Peek in any parking garage or drive around any multiunit residential area, and you see them ? cars that are individually covered.
Sometimes they are in the garage for weeks. Sometimes an owner takes the cover off each morning and repositions it on the car each night. Good idea?
“It depends on why they are covering them,” said Approved Automotive Repair Specialist Jeffrey Boone of the Towson office of AAA Mid-Atlantic, headquartered in Wilmington, Del. “On a day-to-day basis when you are using the car every day, it is overkill even if you don’t have a garage.”
The reason, he said, is because covers are notorious for rubbing through cars? paint if they don’t fit correctly. Even if they do fit correctly, the paint can be damaged if the car is not properly waxed. That?s especially true if the car isn?t thoroughly cleaned, he said, because the covers drag the salt, road grime and cinders over them.
The types of car covers range from plastic, waterproof covers to those made of more breathable materials. Choice depends on the conditions the car will endure. But overall, the worst choice is waterproof covers, which allow condensation to build on the car.
“It?s almost like putting glasses in the dishwasher,” said Boone?s AAA colleague Ed Kriston, also an approved automotive repair specialist. “Trying to get those spots off can cause damage.”
But for some car owners, covers make sense. Those with expensive cars they drive occasionally are good candidates.
Generally, those car owners meticulously clean their cars, park them in garages and then put plain cotton covers over them. That?s the best way, Kriston said.
“I have spent a lot of time in my life taking care of vehicles, and I’ve never been a fan of car covers,” said Boone. “All it takes is one time of not putting it on or removing it correctly, and you have damaged your car.”
On the web
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