Whats up guys, in a few weeks my car is getting moved outside. Another car has been added to the household that gets garage priority. This car has always been a garage car, so this is new to me. How can I keep it in nice shape?

I am thinking about buying a high quality outdoor cover, but have heard that they can scratch the car. However, I can't see how having it covered can be worse than exposure to the sun, snow, ice, etc., kind of torn here. What do you guys recommend I do?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Honestly if you want to keep it in great shape I would try and rent a garage somewhere and buy a daily driver car to beat on.

Covers don't scratch the car if put on properly, the problem is the car needs to be washed and cleaned before putting the cover on.

Every time you drive it and want to put the cover on it you will need to wash it again..

Putting the cover on a dirty car is what causes scratches.

 

Build a carport, lol

 

This is exactly correct.

It's been about ~17 years since I've stored anything outside with a cover. The exact situation described above is the reason why I stopped messing with that hassle and rented a garage until I moved to a place with a bigger garage. Garage storage is really the only solution for a show car that you want to keep permanently detailed as such.

Having said that, since that time I've run out of garage space again and have occasionally had "special" (though not show quality) cars sitting outside. I don't cover those cars though, I just keep them dusted with a leaf blower. Between that and a good coat of wax, they stay surprising clean if not actually driven in the rain. The only real issue is spring pollen, which is quite a mess for about 3-4 weeks every year.

 

Drive it into a giant plastic bag.....then vacuum seal it.

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Moisture gets under car covers too...and then sits and can discolor the clear coat.

Also....if you use a car cover, make sure its tight and cannot flap or move around in the wind....that will slowly rub raw spots in the clear coat.

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What car kicked you out of the garage?

Just curious

 

As stated, indoor is the only way to go with a really nice car. I've done the outdoor thing in the past, and it's a huge pain in the ***. Car covers do a decent job, but the car will still get wet and spotted in a heavy rain. After a few years, even a high quality cover starts to break down and leave dust from the aging material. So when it's time to drive, you're still detailing the whole car anyway.

And when it's windy, you better have it bungeed and tied down good or it's gonna come off. Another option is an enclosed car trailer if you have the room. Maybe an older one that a racer is selling cheap. It's basically a second garage and comes in handy in this hobby.

 

I have never had any issues with this method and have done it for years with various cars*

 

Obviously it was the wifes new car, I mean what else could take priority.

 

lol I know that

Just wanted to know if it was a vette at least

 

Thanks for all the advice. I should have mentioned that it isn't my DD, which is the reason I'm considering a cover for it. All of my friends garages are full and a garaged storage spot is too expensive for me right now with the cost of college and all, so this is the only option I have at the moment. In the grand scheme of things I know it's not a big deal for it to sit outside, but just want to make sure I can keep it nice since I plan to keep this car for the long haul.

'15 Civic Si, I still live at my 'rents, it's my mothers new car

Interesting, what does this do?

 

I would rather be single than married to a woman who doesn't understand that the garage is for toys and the driveway is for daily drivers.

These cars are quite weather resistant in terms of water/snow as long as you aren't driving them in said weather (engine bay and undercarriage rust will develop when driven regularly in foul weather.) Rain and environmental contaminants (pollen, sap, yard waste, dust, leaves) will make it impossible to keep it "show car clean" for more than a day or two after a major detailing, but none of this will do major harm if properly cleaned and kept waxed. UV exposure will be an issue though, if you can't get it in the shade then there are several areas that will suffer; specifically the sail panel (it will begin to bubble unless it's already been replaced per the TSB), the dash will be subject to drying and cracking, the leather along the top of the rear seats will be subject to drying and shrinking/sinking, and the headlights will eventually discolor and become hazy if not kept coated/sealed/waxed. The mid-'01 through '02 window trim is a lower quality flat black (as compared to the earlier F-bodies) and tends to be more susceptible to UV damage (fading, cracking) so I would keep this protected with something like 303 Aerospace. The cowl trim panel is also prone to fading on all years of 4th gen, so if yours is still nice (they were actually a low/semi-gloss finish from the factory, but most are so faded now that you would never know) then I'd try to keep a healthy coat of 303 or similar on that as well. You can minimize some of these issues by finding a shady spot (though a tree presents other problems, such as sap and bird droppings - ideally you'd want some sort of artificial shade such as a building or house, etc.) and/or parking the car facing north (this will best protect the headlights and dash from the most intense sun exposure) or, if north is not an option than east would be second best. You can use a widow shade to further protect the dash and something similar over the rear seat tops (although you may already have a tinted rear hatch glass so this may be less of an issue in your case.) Unfortunately there isn't much you can do to protect the sail panel, aside from shaded parking. If exposed to sun full-time it will, without question, eventually begin to bubble on every '99+ F-body (also some very late '98s). Replacement, with the proper prep procedure, is the only fix and keeping it away from intense heat/UV is the only way to prolong the life of the stock panel.

None of these things will be issues overnight, but as you mentioned "long haul", they are issues worth considering if you plan to keep this as a special/show car of sorts many years into the future.

Is there a place you can put up a prefabbed carport? I've seen these locally, you can get them with sides and doors or with just a roof, it's sort of like a car tent. I also like the idea mentioned above of getting an old race car trailer, if you can find one cheap enough.

 

The plastic acts like a static window cling, settles on the car not allowing any shifting "sandpaper" action between your cover and paint. Also as you would know the plastic keeps the paint nice and dry. Unless its 150 degrees or more where you plan to store the car, I have never had any issues in doing so.

 

Thanks! I can tell you that this car has always been kept waxed and garaged since new, so other than a couple of minuscule knicks from being driven (30k miles) it really is a clean car. None of the exterior trim has been faded or discolored and the sail panel has only very minor bubbling, the interior follows suit. Really would like to keep it this way...

Unfortunately, I live in a neighborhood with a homeowners association. So I couldn't have a carport, I can't even keep it at the house. Between my brothers trucks, my daily, my parents cars, there's not enough space. My current plan is to get a storage spot at our local facility and cover it for the winter, I may be able to garage it again once the weather breaks. But, at this point I'm just trying to figure out if I'd be better off covering it or not while it's outside.

I'll have to look into that, where did you get that? Did you just make it or what?

 

Just get them on Ebay. Plastic car covers. They are reusable for so many times, and very cheap**