouldn't have damaged it like they did.

edit:

here are some pictures 

The UV rays must be something else down there.

stuart in mn said:

The UV rays must be something else down there.

Until you experience it, you don't know how much. 
 

Just ask my dermatologist. 

New update- I'm submitting a warranty request. It's really broken down, but I hadn't realized that I still had a year left on the warranty. 
Watch this space...

What about some sort of inexpensive, breathable cover on top of that nice one to keep the uv off of it??