Category Archives: Cars, Trucks, & Other Autos
To the average automobile owner, car covers may seem like an unnecessary luxury used mostly by car collectors or by the enthusiastic young adult male who just invested in his first set of wheels. But, practical reasons abound for using car covers, and any automobile owner can benefit from using them on a regular basis.
Protection from Natural and Human Influences
One of the more obvious reasons for using car covers is to protect a vehicle from environmental damage. Depending on where you live, your car takes a multitude of abuses just by sitting on a driveway, along a street, or in a parking lot. Wind blown sand, sea salt, tree sap, bird droppings, dirt, dust, falling twigs or other debris, and weather conditions like rain, ice, and snow can take an expensive toll on a car’s exterior.
Additionally, car covers protect your car’s interior from sunlight. Interior temperatures are reduced to a more comfortable level on hot, sunny days when a car cover is in use, and interior fabrics and materials are protected from damage by the sun’s harmful UV rays. Materials like vinyl, plastics, upholstered fabrics, and leather that are exposed regularly and over extended periods of time to UV rays can become discolored, weakened, and cracked. Additional protection can be obtained by using an Auto Windshield Cover. Environmental conditions quickly age a vehicle’s interior and exterior, and car covers are one easy way to dramatically slow down that process.
Car covers are also useful for deterring theft because they keep expensive interior components out of view. And, car covers can prevent the innocent, but curious, passerby from peeking into car windows and leaving fingerprints on your car’s exterior. Thicker car covers can even prevent minor dings caused by careless neighbors in the parking lot.
Choosing the Right Car Cover
What is the best kind of car cover to choose? Comparing the available materials is an important first step. If your vehicle is kept outdoors for most or part of a day, look for a cover made with breathable material. Breathable car covers allow condensation to escape from underneath. Over time, moisture that is unable to evaporate from under car covers can cause mildew or corrosion and discoloration. Look also for a car cover that offers excellent protection from weather. The best materials are the newer, high-tech, multi-layered materials that that are lightweight, rugged, breathable, and can handle extremes in temperature and weather conditions. These materials will protect more effectively than cheaper materials like plastic or vinyl.
A car cover that fits properly is another important factor when it comes to choosing the right one for your vehicle. Covers that are too large for the vehicle can fill with air like a balloon on breezy days. If not secured well, a ballooning cover can tear or blow right off of the car. Even if the cover does not blow off of the car, the extra bit of loose fabric that whips against the car’s finish repeatedly on windy days can damage the finish over time. Car covers that fit snugly and that are equipped with elastic hems, ties, or drawstrings are the best choices. Even better are custom car covers that are made to fit your car exactly. Custom car covers generally cost more, but many automobile owners believe the extra expense is worth it.
Overall, taking care of our big investments, like vehicles, is more important than ever now that tough economic times make it difficult to trade in our existing vehicles every few years for shiny new models. Protecting a vehicle with a high quality car cover is a simple and practical way to keep that car’s exterior and interior in good condition for as long as the car continues to run.
Your car may very well be your pride and joy. Lots of automobile owners purchase a car and look at it as a work of art, or at the very least as an investment that they need to put forth plenty of effort in protecting. And even for those who park their vehicle in a garage or under a carport, there’s still a good chance that the car can get a little bit of slight damage. But with the help of quality car covers, that’s an issue that doesn’t usually arise. If you want to keep your car in pristine shape, a car cover is probably a good idea.
Car covers offer a lot of protection from a lot of different things. Leaving a car out in the elements will cause UV damage, for example. There’s no escaping the sun unless you shield your vehicle from it, and it can not only damage the car’s finish, but actually harms the upholstery and interior of the car as well. Scratches are the bane of existence for many car owners and the fact is that there’s no surefire way to protect your vehicle from them while you’re on the road. But once you park, putting a cover over your vehicle will shield it against falling debris, dings and scratches from other sources, and more.
Even something as simple as dirt settling onto a vehicle can cause major problems. That dirt could actually scratch the paint in minor ways. Those minor scratches can grow to major problems, and it’s important to avoid them at all costs. Parking your vehicle in a garage will help, but there’s still the issue of dust settling on the car. This can remove that fresh, just-washed look and may even trigger microscopic abrasions that could grow into easy to spot ones. If you’re serious about protecting your car, going an extra step beyond just parking in a garage is a good idea.
It’s pretty obvious that covering your car with a vehicle cover is a good idea, but just what to look for when shopping for a good cover is an issue that some people are confused about. Basically, you want to find a car cover that offers all-weather defense and is water repellent yet breathable. Look for heavy-duty covers – buying a low quality cover is basically like putting a bed sheet on your car and hoping for the best.
Buy according to your vehicle, as well. Don’t buy an SUV cover and put it on your sedan just because the SUV cover is on sale. The cover needs to fit perfectly or it may blow off in a high wind, and it could fall off if a pet bumps against it. Not only that, but in most cases when you put an improperly sized cover on a car you may eliminate any guarantees of protection that the cover has. And finally, be sure to get a cover that gives you a warranty. The best covers will offer at least a two to four year warranty, and it will let you know that you’re buying a quality cover you can count on. Keep these basic points in mind and protecting your car will be a snap.
Three Common Problems and Three Easy Solutions
Many vehicle owners who use car covers often find themselves in a curious and frustrating situation — no matter how well they care for their car, they still find scratches and abrasions that mar the otherwise flawless finish. Chances are, too, that these minor damages appear in unusual places on the car that cannot be attributed to parking lot incidents or driving mishaps. Surprisingly, many abrasions and scratches are unwittingly the fault of the car owner. By understanding some of the more common reasons for these surface damages, though, a car owner can easily prevent many of them from occurring in the first place. Covering a Dirty Vehicle Even if drivers use car covers to protect their vehicles, regular washing is still required to keep the surface of the car clean. Dirt, leaves, or other debris that may be present on a car when the car cover is placed on top can actually damage the finish. When the car cover rubs against the dirt or debris on the car’s exterior, the dirt acts as an abrasive that causes scratches and other surface damage. Making a regular appearance at the car wash is an easy solution that can help prevent dirt from building up and creating problems. Using a Dirty Car Cover Keeping car covers clean is just as important as keeping a vehicle’s exterior clean. Many car owners, especially when pressed for time, have a tendency to wad up the cover and toss it in the trunk or on the floor of a garage when it’s time to drive. Drivers should avoid this impulse, though. Any dirt or debris in the trunk or on the garage floor can be easily picked up by the cover and then transferred to the car’s surface when the cover is replaced. Just as with a dirty car, a dirty car cover can rub against the finish and cause abrasions and scratches. When not in use, car covers should be stored neatly in a bag to keep them clean. Improper Covering Technique It’s a natural instinct to cover and uncover a vehicle by sliding the car cover across the vehicle’s surface. Sliding a cover on and off is an efficient way to do it, but it’s also a potential cause for some of the curious surface damages that car owners may find on the vehicle. Once again, the existence of dirt or debris is to blame. Any dirt or debris on the car’s exterior or on the car cover itself can cause surface abrasions as the cover slides across the finish. Instead of sliding car covers on and off, drivers should roll or fold them as they go. Doing so can prevent damage from occurring. Preventing all car scratches and abrasions from happening is probably not possible. Taking a little extra effort, though, to keep a vehicle clean, to stow car covers more carefully, and to use better techniques when covering and uncovering a vehicle can go a long way in preventing some of the mysterious surface damages that appear on a car’s exterior.- 1
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