Car cover

I’ve used the Hamilton Classics covers outside. They generally work well. Totally waterproof and breathable to start with but start being less waterproof after a year or so. Quality of the straps is not always great and the seams start to tear on the bumpers after a few years. I use one on my Traction now which is about 8 years old. Held down by bungees. Still waterproof enough to allow me to keep the windows open. Fleece inside may damage the paint – it made the clear lacquer coat on my Chrysler go dull but hasn’t affected my Traction paint. That may not happen in a garage.

Chris

I am always a bit sceptical about car covers. Most of the breathable external covers are not actually fully waterproof and after wet days, you will find wet areas on the car where the cover touches. Quite a few manufacturers now also recommend that their covers are not suitable for resprayed cars, due to the possibility of entrapped moisture causing micro blistering. Since most of our cars have been resprayed at some time, this is a potential worry.

I use one of the Halfords ones, after a Stormforce one degraded after two years intermittent use and Stormforce said that this was due to UV and quite normal….well this is Lancashire not Tenerife, and I felt that given the price new, this was not reasonable. The Halfords ones are a similar material but less expensive and seem as effective.

If my car has to sit outside with a cover for any length of time, I make sure that, weather permitting, it is removed every few days and the car allowed to air. Thus far this seems to have avoided any issues.