Best Outdoor Car Cover

zdubyadubya · May 12, 2022

Hey Y'all. Selling my house in MD and moving to Idaho. Building out there and the garage/shop isn't finished. My '20 is my "fun" vehicle so it has less than 15k miles, has been stored in a garage its whole life, and hasn't even seen rain/snow yet, so the idea of it sitting outside all the time for the next 6-9 months isn't sitting well. Additionally, I have a ton of vinyl work that was done and I would like to extend the life of it as long as possible. Any recommendations for a really good quality, snug fitting (its windy there) car cover that is really good protection from the elements, stands up to crazy heat and UV, yet also gentle on the paint? Is there anything custom fitted for this model/make yet? Thanks!

FORZDA3 · May 12, 2022

I’ve always used Covercraft car covers. They’re not cheap, but they’re the best you can buy. They have eyelets at the side edges to facilitate tie-down strap/rope to keep them on the vehicle.
Google Covercraft.com

GearHead_1 · May 12, 2022

I suspect you won't like to read this but in my opinion, if you are in an area that has any wind, your paint is simply better off without a cover.

A cover that flaps against the finish just grinds whatever dust, dirt or grime happens to be on the finish into the paint.

Unless the car is put under the cover clean each time it's installed you simply end up with micro-marring and spider webbing in the paint. Of course, some eyes aren't so critical that this is an issue but most car people see this type of damage.

This said, keeping the vehicle clean with some level of quality last-step protection is imperative if it is to sit out for the period of time mentioned.

Rick · May 12, 2022

GearHead_1 said:

I suspect you won't like to read this but in my opinion, if you are in an area that has any wind, your paint is simply better off without a cover.

A cover that flaps against the finish just grinds whatever dust, dirt or grime happens to be on the finish into the paint.

Unless the car is put under the cover clean each time it's installed you simply end up with micro-marring and spider webbing in the paint. Of course, some eyes aren't so critical that this is an issue but most car people see this type of damage.

This said, keeping the vehicle clean with some level of quality last-step protection is imperative if it is to sit out for the period of time mentioned.

100% correct …

zdubyadubya · May 12, 2022

GearHead_1 said:

I suspect you won't like to read this but in my opinion, if you are in an area that has any wind, your paint is simply better off without a cover.

A cover that flaps against the finish just grinds whatever dust, dirt or grime happens to be on the finish into the paint.

Unless the car is put under the cover clean each time it's installed you simply end up with micro-marring and spider webbing in the paint. Of course, some eyes aren't so critical that this is an issue but most car people see this type of damage.

This said, keeping the vehicle clean with some level of quality last-step protection is imperative if it is to sit out for the period of time mentioned.

All opinions welcome and I appreciate the response. Thank you.

TMac · May 13, 2022

I'm not sure about a bit of wind, but a friend and I attended a car show with his 68 Hurst Olds back in the mid '90s. He had an open trailer and used a car cover on the car. We arrived after 10 hours and the next morning when we took the cover off, we found several spots on the car that were buffed to the primer. The cover had flapped in the wind at 60-70 mph for all that time and made a mess out of the paint in the places it wasn't properly secured. Doh!

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Best Outdoor Car Cover

zdubyadubya

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FORZDA3

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GearHead_1

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Rick

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zdubyadubya

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TMac

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