CAR Covers

[sandgroper]

Does anyone here use a car cover for their pride and joy, if so love to thear your thoughts and opinions. I work in a industrial area with ALOT of overspray. My last black car was covered in white overspray and now that I will be picking up my HSV Senator today I will be using a cover daily.

Can anyone who uses one of these covers give me the Pros and Cons?

Cheers.

[cossmo]

I just bought one for my ute and paid $150 from Autobahn - I cannot remember the brand but the only place i could find them is Autobahn. For the Senator make sure you get XL.

It is silver and waterproof on the outside and lined with a cotten type material on the inside. It keeps the car very clean. It is not 100% because there is condensation and other temperature difference issues but it is the best I have been able to find and I have spent a few dollars finding this.

The best advice is that you cannot get a good one cheap. So don't finish up with 3 covers and not use two of them like me.

You also need to be careful when putting a cover on a dirty car i.e. don't do it as it will only cause more hassles.

Good luck.

[Merlin]

Make sure to check its waterproof before buying!

Also can you see the car? - my last cover (admittedly for a bike) was nicked off the side of the street. :confused:

[dgp]

I took some measurements of my car, bought some t-shirt material from spotlight and had a dress maker stitch it all up for me, this is a good solution if your car will not be in the elements, and because it is cotton it will breath so you dont have to let the car cool down to cold before putting it on.
I also had a K-mart cover with a cotton inside that i used to put on over the t-shirt cover but only when the car was completely cold so it didnt sweat.

[VQ304]

I've got the top of the line Autotechnica one, cost me $160 for XL size...

The main reason I got it was because the trees in my yard drop sap on the cars and ruin the paint... It does work very well, but I do have a few complaints.

- The cover leaves a thin layer of dust over the car when it's removed, so if you wash the car then cover it up, when the cover is removed it won't be 100% clean anymore
- Cover can't be used while the car is wet. It's also difficult to remove while wet because you can't roll it up and just chuck it in the boot
- It's so annoying when I get home, cover the car up then think 'shit, I had to get something at the shop'

Otherwise, it does work well... Keeps the tree sap and bird shit off which is good. Stops the hot sun from fading the paint too. Just make sure to check the weather forecast before covering it up overnight.

[Ghia351]

I just bought one for my ute and paid $150 from Autobahn - I cannot remember the brand but the only place i could find them is Autobahn. For the Senator make sure you get XL.

It is silver and waterproof on the outside and lined with a cotten type material on the inside. It keeps the car very clean. It is not 100% because there is condensation and other temperature difference issues but it is the best I have been able to find and I have spent a few dollars finding this.

The best advice is that you cannot get a good one cheap. So don't finish up with 3 covers and not use two of them like me.

You also need to be careful when putting a cover on a dirty car i.e. don't do it as it will only cause more hassles.

Good luck.

I'm certain I have the same type from Autobarn (& also can't remember it's name) but it's fabric-lined, has the ability to breath to reduce condensation while still water proof and has a zipper opening for the drivers door should you need to get inside quickly without removing the whole thing. During pre-christmas sale paid ~ $99.

[BLACK 346]

I have an Aunger one which I purchased from BIG W. It's waterproof,
doesn't scratch, has tie downs, is a perfect fit and even after being
left on for a month doesn't let any dirt in. All for the princely sum
of $39.95. Yes it surprised me too.

Edit: As others have said, never put the cover on dirty. Even though
mine is a very snug fit and doesn't seem to move at all once on, you
still have to slide if over the paint to get it on and off.

[Hammer]

my brother had one of those mentioned above for his vt SS, after a year of use one side of the cars paint was faded (was a tiger mica) due to the material rubbing on the paint and scraping up and down on it, other side not as bad but has nice scratch marks down the side... so ill never use a car cover ..... EVER

[bassplayer]

just wondering if any1 has any hassles with cleaning the car cover...ie. tree sap & bird shit etc getting glued onto the cover after a while??
also does any1 know if u can get a cover to fit a wagon?
hmmmm mebbe u guys should look into getting one of those new permanent covers that are advertised......the really strong ones with the roof.......i think they call them 'garages'. :p

[BlackClubbie]

Does anyone here use a car cover for their pride and joy, if so love to thear your thoughts and opinions. I work in a industrial area with ALOT of overspray. My last black car was covered in white overspray and now that I will be picking up my HSV Senator today I will be using a cover daily.

Can anyone who uses one of these covers give me the Pros and Cons?

Cheers.

Mate, is it the one with the ZIP ?
I have it stored because i'm afraid the zip will scratch the paint. Dya reckon it'll be ok ?

Cheerz.

[antvt]

yeah ive heard that they can scratch the paint and stuff lke that from rubbing on it, but i hope its not true cause i really want to get one for my car. im really getting sick of getting up every morning to find cat prints, dirt and cat hair all over my car from my neighbours useless cats!! i hate them.

Off Topic, anyone now any other ways to keep cats off cars? Ive tried napthalene flakes, but it didnt work. I dont want to hurt them if i can avoid it.

[xshore]

At work My car is left in a dirt-type car park, people coming and going, trucks doing u turns. Without my car cover its dirty in 1 day. I get a whole week with it still lookling like it hasnt been driven outside. I hate it when ignorant people at work say "it will scratch your car, it will make it sweat and your paint work will fall off"... They all drive shit boxes so I hate hearing their comments.

This is what I do:
I use it the most I can until I see some dust on my car. At that point I dont like risking draging it over the car. I make sure only the inside slides against the car which is soft and clean. A good polish should allow any dust to slip against the paint work without scratching it. I haven't seen a single fine scratch yet and I haven't had the car "Sweat".

[VooDoo]

The store bought ones dont fit stato's :mad:

[VQ304]

yeah ive heard that they can scratch the paint and stuff lke that from rubbing on it, but i hope its not true cause i really want to get one for my car. im really getting sick of getting up every morning to find cat prints, dirt and cat hair all over my car from my neighbours useless cats!! i hate them.

Off Topic, anyone now any other ways to keep cats off cars? Ive tried napthalene flakes, but it didnt work. I dont want to hurt them if i can avoid it.

I put my cover on all the time while the car's dirty and it's never scratched it. I wouldn't recommend doing it, but if you get a good cover then it's not necessary that the car is 100% clean.

Cats love sitting on my car too... Half the time when I come out there's one lying in the middle of the bonnet, it just looks up at me and meows softly... Lousy lovable cats :lol:

[Ralph1]

I bought one from Autobarn for $20, it is only put on the car when its clean, and in the garage, so no probs with the wind blowing it around.

[sandgroper]

Cats love sitting on my car too... Half the time when I come out there's one lying in the middle of the bonnet, it just looks up at me and meows softly... Lousy lovable cats :lol:

Hey VQ, is that cats or thr LION Emblem on the front of the bonnet? :lol:

[exploder]

Off Topic, anyone now any other ways to keep cats off cars? Ive tried napthalene flakes, but it didnt work. I dont want to hurt them if i can avoid it.


There is a spray you can get from Pet Stores and some Nurseries that is supposed to keep cats and dogs away from your stuff. I use chilli powder to keep my dogs away from stuff I don't want them near, but I'll buggered if I know how you could do it so it kept a cat off your bonnet?

[BlackClubbie]

Easy mate, get a ginea pig or a couple of hamsters, that'll keep the cats busy forever !!

We found a whipsnake ( that the cats brought in ) a few weeks ago, we put the thing in the reptile tank, fed it geckos and skinks for 8 weeks, the snake was happy, and the 2 cats were happy to sit around and sleep near the repltile cage. That did it.

[HRT 8]

Wagons are no probs. I used one quite a lot for my old wagon.
Im pretty sure it was the Autobarn type with the little breather hood on the bonnet to let the hot air out (lots of that near me).
It was also a little on the big side.
Ill look at it one day and get the brand size for you wagon owners out there.

[kryten2001]

HIGHLY reccomend the Tyvek car covers from Dupont, I got mine in Supercheap (but they're not supercheap at about $150).

They're made from a special paper-nylon fabric... Water is repelled, but can still breathe... (quite amazing).... 1 year on including a really bad winter, and the the car's perfect.

I do recommend a wax though, as the cover will just glide on and off.

The Tyvek ones also have a "belt" with a clasp underneath which helps it from blowing away...

Very nice cover.... Go check them out.

As far as keeping clean is concerned, just bung it in the washing machine (not too much powder), then dry in the dryer on WARM setting (coz hot will melt it!)...

here 'tis:

http://www.tyvek.com/na/covers/english/

[sandgroper]

Hey people,

Thanx for all of the input its very much appreciated.
I got my car yesterday and ended up getting a Aunger (sp) cover which seems ok and water repelent, not resistant which is fine. Any type of cover would help here as We seem to get a fair amount of overspray going around, so anything would have done the trick.

SO once again people thanx again.

[the big fist]

Does anyone here use a car cover for their pride and joy, if so love to thear your thoughts and opinions. I work in a industrial area with ALOT of overspray. My last black car was covered in white overspray and now that I will be picking up my HSV Senator today I will be using a cover daily.

Can anyone who uses one of these covers give me the Pros and Cons?

Cheers.

mate i am in the same situation as you and also in the same state.
I work opposite a blasting and painting yard and i can tell you YES, the car cover is a life saver.
Sure it's a pain in the arse to put on everyday but it beats claying the whole car every weekend. i've got a black clubby and the only downside is that if your car is dirty then the car cover will spread the dirt and can smear the glass, so try to keep the car as clean as often. Plus if it rains it can be a pain as well. Can't remember the brand but i have a white softish sort of water repellant type. my only whinge is that it has only 1 strap in the middle which makes putting it on a pain. as i have to poke the strap under the car with a piece of flat bar in the mornings and if its windy it can blow the back or front off. a strap at the front and one at the back is much better.
cheers
peter

[chillicatqld]

Hey AntVT
Cats (and dogs) hate citrus.So you can use lemon skin etc. But be best keeping it off paintwork as we know what citrus can do to that!!!

[bassplayer]

There is a spray you can get from Pet Stores and some Nurseries that is supposed to keep cats and dogs away from your stuff. I use chilli powder to keep my dogs away from stuff I don't want them near, but I'll buggered if I know how you could do it so it kept a cat off your bonnet?

put a dog on your bonnet :lol:

[sandgroper]

mate i am in the same situation as you and also in the same state.
I work opposite a blasting and painting yard and i can tell you YES, the car cover is a life saver.
Sure it's a pain in the arse to put on everyday but it beats claying the whole car every weekend. i've got a black clubby and the only downside is that if your car is dirty then the car cover will spread the dirt and can smear the glass, so try to keep the car as clean as often. Plus if it rains it can be a pain as well. Can't remember the brand but i have a white softish sort of water repellant type. my only whinge is that it has only 1 strap in the middle which makes putting it on a pain. as i have to poke the strap under the car with a piece of flat bar in the mornings and if its windy it can blow the back or front off. a strap at the front and one at the back is much better.
cheers
peter

SO you still put yours on when it rains, I wasnt going to bother with the thought of hopefully not having any major overspray floating about in the wet weather and then dragging a wet cover across the car.