I posted this in the general discussions a while back and got no hits. There's more action here, so maybe this will work better. Just looking for a name of a good car cover from someone with experience. I need to order one asap. There's not going to be a garage this year or a carport at my house, my wife wants me to sell one of the cars for her college funds, so spending to build is out of the question. I finally got a nice car and am deathly afraid of what the winter is going to do to it. It was garaged it's whole life until now. Anybody use a good brand for outdoor use? (under $300)

Matt, I am moving onto one of the keys here in Sarasota as of tomorrow and my car will be parked about 200 feet from the salty winds of the Gulf of Mexico so I need some car cover advice to keep my old banana boat from exposure to the salt air and intense sunshine. Let's hope someone has the answer! :)

Not sure on car covers, I was actually wanting to get one, too. I was thinking of making almost a makeshift car port with some tarps and 2x4's but i'm not sure about that...could be cool though.

I have a wood shop at work and was going to attempt to build an extension off my shed roof to use as a car port. Every plan that I come up with, the guys find flaws and I can picture a roof falling in on my car in the first heavy snow (too bad I don't have that salt water and sun problem like Bro-Ham);).

We all need to keep our cars from deteriorating. Here in Florida the elements are brutal and cars exposed to the sun don't last long. I'm lucky my car parks in a garage during the day at the office. Next door to my new villa is a 4 or 5 story building and the parking lot is completely covered so I'm going to see if I can rent a spot since there always seem to be plenty of openings. Otherwise I am going to pick up the best car cover I can find that has packaging that sells me on the quality. My Cadillac needs to stay looking FABULOUS!!! :) By the way, cool fall weather is on the way for this coming week with highs only in the low 80's. ;)

FWIW, In three years I went through three brands of car covers and on the fourth year had a shed tacked on to the back end of our one car garage so I could put the FW in the garage after I took all the crap out if the garage and put the crap in the shed.
The problem was WET SNOW !
No brand of car cover - up to $300.00 - left the car without BAD condensation INSIDE AND OUT when I removed the car cover after a snow and wanted to run the car.
That, to me, was far worse than simply letting the snow melt all over the car and having a window cracked slightly open to ventilate everything.
Hell, the situation was BREEDING rust.
Incidentally, since our house was built in 1942, during WWII, it's interesting to note that I have to push the front bumper TIGHT against the back wall of the garage and SET THE PARKING BRAKE before putting the car in Park.
Then I have exactly ONE HALF INCH CLEARANCE between the overhead door and the rear bumper ! :histeric:
Getting out of the car isn't any cinch either !
Thank God for fold-back mirrors.

My buddy keeps recommending california car covers. I read a little on their site, ad other than being expensive, I can't figure a difference between them and the lesser brands. They do have a 4 or 5 year warranty though.

I used a Wal-Mart purchased "BUDGE" cover, which was cheap, on an every day car I parked outside and the cover did the trick keeping debris and sap from trees from getting all over the car. I think I paid $30 and I used it for several months and I intended to throw it out if it got icky but it never seemed to get that bad. The cover did not repell water but was an overall benefit to maintaining a fresh appearance to the car. If we don't get a definitive answer on THE car cover in this thread I may just get another cheapie car cover since I'm simply looking for some basic protection since I keep the car clean otherwise. All part of the fun! :)

Incidentally, since our house was built in 1942, during WWII, it's interesting to note that I have to push the front bumper TIGHT against the back wall of the garage and SET THE PARKING BRAKE before putting the car in Park.
Then I have exactly ONE HALF INCH CLEARANCE between the overhead door and the rear bumper ! :histeric:
.
Fortunately, steel and concrete have the same thermal expansion coefficient! :D

I just bought a custom fit, lightweight car cover last month. I ordered it in BLACK rather than the light gray or beige colors that I typically see. I LOVE the way it looks. It almost blends in with my blacktop driveway ( as much as a Fleetwood Brougham can "blend in" ) and it doesn't make the front of my house look like a trailer park. I'll take a pic of it and look up where I bought it from tomorrow and post it. The cover was $350 and it's easy to put on/off and protects the car pretty well, especially my white vinyl roof.

I don't have the answer to the car cover mystery, but everything I have heard says to stay away from just regular tarps. They trap as much moisture as they keep out, and they maintain a steady film of water on the car. Not a great thing for any car. Good luck with the search guys!

I'm actually leaning towards a tarp carport thing they sell at TSC. They're about as much as a good car cover and I like the idea of there being airflow to the car rather than snow sitting directly on the cover on the car. I've seen tarps at the flea market for under $20 that are large enough to replace the top if it rips or rots.

This is what I ended up with. It was on sale for $229 at pep boys and I got the last one on the last day of the sale. Seems to be doing ok. I took 2x12's and lag bolted them across to the bases. When I pull the car in, the tires sit on the boards so the weight of the car is holding the thing down. I guess I'll just wait and see how long the tarp lasts.