Car covers

Post by **kaj** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 1:41 pm

My car sits outside, and there is no prospect of it having an indoor home. Due to the winter coming up and the liability of water getting in (it also has trafficators) I was thinking about getting a protective cover for it. There seem to be a lot on the market and is there anything I should look out for, or has anyone got a recommendation? Thanks in advance

Post by **KirstMin** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 2:21 pm

Hello, I know something on this having shopped around for various covers in the past. My car is in a similar situation to yours:

I think the best covers you can get are from a company called covercraft. The 2 best ones they do are the Noah and Weathershield fabric. The latter being more expensive.

I have the Noah one; both come with a restraining strap and are tailor made for the car shape.

The difference between Noah and Weathershield is that Noah is thicker and so will resist minor scratches and scuffs such as prams and little sods with keys! The Weathershield one is totally waterproof though. You can get samples, more info and a quote from them:

http://www.covercraft-europe.com

BUT!!!! All the UK sellers of these car covers have them imported from the US:

http://www.carcoverworld.com/

This is something I worked out after I had my first one nicked. Basically, in the US they are nearly 1/2 the price but the site above charges $80 shipping to UK. In the end I saved about £45 even with the additional excise and shipping costs. This I guess is the UK companies’ profit margin! They come IDENTICAL from wherever you buy them and all the UK companies do is have them sent to you from the US distributor.

I have had some cheaper covers in the past and they either leak a lot or allow dirt to get through (which results in scratching to the paintwork) or don’t protect from UV and blow off in the wind.

I think all in all I shed out about £175 for mine but do the maths if buying from the US because the exchange rate has changed. I know it sounds like a lot but these are much better than other covers I have used.

Cheers,

Carcovernerd

PS: if getting the Noah one then get some fabric paint and stencil in LARGE letters the reg number accross both sides - less likely to be knicked then

Post by **Matt** » Tue Oct 18, 2005 3:29 pm

I got mine from argos and its pretty good! its breathable, and ties on with a bit of string so it won't blow off. It doesn't let water or dirt in and was about £40....

Post by **kaj** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:25 am

Matt, is the argos one ok to put on a wet car or does it have to be completely dry? Sorry for the late reply, no access to computer

Post by SR » Sun Oct 23, 2005 11:20 am

i bought one yesterday fron halfords"tyvek" £40 ,when i got it home its made of 2 layers of paper!, anyway car was bone dry this morning

Post by **Matt** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 1:10 pm

kaj, i have put it on the car wet, and it slowly dries put through it. However the car wants to be clean (as with all covers that touch the bodywork) so you don't get the cover scraping small bits of grit around.....

Post by **kaj** » Sun Oct 23, 2005 8:12 pm

Thanks for your help. I'll give the one from Halfords a go

Post by SR » Sun Oct 30, 2005 5:48 am

well its been blowing a gale hear lately, halfords covers seem to be holding up ok, anyway they r both going into storage this week

Post by **KirstMin** » Mon Oct 31, 2005 12:50 pm

i'm telling you, you get what you pay for. I've been through all these covers. The weathershield one is sooo breathable and you can run a tap over it and it wont leak, ever. Noah will prevent any unwanted scratches from passers by too... get some SAMPLES and see for yourself.

I know the options I gave are more expensive but how much would a garage cost you coz they are about £12,000 in London.