car cover recomendations

[cypher007]

im after a car cover for my Volvo 850 saloon. i need UV, Breathable, Waterproof, and it has to have a soft lining so it doesnt wear the paint work. and all for no more than £100.

[belleair302]

Unlikely to find anything decent for under £120, better ones are around £150. Well worth the outlay as these last for years and really do as it says on the box.

As in life, what you pay is what you get!

[cypher007]

ok where do i look at the £120-150 mark?

[ARH]

been using his covers for 6 or 7 years, no issues at all. http://www.hamiltonclassic.co.uk/

[cypher007]

any others?

[Gareth350]

ARH said:

been using his covers for 6 or 7 years, no issues at all. http://www.hamiltonclassic.co.uk/

+1

[BobTurner]

I have Covercraft covers for my cars, made from their Noah fabric and bought from Vertar. They would meet all your requirements but are not cheap. They are also tailor made so that they fit and don't flap around. You may find that at that price point you are discussing that the covers don't fit that well and don't actually breath that well either - I have tried other covers and decided that cheaper covers probably do more harm than good.

Vertar were helpful when I was looking at these things (they also did a Porsche Club GB member discount, don't know about other owners'clubs).

Hope that helps.

[SB - Nigel]

cypher007 said:

any others?

I had one of Classic Additions earlier outdoor covers and the seams leaked after 18 months or so but they did offer a crude repair kit for free, the cover was heavy and cumbersome but I think most of this type are

On the other side are the very light covers offered by Cover Systems I've had a few of their products, top covers and full covers - putting a full size outdoor cover by yourself on a windy day can be fun but they do sell to Volvo Owners Club

[MikePCG]

I had a breathable, waterproof, outdoor made to measure cover (£165) by a well known company (already mentioned in this post). After 3 years it started to fall apart, the elastic undercar tie down strap snapped, the outer material started to rip and deteriorate making it take in water and soak the soft inner lining and so trapping water underneath (the deterioration I think was due to sunlight heat during summer weakening the material).

just my 2 cents, so choose carefully at these prices. Your doing the right thing by asking for opinions. Unfortunately I'm not in a position to say which company it was, but some of the good comments so far on the others are not that company - if that helps?!

Mike

[mgtony]

MikePCG said:

I had a breathable, waterproof, outdoor made to measure cover (£165) by a well known company (already mentioned in this post). After 3 years it started to fall apart, the elastic undercar tie down strap snapped, the outer material started to rip and deteriorate making it take in water and soak the soft inner lining and so trapping water underneath (the deterioration I think was due to sunlight heat during summer weakening the material).

just my 2 cents, so choose carefully at these prices. Your doing the right thing by asking for opinions. Unfortunately I'm not in a position to say which company it was, but some of the good comments so far on the others are not that company - if that helps?!

Mike

I had the same problem. Bought a 'Monsoon' cover from a company who say you should 'cover-your-car'!
These pictures are after 18 months on the car. It had started to perish on the roof and then on the rear as the pictures show.
This cover had a 2 year warranty, so after they originally agreed to collect it for inspection, I didn't want to leave the car uncovered while this was being sorted. So I e-mailed and asked if I purchased a new one and put it on the car,and then they can have the old one back to look at. If they agreed it was faulty would they refund the original cost.
Got no reply to this or further e-mails and no call back after a leaving a message by phone.
I did purchase an upgrade Stormforce cover from them as the car was getting soaked through the cover, and sent the damaged one back. The post office have informed me that a card was left but it was not collected, so is suppose to be being returned to me. No sign of it, post office are unable to locate it.

[MikePCG]

mgtony said:

I had the same problem. Bought a 'Monsoon' cover from a company who say you should 'cover-your-car'!
These pictures are after 18 months on the car. It had started to perish on the roof and then on the rear as the pictures show.
This cover had a 2 year warranty, so after they originally agreed to collect it for inspection, I didn't want to leave the car uncovered while this was being sorted. So I e-mailed and asked if I purchased a new one and put it on the car,and then they can have the old one back to look at. If they agreed it was faulty would they refund the original cost.
Got no reply to this or further e-mails and no call back after a leaving a message by phone.
I did purchase an upgrade Stormforce cover from them as the car was getting soaked through the cover, and sent the damaged one back. The post office have informed me that a card was left but it was not collected, so is suppose to be being returned to me. No sign of it, post office are unable to locate it.

Yeh very similar (started as cracks then just started peeling like that), mine was a heavy duty cover and the outer material had almost a PVC type feel to it (didn't feel cheap at all) and felt quite strong, but once it started to go it just seemed to do it all over and that was that.

Edited by MikePCG on Thursday 15th October 20:17

[mgtony]

There was one area on the roof where it started, so I originally put a pice of tape over it while I was on holiday. Then having peeled the wet cover off, the roof was wet but looking at the wet cover, nothing was visible until it dried then you could see lots of small cracks all over the roof.
The fault in the photo suddenly appeared and just folding the cover over to take another pic of the wet roof an folding it back, it just started to fall apart.

[MikePCG]

mgtony said:

There was one area on the roof where it started, so I originally put a pice of tape over it while I was on holiday. Then having peeled the wet cover off, the roof was wet but looking at the wet cover, nothing was visible until it dried then you could see lots of small cracks all over the roof.
The fault in the photo suddenly appeared and just folding the cover over to take another pic of the wet roof an folding it back, it just started to fall apart.

duct tape, thats what i used, it ended up being one here, one there and then one bloody every were, until it just became ridiculous and I through it in the bin! wasn't too happy as I was covering a car almost 35 years old at the time and I didn't want it left to the elements or on view to opportunists/jealous thugs.

[mgtony]

Mike, exactly the same reasons I keep mine covered, and as soon as it's letting through water, there's not much option but to replace it straight away. The cover was suppose to have a two year warranty.
Car's almost as old as your, '78 only 31 years old.

[cypher007]

thank you for all your input.

[lowdrag]

As one of the magazines recently said, buying a car cover keeps the rain off but doesn't stop the humidity rising underneath and causing more trouble than if you had never bought a cover in the first place. I can't find the thread (there was another a while back) but I was also advised that before putting the cover on the car must be spotless, or else the dirt will get into the inner fabric and then scratch your car every time you put it on or take it off. I hadn't though of that angle before.

[Stitch]

mgtony said:

MikePCG said:

post office are unable to locate it.

Best result - crappy service from the company but the package must have been insured through the post office - so investigate making a claim??

[BobTurner]

Just be clear, the cover on my merc is now a number of years old - it is not torn or delaminating or coming apart at the seams.

I would agree with advice about ensuring the car is clean. As far as humidity control goes, the best thing is a properly breathable cover, but inevitably moisture will be retained longer than without a cover. For me it's better that water doesn't leak in to the car, less bothered about a periodically slightly sweaty car.

[BobTurner]

Edited by BobTurner on Saturday 17th October 13:27

[Trommel]

I've used a breathable outdoor cover from Specialised Car Covers (now just Specialised Covers) - great quality and works very well. They also sent me an envelope full of replacement buckles free of charge when I broke one.