About 18 months ago I thought I would finally buy a top notch car cover for my track car, as it has to live down the side of my house atm.

Classic additions seemed to have a good reputation, so I purchased one of their heavy duty outside car covers, M size, cost me nearly £170. But I thought it would be a worthwhile investment and last the distance.....

About a week before Ford Fair 2010 I rolled back the cover only to hear a cracking sound. Upon investigation an area of the outer plastic cover had become brittle, about 1m square, and now had lots of cracks/splits all over the place! That area of plastic was now pretty hard to the touch

So as a temp fix I applied some clear silicone to the area to seal the 'hole' as it was now going to let water in.

Roll on Ford fair and I saw a Classic Additions stand, great, I'll go speak to them about my problem. Chap states that this does happen due to UV light, well I thought that was the problem, but I also thought that seeing as this was their heavy duty outside product that it would somehow be able to resist the British sunshine for more then 18 months? Well it appears not said the chap. Oh, and it only has a 12 month warranty

Wrote to CA themselves and they basically said the same, but did kindly offer me a good will gesture of another cover at £100 inc vat and del. Great, that will last, what, another 18 months before that will need replacing......

All in all i'm a bit dissapointed in the cover failing after 18 months considering how much it cost me.

Am I being un-reasonable in expecting it to last longer?

A would now not recommend this cover to anyone else considering a long term outside cover.

Sorry for the rant

 

That's properly shit! I had a cheap Halfords one that was perfect, for about 3 years!

 

gutted for ya mate.

 

not good that mate,

 

just buy a good fitting one then a tarpaullin over the top with bungee's, that's what we've done for that reason. about a tenner for the tarpaullin

 

I used a Argos one for two year before it started splitting and only cost around £20. Fucking rip off £170 for 18 months use.

 

sounds a bit shit pete, id expect it to last longer than that mate

 

Think I may have to buy a cheap Halfords one to put over the top of the CA one for now.

 

I am on my second CA cover. The first lasted about 4 years, the current one has nearly had it also after about 18 months. The inside is breaking down, leaves a fine powder over the car every time I use it, and no longer keeps the rain off totally like it should.

I emailed CA to ask what they thought a reasonable length of time one of their covers should last. Got no reply. I used to recommend these covers, not any more and I wouldn't buy another one off them.

Might try one from www.airflow-uk.com next. Spoke to the guy, says they are thicker and better quality than a CA one. Triple layer with a soft inner layer. He said he has had one on a car for 4 years, its very dirty but still doing its job the way it should. Pricey for a cover but I have no garage so limited options.

 

Heavy duty halfords one will last forever, but the car under it wont.

CA ones IMHO are perfect for short term storage ,they just let the car breathe SO well, I can put mine on the car wet and it be dry a week later when I take it off even if it has rained on and off since I put it away!

But no breathable cover will withstand being outside for too long, the wind plays havoc with the mounting points for the straps and the UV is harsh on the fabric.

Its doing a different job to the halfords and argos heavy duty ones which are basically no better than a tarpaulin.

 

Exactly my problem James, I want to keep the car clean and dry whilst its kept outside, hence the purchase of what I thought to be a very good cover, after years of buying cheaper ones, but alas not

I'm going to take my time over the next big car cover purchase

 

Car has not deteriorated at all from being under the cover, apart from a bit of paint chaffing on the wing mirrors, but I rattle can sprayed those and no lacquer, so that might have hastened that!

Shame they dont mention the 18month life span, but then again, why would they......

 

spot on chip.had a cheap cover on my old car when it was outside for a short time.it was wetter under neath with condensation than the outside was.i agree the classic additions should last way way longer than it did but i woulndt want any other one.

 

Without meaning to sound like money has no value, even 120 quid every 12 months is cheap to know the car is well looked after underneath!

A tenner a month to not get condendation related rot is far cheaper than a nasty 30 quid thick cover that doesnt breathe and condenses like fuck and ends up needing bodywork doing afterwards but lasts 10 years!

My car has been mainly in one of my garages so my CA cover hasnt had a huge amount of use compared to someone who's car lives outside all the time, but its probably done 12 months total outside at least, and the cover isnt looking too bad, if it were to fail now, I would buy another one straight away.

 

is a carport an option? coupled with a cheap cover too.

i need to seriously look into a decent cover for my non-watertight cortina this winter.

 

You should have been there when I had to explain to the wife the value of a £170 car cover over the £20 Halfords one!!

And now I have to tell her that it is now useless!!

Think I may have to soften the blow with a shopping trip for her first

 

im useing a halfords one it cost me about £50 been spot on for about 2 years now my mgb loves it lol

 

this is what you need mate
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/foru...d.php?t=146261

or this

http://www.airflow-uk.co.uk/Car-Airc...Sportscar.html

my car got damp inside due too a cover so i got a dehumidifier and put in the car
worked a treat

 

i had a cover on my 3dr for years as it lived on the drive and never had any issues what so ever. Wasnt a CA cover tho but it did cost me 80 quid at a ford show which was reduced from a hundred something.

 

i bought 1 of these for my drive, make up 2 metal poles fixed to the floor along the side of the car.the cover has straps at the bottom to hold it in place.

how to put it up and down http://www.touchlesscarcover.com/gallery1.html

picture of it fixed to the floor http://www.carcovershop.co.uk/Touchless_Car_Cover.asp

basically a big tent shaped to fit a car

 

there are these aswell, stronger build but cost more and they dont look very nice

http://www.canopiessouthwest.co.uk/c...ambulator.html

 

my old car used to get condensation on it in my damp garage so i brought an hamilton classics breathable cover and it kept it mint
i dont use it no more so if anyone wants it you can have it for £40 cost me £100,as good as new still

 

Just got off the phone to Classic Additions and they are going to replace my cover free of charge. So big thumbs up for that

Spoke to Adrian and he was very helpful and understanding of my concerns and suggested that if it was possible, that it might be a good idea to rotate my cars position to reduce one area's exposure to possible direct sunlight.

He also mentioned that they do strive to use the best materials that they can and still maintain a breathable cover.

Has restored my faith in the company and hopefully this new cover will last longer with the rotation thing