Okay… best outdoor car cover, for the money, for brutal sun and heavy rain seasons?

 

Using a car cover outdoors is kind of a double-edged sword. I've had my pickup under a car cover but its under a carport and protected from wind. This past summer I added another Mustang to my collection which booted the old XJ8, as the least valuable car, outside. I did build another carport for it (its a sickness when you'd spend as much on a carport as the car under it). I've been using Cover King's Silverguard Plus material and under the carports, the one on the truck is practically like new after I believe its about 7 or 8 years old. Can't say how long it would hold up just completely out in the weather. Also, its not a daily driver. It gets used for "truck stuff" and then put back away or because its 4wd, its my inclement weather vehicle. Still its not a perfect solution even for occasional use vehicles. I've found that dirt gets up under the car covers even though the car is clean. Bugs will crawl up in there to digest their meals and take a ****. Wind will blow leaf litter up under the covers and the worst offender is the neighbor's lawn service with their 200mph leaf blowers. The neighborhood feral cats also love, love, love the car covers because they like to get up high and the covers make a comfy place to lie down (they're probably going to get on top of your convertible anyway and a thicker material may help protect from their claws.)

But a word of caution.... Its really not practical to use a car cover on a daily driver. You can only put the cover on when the car is freshly washed and clean or it'll just rub the dust and grit into the paint and the swirl marks will be off the chain, particularly if its a dark color paint. The most is if all I do is make one trip to Home Depot and back in my truck, I'll run the California Duster over it and put the cover back on. If I drive the truck to work and it sits out all day, then its too late and I can't put the cover back on till it gets washed again. If yours is just a weekend toy car, or occasional use like my truck, then using a cover can be a good solution. But probably not such a good idea for a daily driver.

If it is a daily driver, you can protect the interior from the sun by using windshield sun shades. I like the silver mylar type with the air bubbles in it. I have a set of all four, front, back and sides for my daily driver because I lost my parking garage a couple years ago when my employer relocated. If you can't find pre-made for the back and sides, you can buy the material in a roll, cut your own and use suction cups to stick em to the glass. I don't like the heavy silver cardboard type because they absorb more heat than they reflect. You can have the headlights protected with a clear film. Actually not a bad idea to have the whole front end covered to protect from rock chips (or for the ultimate protection they'll do the whole car in protective clear film, but its very expensive).

And exterior you might want to consider having a daily driver ceramic coated depending on your OCD level. Contrary to sales pitches, ceramic actually is more work to maintain because you can't run $1,500+ worth of coating through commercial car washes and just put in the extra quarters for a spritz of wax now and then. You have to wash by hand and use complimentary chemicals to make that investment last. Most people tend to let their ceramic coated cars just get much dirtier, and wash much less often, knowing that they are protected. But if you are obsessive-compulsive like me, then its probably a waste of money since you're going to be aching to wash it every weekend anyway and the methods to preserve and occasionally refresh the ceramic just add to the time and expense. If you are ok with infrequent washing, then the ceramic may be a good option for you.

 

Laughed out loud at the OCD remark! Why else are we HERE?? Okay, lots of great advice, info. Thanks so much. Although I consider the Jag a daily driver(believe it or not, it’s my only car), when I alternate garage time on a month to month basis with sister(‘65 Corvair), I keep a cover (3rd one) on the Jag..it’s a convertible, oh and the only parking space is next to neighbors sappy tree(yes we’ve pruned as much as possible). I’ve gotten pretty fast at rolling & folding cover by myself(73yrs old).
I do all the car detailing;hand wash, clay bar, wax, etc. Lots of microfiber cloths/dusters. Hence, car cover that would suit my OCD behavior.
Hmmm. Jaguar Soap Opera.

 

I ordered this one:
it's very big, and thick. It covers the entire car front to back and all the way down on the sides to the ground.

I haven't had it in rain, but use it when I park the car in our driveway (which is under 4 oak trees that drop leaves, acorns, etc).

it's really big. it folds up really big. But it's definitely thick. Lots of venting on it. I suspect it would hold up quite well.

That said I'm looking for another, smaller, lighter one that I can just throw on and off quickly to keep the acorns and twigs from hitting the car, and using the big one for longer term.

 

What is the Jag you’re covering? Do you know how many so-called “layers” the cover is? I’ve seen anywhere from 1 to 7 layers advertised. I’ve had car covers.com, carcoversfactory.com and sealskin. All at least 5 layer. Not terribly impressed, and have bought top of the line (sites always have “sales”, where the price is dropped by up to 50%). Haven’t paid less than $200. Always look to see if Amazon carries the brand I look at. Three car covers in three years.

 

I didn't pull it apart to count layers. For $84 I was impressed with the thickness of it. I don't typically keep covers on car - none of them are waterproof, all of them will damage the paint, all off them will condensate.

But for the money and what I need it for - mainly protection from falling twigs and stuff, not so much rain (though that will also occur I'm sure) it seems to fit the bill.

 

Oh, I get it, anytime you’re putting something on the car and dragging it off(no matter how careful), it’s not good for the paint. But, in my case, my Jag IS my only car, and while pretty(Carnival Red), maintained well and kept waxed(etc), it is not a show car. It sits in the driveway every other month, through relentless sun/heat , pounding rain, tree sap, pollution, birds targeting clean car…a car cover is a practical solution for me. Don’t think that quells my OCD. I am always on the lookout for a cover with ability to “breathe”, repel rain, and has a good fleece lining…within my budget. A pain in the *** if I need to drive a lot, but, as mentioned, I’m pretty fast at rolling/folding cover, it fits in trunk if I travel. Perfect solution would be to kick sister’s Corvair out of garage entirely. Everything is a compromise.

 

Pretty happy with our premium Sealskin cover:
https://sealskincovers.com/pages/gua...SAAEgKsZPD_BwE

 

Sealskin was my second car cover….it made it through one season. The outside of the cover then appeared to start to “crack”, white crease-like marks, then those started having open slits. That was probably going into 12-14 months. That was their “premium gold”, not exorbitant but too much $$ to buy a new one yearly. But looking still.
Thanks. Good luck!

 

honestly for brutal sun and rain you cant go wrong with the covercraft weathershield hd or something made with sunbrella fabric its pricey but worth it i had a similar situation with my ford gt40 trying to keep your ford gt40 looking new longer and the cheap covers just disintegrate so definitely invest in the good stuff