I'm selling my home and moving into a beach condo while my new home is being built. YEAH! The bad news is that while the parking is covered it's basically just a carport directly across from the beach. I've always kept my jag in the garage so I'm shopping for a good car cover for use against the elements. Also I assume I should take it for a wash on a regular basis to get the salt off of it. Any other maintenance issues that might pop up? Anybody here have some cover suggestions. I've seen a few $400+ covers that looked great but I hate to spend that much on something I'll only need for 9-12 mos. I will if that's really the best option though.

 

Will you be getting on shore breezes from the salt water? If so then I'd store it. My uncle lives in Ocean City MD and gets on shore wind all the time and he's @ 3/4 mile from the beach and his stuff rots quickly. He has a car port as well and his brake rotors flash rust within a couple days of sitting. There's a lot of poorly protected steel structures holding the suspension bits to the chassis on our cars.

 

You need the bubble boy cover...

 

Better???

 

Is there a garage for rent near by?

 

The problem is that I need my Jag for 2nd car use. It's not often but at least once or twice a week so I really need it and of course I, you know, like driving it. If I store the car even 5 miles from me it will never get driven & I'll be on the freaking beach.

We've lived nearby (a few miles back from the gulf and on a brackish bay) for the past 6 years and I've always kept it garaged but not my other cars. The brakes do flash rust every 2 days or so if the other cars sit outside but I haven't seen any other issues with any of them. That being said they haven't been on the receiving end of wind directly off the gulf before.

I see lots of nice cars at beach houses in the area and can't imagine they are all falling apart. I was hoping someone would recommend a good cover, a regular wash, and maybe some additional lubrication schedules for steel underbelly parts or something. Jeez you guys all sound like chicken littles, lol... I hope.

 

All you need is a soft breathable waterproof cover. Look at cover craft or similar units. The wind , fog and rain may coat the underbelly but just take it to the car wash once a week and get the bottom sprayed too.

 

I picked up a can of LPS-3 and sprayed the undercarriage on mine. It didn't remove any rust but it did put a waxy layer on top of it to keep it from progressing. I also sprayed the aluminum bits and the white powdery stuff soaked it up.

http://www.lpslabs.com/product-details/612

I wasn't trying to be negative. It's just sitting outside at the beach is not a direction I would go with a 'forever' car without better protection. When I was redoing my cats last week the LPS was doing it's job well. It's kind of like cosmoline but smells better. Even the plastic parts liked it an it's not harmful to anything under there.

 

Rust on the rotors is normal and can appear after I wash the car and put it in the garage. It is knocked off the first time you drive the car. I see it on every car I own.

Personally I wouldn't worry about any of this, it is just one year. The question will be is your parking spot at the condo in direct wind off the water. If you are on the ground floor and there are obstructions in the parking area that keep direct wind off of you the amount of accumulated salt is lessened. I notice it whenever we rent for the week directly on the gulf. Clean it frequently.

 

We live across the street from the ocean in Vero Beach. Happily we have a garage. But any cars that park outside around here find salt covered windows with regularity. Can you find a garage to rent?

 

I lived a block off the Ocean for many years. Even in garages, cars suffer from salt-aire breezes. My advice under a carport would be California Car Superweave. It's not the most expensive, but very durable... and something to think about; its washable and dries quickly. Link here: California Car Cover Company - Car Cover Materials

 

I went with a Covercraft Custom Fit Car Cover for Jaguar XK (Technalon Evolution Fabric) and a can of LPS 3 Premier Rust Inhibitor. I figure a weekly wash and regular use of the cover and LPS 3 and I'll be pretty good. I'm building a beach house that will have a garage but will probably require the same type of protection there so I figure the cover and starting a wash and LPS application schedule would be a good habit to get into. THANKS FOR ALL THE ADVICE!!

 

If I had stayed on the beach, my plan was to build an under belly car wash from a couple of sections of 1/2" PVC pipe and four or five fixed-head lawn 360' sprinkler heads. With a quick disconnect to the garden hose, it would slide underneath the chassis for five minutes to wash out any salt deposits on the underside.

 

https://www.carid.com/car-capsule/ca...r-7298769.html