Kind sirs, I beseech thee: share your good knowledge of car covers

Got a new place to park one of my cars...right under a tree that, literally, drizzles sap on the car, in millions of tiny, sappy droplets...of sap.

Costco has bitchin' custom cars cover for $150 (made by Coverking). They're pretty darned nice (my buddy has one), but that $150 part is a bit tough to swallow for this cheap bastard. Are there alternatives that are durable fo' less money? Anyone else out there you might recommend?

Google turns up plenty, but, not ever having had to think much about car covers, I don't know who's good, who's bad...

Hit your local car swap meet.

I usually pick them up for about $20 - $50 new in the box.

Shawn

And by the second week, you'll fold it up wrong, getting sap on the inside of the cover, where you can then hold it against the paint the next day.

And on windy days, the cover can flap, grinding the paint off the fender edges, until it finally blows off completely.

I have always been stunned by the quality of CoverCraft covers. For outdoors, get the EVO.

I never use covers though, I've never had a car nice enough to cover. Cars are meant to be driven...

A tarp with the corners tied to cinder blocks is way cheaper.

for all the nay sayers.. I think it is a great idea. This is not a tarp that is going to sit on the car for days and weeks at a time.. but to protect his car from tree sap.

Look on CS and other places and keep your car from being encased in amber

RossD wrote: A tarp with the corners tied to cinder blocks is way cheaper.

True but be sure to put some sort of pad, old blanket or what ever, between the tarp and the top of your car. If the tarp ever developes a leak and the pad gets wet, your paint is doomed. This comes from personal experience and that of others.

HF has a tarp type "garage" that will protect your car with no contact. Not something you want in your front yard though. Also, be sure to tie it down good and when you're sure it's enough, tie it down some more.

In the wind the constant moving of the car cover scratches or rubs off the paint eventually.

this is true.. he will have to keep wax on it

Stay away from the "quilted" covers. Evolution, for example. They're some kind of pressed paper variant, and have an outdoor lifespan of about two years before they degrade and turn into dust creators. I use the ones that are a grey vinyl and roll up nice and small. They last forever as far as I can tell.

As for wearing through the paint, I've never actually seen that. I use fitted covers, not generic ones. It's not that hard to roll them up consistently and properly.

hmmm, Costco around me sells the $35 car cover 4 layer, breathable w/locking clips and straps that would cost around $75 at your local auto parts store. I just got one for the XR4 after the old $75 from the parts store one degraded after 4 years of heavy use...

I've seen where the paint has been worn through by a car cover many times. True, a better fitting one flaps less than a poorly fitting one, but unless it is skin tight, it can move in the breeze.

Procainestart, you didn't specify, but if it's a nice parking lot and you have to not piss off the Housing Authority, then a car cover is the only way. If it's in someone's backyard then stretch a tarp over a 2 X 4 frame and call it good.

I've had issues with them accelerating rust. They are not waterproof, and in the southern humid climate where I live, the moisture under the cover will not evaporate without the sun hitting it. It then holds the moisture against the car and rapidly causes pretty significant rust.

If there are different versions that don't do this, I'd like an education.

SVreX wrote: I've had issues with them accelerating rust. They are not waterproof, and in the southern humid climate where I live, the moisture under the cover will not evaporate without the sun hitting it. It then holds the moisture against the car and rapidly causes pretty significant rust. If there are different versions that don't do this, I'd like an education.

Hmm, that makes me nervous, and bummed: some sort of shelter isn't feasible.