Car Cover Recommendations

[ranbar2]

>>Certainly, do NOT leave your Box outside uncovered.

While I understand that we all want our cars to look as best as possible, I just don't have the time to keep the car always covered. Now, mine is a daily driver and I drive it all over - work, groceries, mall, friends, road trips. I took it to Costco and watched the amazed looks on peoples' faces as I fit two baskets full of stuff into the trunks. I put the top down and drove away under sunny skies with a big grin on my face.

The point is that it is a CAR and has a finish that will not melt away with a cross look. I live in Tampa where the sun is either beating down or it is raining cats and dogs, sometimes within minutes of each other. Well, I wash it once a week, keep the bird ******************** off and the car looks great even though I park it outside the majority of the time.

It is a beautiful car, yes. It is a special car, yes. But it is also meant to be driven and drive it I do. But most of the time when I get to whereever I am going, I usually cannot find covered parking or take the time to throw the car cover on. And when I get home after a hard day at work, or when I know I am going out again later in the day, more times than not I just park it on my old ribbon driveway (since I have a very old, very cramped and not easily accessible detached garage). Am I in the minority here?

[Brucelee]

"Am I in the minority here?"

Possibly!

[RandallNeighbour]

I build a 2 car garage, cement driveway, remote gate and 600 feet of paved asphault alley way for my Boxster... she's never slept outside one single night while I've owned her.

It's just a car, but it's also a dream car for me, not the "next thing" I decided to buy and drive until I became bored with it. I do everything I can to keep that dream alive and shiny

[ranbar2]

Well, since I live in a historic district, I am somewhat limited in the amount of construction I can do to accomodate the car. I will say that if I had the same setup you do it would never sleep at night outdoors. But I don't.

Please don't get me wrong - I LOVE my car. It is the most fun I have ever had with an automobile, including the 68 Firebird that was my first. However, it is because I love to drive it so much that it tends to be outdoors alot. And, as much as I love the car, I refuse to be a slave to it. The more you drive it the more likely you are to get scratches, chips, road rash and bird droppings (birds seem to love my car as much as I do). I fix what I can, wash and clean it weekly, and don't obsess about the rest. My car is a partner that lives with me, not a pretty bauble that I put on a shelf to look at.

As for getting bored with it, I don't think that will ever happen. This is my first p-car. But it will definately not be my last! I am spoiled for life.

[Perfectlap]

Car covers are a pain.

If sun protection is what you want get a Sunbrella top cover, it covers only the softop, straps around your mirrors and door handles. Keeps my neighbohrhood felines from clawing up my top.

Aside from that I just make sure I have at least 15 layers of of Klasse SG during winter. A handfull will do but I'm crazy.

I had a Noah cover on my old Black daily driver and it was no picnic. First of all its very hard to keep the cover clean. Basically the car has to be wiped down before the car cover goes on. If the cover is put on when there is any debris on the paint surface it will get on the inside of the top and well you know what happens there, scratching and marring.
Unless you clean your car every time you drive it I don't recommend any outdoor car covers.

[donv]

The cover has saved me from repairing several "guaranteed" scratches (like that time the rake fell off the garage wall and slid all the way along the car ). If the cover wasn't on, all the wax/glaze/polish I could layer on wouldn't have made a difference...

You do need to "clean" the car every time before you put on the cover, but this doesn't necessarily mean "wash". I do the once over with the California Duster and if I'm really fanatic use the lint roller on the top and then put on the cover. If I let it go too far then I'm stuck washing again before I use the cover and the car stays uncovered until then.

There is no "requirement" for a cover, if it suits your temperament and situation then it is useful. If not, that's fine too. Same thing for garage vs. outdoors. If mine was a daily driver I doubt I'd be using the cover myself.

Hlee8, I got my Noah cover from "Tweeks" (now Mid America Motorworks) - www.mamotorworks.com . They carry several types of covers from US $50 to $200 for the Boxster. The Noah is their top rated cover, but there's plenty of other good ones; the Porsche cover has a much nicer logo on it than mine .

[Brucelee]

The California Duster IS a great product.