What is my issue with car covers? Imagine looking into improving the appearance of your paint due to the damage you caused with a car cover, in an effort to (the irony) preserve the paint. Polishing to remove the damage caused by your cover, also means polishing away some of UV protective properties. The consequence of using a car cover comes full circle.
The short answer is the consequences of the damage involved with car cover use often contradict the reasons I am given by people for using them. The other excuses people make for why they need a car cover, there are alternatives. People often unknowingly asking me to provide a premium solution fixing paint damage cause by a car cover with the intention to preserve the paint. 9 years in a detailing business, I really have not found a good reason offered to justify using a car cover.
How much is that car cover?
I remember about 10 years ago (naive) asking an employee at an Autozone about a cheaper car cover. I never got a car cover by the way. But I asked about a less expensive option compared to the $400+ recommendation. His response, “do you want to pay thousands for a repaint or hundred for a cover.” Point taken. Which leads me to wonder. Lets start this evaluation at a price point where you are making a realistic effort to protect your paint.
Dirt (dragged across) scratches your paint, no matter the quality of your cover. What is considered a dirty car to the average person, is not the metric I use for a dirty car. Sitting in a garage (the same reason some people use the car cover) leaves a slightly dusty car. Rubbing dust with a microfiber towel can lead to swirls and micro marring. So how nice is that car cover again?
Swirls and scratches are a common consequence of car cover use, but not the only problem. This could be an issue with the appropriate car cover, but I have seen paint damage from moisture trapped between the car cover and the paint.
The most reasonable argument came from concerns about UV protection from the Florida sun. For one, my car has not been predominately in an enclosed garage. It is ten years old. Its paint is NOT failing. Imagine that. I would ask before hand what is the quality level and repetition that your car gets detailed? Not just talking about instant gratification. Using whatever spray a car wash has is not protection, regardless what fancy names they call it. Take that cost of a car cover and instead pay for a higher quality and more frequent detailing. Also keep in mind the cost of having me fix the damage you are surprised came from a car cover that I am telling you is worse than you realize. Also correcting this damage repeatedly is removing the best UV protection you have, your car’s clear coat.
I have never heard of a great reason to use a car cover. My issue with this is simple. I could understand seriously if you do not care that much about the appearance of your car, which marks and scratches really don’t bother you. But the fact you would make this investment and go through the trouble to do this, tells me you do care which leads me to the following. The problem is even in the valid case, there are alternatives, and it is doing comparable harm to your paint. Most people would not put the effort to safely remove a cover and keep it clean. The alternatives are significantly less taxing. Think about how realistic is it for that car cover to be perfectly clean? and your car? Even if everything is clean, rubbing to dry substances will lead to some marring. And usually there is debris and dust between the two unaccounted for. How realistic is it for you to lift and drop your car cover vertically up and down perfectly every time?