Outdoor car covers.. or not..

[pud1]

Noticed a thread on here a week or so ago regarding the best choice of cover. I had bad experience of covers with a motorhome I had so when the bimmer was painted I decided to go for a good quality one. It fits like a glove, mirror pockets, elasticated, straps the lot. Couldnt fault it... until 3 days ago. Long story short... its just turned to parchment and quite literally split open, broken into pieces and blown away in the wind. All its done in the 18 months that I have used it is be exposed to the rain and a couple of inches of snow for a week or so. Didnt think to keep a reciept but it wouldnt help me any way as its out of any legal warranty claim. Point is that surely any decent synthetic material designed for this specific purpose should last a little bit longer than this has and shouldnt react in the way this did. I have dug Tesco bags out of the ground that have been there since 1970 that dont have holes in them never mind just plain rotted away.
Had a snoop around on the web and found my particular type from a few suppliers so they are probably from a major manufacturer. They have two small half-moon trickle vents on the roof seam just over the door tops.
Moral of the story... You dont always get what you paid for no matter how much you pay

[driftwood]

I bought mine from Halfords. It's lasted over a year so far. It's not a perfect fit but it does the job. I think it was about £60.

[adit]

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... t=halfords

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... t=halfords

http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... t=halfords

[Andyboy]

They're a waste of time.

Just leave it uncovered, wash the car regularly, run the engine, heater on, roll if back and forth for the tyres etc.

[harry_p]

My halfords one has been on a year or so and still looks fine, no marks in the paint and its stopped it going pink every couple of months and stopped the interior baking in the sun.

[dave525]

They're a waste of time.

Just leave it uncovered, wash the car regularly, run the engine, heater on, roll if back and forth for the tyres etc.

not necessarily true if you own a cab.Keeps birdshit off and nice and dry in rainy weather.Just check regularly inside etc.

[dave525]

Mines a halfords large and its been spot on so far,nearly a year and it still looks new.

[pud1]

To be honest, I was well chuffed with the performance of mine, as good as a garage. When I got it it felt heavy, thick as if it was made for the job but it literally just fell apart over-night. You wouldnt believe it unless you saw it for yourself.

[DanThe]

Can anybody recommend a good indoor cover? To keep dust off and the occasional drip from the roof in torrential conditions, do any have a soft/wool/non scratch inside?

[hillbilly30]

This cover is by carplan and cost about £20 is made from a breather cotton/tyvec type material, designed for outside but I use it for both, this is a medium size and fits the e30 perfectly, comes with a storage bag and tie down loops so you can secure under the car. For the money I can't fault it!