Car cover 411

[jeff]

Would like some intel and your experience on car covers. I noticed one just sold here and it got me thinking. My Fiesta lives in the garage but I’m keeping my Prelude covered outside with one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Ohuhu-Windpr...=ohuhu+cover&qid=1568064156&s=gateway&sr=8-12

So far so good. The only issue I’ve found is the soft inside of the cover rubs on the car in the wind a bit and has started pulling off some of the decals. It’s very slight like only a fourth of a millimeter and not too noticeable but if it keeps up it will be a problem, so I rigged something to avoid this.

Other than that it’s been great.

Anyone using a cover that has pointers?

 

[FrozenFiST]

Storing my FiST for the winter and just put the new Coverking on for the first time and I'm not impressed with the thickness or fit, but this IS on the lower end of auto covers. I think this is only an indoor cover but wanted to put in my two cents as I'm looking for others input on a quality brand to potentially replace this. I owned one of these in the past for my Miata and it worked great, not sure what the problem is with this one so I've reached out to the manufacturer to ensure this is specifically for an ST - seems it doesn't want to fit down around the front bumper and is just super tight pulling it over the back, I'm concerned about getting scratches even though I washed the car yesterday and only plan on having the cover on and off a few times a year.
https://www.carid.com/2018-ford-fie...dium=order&utm_campaign=order_tracking_number

 

[ron@whoosh]

I have a OEM Fiesta ST car cover in a box yet
Seems decent
It may have been over $200 though...

 

[Cartman]

I have had covercraft s before and was extremely satisfied with the quality, fit. It also lasted through a few NY winters. The stitching and grommets held up pretty well. You could do indoor and outdoor on top but I think that’s overkill.car cover

 

[FrozenFiST]

Update: I've been working with Carid who are being very responsive to the matter. The manufacturer asked for pictures of the car with and without the cover which I've supplied to Carid and the manufacturer has determined from those pictures that my particular cover must have been incorrectly cut. They're sending a free replacement and don't require the original to be returned. If the 2nd one is a better fit, this will be a case of fantastic customer service and I'll definitely recommend both Carid and Coverking. I'll provide an update when the new one arrives including pictures.

 

[FrozenFiST]

Well, the new cover arrived and it appears to be exactly the same fit as the original which is rather tight. I'm going to keep one of them, but If anyone in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area is interested in the other, I'm selling it on CL and you can find pics here: https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/dak/pts/d/saint-paul-new-ford-fiesta-st-5-door/7031838318.html I informed Carid of the virtually same fit for the replacement and they apologized stating that the manufacturer had informed them this second one would be a roomier fit. Maybe I'm just too picky? They provided me with a $25 gift card to their website which I thought was pretty classy.

 

[koozy]

Sent from my iPhone 11 Pro Max using Tapatalk

 

[Intuit]

............... The only issue I’ve found is the soft inside of the cover rubs on the car in the wind a bit and has started pulling off some of the decals. ................

Seems like car covers often don't breathe and therefore hold-in humidity, (promoting rust,) or too loose and rub-on corners.

An actual car tent seems like a decent compromise.
Two issues with car tents: 1) security 2) space consumption

If one doesn't have an issue with either, a car tent might be a viable option. Another possible issue is wind damage.

 

[FiSTerMr]

Seems like car covers often don't breathe and therefore hold-in humidity, (promoting rust,) or too loose and rub-on corners.

An actual car tent seems like a decent compromise.
Two issues with car tents: 1) security 2) space consumption

If one doesn't have an issue with either, a car tent might be a viable option. Another possible issue is wind damage.

Yeah, not a fan of car covers.

Unless your car is immaculate when the cover is put on the car, any dirt/particles on the car can potentially scratch the paint by the cover. Even if it has a soft felt lining, it can scratch.
Any movement against the paint when removing/applying the cover will cause this. No matter how careful you are, there will be some rubbing; it's inevitable, imo.

 

[averyislost]

Seems like car covers often don't breathe and therefore hold-in humidity, (promoting rust,) or too loose and rub-on corners.

An actual car tent seems like a decent compromise.
Two issues with car tents: 1) security 2) space consumption

If one doesn't have an issue with either, a car tent might be a viable option. Another possible issue is wind damage.

I used one for a few weeks, the biggest issues I had were:

1. Scares about wind damage as mentioned. Even with it staked to the ground as well as I could manage, it would still move around and I was worried heavy wind would pick it up like a sail and have it crash down on the car.
2. Ice/Snow Accumulation, this could cause it to collapse if there's enough accumulation. Even with the tarp pulled taught, there's still just enough give for it to collect water/ice. Especially if any branches also happen to fall on top.
3. Neighborhood appearance. This was the biggest turn off for me truthfully, you get odd looks from neighbors with a tent put up. No way around that one if you live in a neighborhood where you have to "keep up appearances"

 

[jeff]

These are all great concerns and true and valid opinions. The bottom line is the car needs to be somewhat clean before the cover is applied. I’ve been very careful with this and I can say my car has suffered no damage after being covered forthe last four months on and off. I always use my car duster on the car before putting the cover on. Another pro tip I discovered is covering any labels on the car that might get scraped against before applying the cover. The car looks just as good now as it did when I first started using the cover and I’ve been quite happy. It’s definitely a good option if your car has to stay outside. It is a bit of an eyesore but I live in a pretty nice neighborhood and there are six or seven other people with collectible cars with covers on them outside so it’s really not a big deal.

I washed and detailed the car yesterday, here’s a picture for any doubters, looks just as good up close.

https://public.fotki.com/greentrees2/actuator-and-maf-mod/1577917144899.html][/URL]