[TorqMaster]

Posting this with hope,

I recently bought a car cover for my Manza from Tata Motors Genuine Accessories. Last night the cover was slit for about 2 feet near the right front wheel and around 2 incles further, holes have been made.

Looks like some vehicle was too close to the my parked vehicle and has ripped the cover. Atleast that's what I was able to conclude with my limited knowledge. No bite marks anywhere, just a clean long slit and the holes.

Is there a solution to repair the cover?

Its hardly 10 days old. And I have no covered parking.

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by TorqMaster

Is there a solution to repair the cover?

Here's what I did when a dog/cat (or some other animal) had torn my car cover. I bought 2 metres of cotton canvas of a similar shade.
Then I grafted sections of the canvas onto the torn sections of the cover from the back-side. Tools used - needle and thread for the difficult corners, and for the easier straight-line sewing needs I used a regular Usha sewing machine.
Just made sure that any dust/grime from the car cover did not end up inside the precision machinery of the Usha sewing machine.

Also, I regularly cover both my cars when they are parked on the street. Lesson learnt from hard experience-one can say.
Many years ago, my Santro had been parked outside for over 3 months under a tree (IIRC June through August). It was rarely used during this time. One morning, when I started the car, and pulled out, the passenger footwell got a liberal shower of harvested rainwater.
What had happened was that the drain holes had got blocked with the dried leaves (from summer), and then when the rains came, with the drain holes plugged, the water seeped into the cabin!
I ended up with a very smelly cabin, which took considerable effort to clean up.

Ever since then, I make it a point to cover my car with a cover when parked outside home, even if it's only for a few hours. Because one never knows when the few hours can stretch to a few days.

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by bblost

To put on and remove the car cover, I use the following steps.

Took the pictures while taking the cover off. To put it on the same steps in reverse. Note that the belt is removed at the very end of removing the cover and its the first that I connect when putting it on.

Neat - it is better way mine (remove clip, lift it off the bonnet and roll it down the hatch - so as to ensure that it doesn't snag with the antenna).

BTW, I have been using covers for more than 15 years. Name it, and I must have used it - from the OE of Maruti / FIAT, to the after market green tarp, parachute material, Tyvek... et al.

Tyvek was good - but prone to tears. It was the best of the lot, as it lasted nearly three years.

OE covers caused minimum damage to the exterior - but pathetic protection again dust and rain.

It was time to buy a cover again, and I came across this www.coverit.in

Looked good, as the description made it evident that there was some thought going into the design. Went ahead and bought it.

Got delivery last week.

It is a green tarp type material - but not cloth / fabric based. Appears to be a some type of water resistant plastic (nylon?). For the first time, I saw a cover with a really excellent belt - thick and strong. The seams are triple stitched. The ORVM pockets are good. The material is good and heavy, and hence does not flap in wind. It completely covers the car almost till the ground. Appears far superior to the ones I have used so far!

Picture attached.

Draw back - (a) no eyelets in the front and back, which will help the cover to be tied down, in case of need; (b) heavy, and taking it off or putting it on needs some effort.

Long term effects of the material on the body needs to be observed.

Cost - Rs. 1,870/- (inclusive of delivery).

The company is based in Bangalore, and their website shows that they are making various other articles.

[GTO]

Man, this is the height of stinginess. The owner of these cars is using tarpaulin sheets, cut shoddily to fit . Might be cheap, but the hard material is sure to damage his paint job.

Not like he doesn't have money. He owns a couple of fairly new cars.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by GTO

Man, this is the height of stinginess. The owner of these cars is using tarpaulin sheets, cut shoddily to fit. Might be cheap, but the hard material is sure to damage his paint job.

Not like he doesn't have money. He owns a couple of fairly new cars.

Cars are for transportation. As if he bothered of the paint job etc.

He is just worried that debris isn't falling in his 'precious' cars.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I suppose, as a one-off while building work is done, it is certainly better than nothing.

[rav11stars]

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

It was time to buy a cover again, and I came across this www.coverit.in

Looked good, as the description made it evident that there was some thought going into the design. Went ahead and bought it.

Got delivery last week.

It is a green tarp type material - but not cloth / fabric based. Appears to be a some type of water resistant plastic (nylon?). For the first time, I saw a cover with a really excellent belt - thick and strong. The seams are triple stitched. The ORVM pockets are good. The material is good and heavy, and hence does not flap in wind. It completely covers the car almost till the ground. Appears far superior to the ones I have used so far!

I already have the Recaro type cover; but it gets all wet even with a light shower of rain. It ruined two nice washes and now the car lies without a wash nor a cover from the past two weeks.
Thanks to you, I see three products in the website. I'll order one of them as I park out in the open and birds take a liking to the red colour

[dpkbehera]

Any feedback regarding car covers from Autofurnish would be appreciated. It is also available on amazon.in.

[AjiGTI]

Is it advisable to cover a car when it is parked in the open?

[Metallicar]

Originally Posted by dpkbehera

Any feedback regarding car covers from Autofurnish would be appreciated. It is also available on amazon.in.

I am also seeing some of their covers on Amazon but they are costly but look awesome. There are no reviews yet. Hoping to order soon.

[wishnipon]

In the humid Kolkata weather, a cover is indispensable if you don't have a closed garage. A car left in the open to gather dust invites moisture leading to rust formation in the long run. By keeping the forces of nature at bay, a cover goes a long way in maintaining the car in showroom condition.

My garage is open on the sides. The amount of dust collecting daily on the car was driving me crazy. I soon realized the importance of a car cover. I got one from Polco, made of Tyvek - a breathable, ultraviolet resistant, water resistant material. The cover is very thin but has held good over the past six months. It is extremely light and hence easy to manage. The light colour (off white) looks good and probably safe on the white paint of my car. I read somewhere that dark colored covers can bleed on a light coloured paint.



There is a certain technique to follow when putting the cover on the car or taking it off to prevent scratching the paint surface. The instructions came with the Polco packaging, I have added a few extra points:

• When removing the cover, dust it first.
• Fold the cover from the two sides so that the cover now lies on the roof - looking like a shirt.
• Roll (not drag) it small folds from the bonnet to the back, never rubbing the cover against the paint.
• Clean the car with a duster every time before covering it
• Place the cover on the roof towards the rear end.
• Put the cover by unfolding and unrolling it in the reverse order.

[sinhead]

I too roll the cover, But from the sides instead of the front. I had used a dark blue cover once (unbranded variety), it did bleed. Another lesson I learnt having been using a cover for more than 3 years - Keeping a wet cover on the car during monsoons or using a cover that doesn't dry fast, aggravates the rust, because it tends to hold moisture for really long.

[callvvijay]

Mods: I'm not sure if this warrants a new thread or can be merged into any existing ones. Request you to merge this post into appropriate thread if needed.

I have been looking out for car-cover for my cars and as most of you would agree, putting a car-cover and taking it off on a daily basis is a bit tedious work.
Now, when I was googling for some different solution for this, I came across a couple of out-of-box approach which makes the whole process of covering a car very easy. However, I'm not sure about the availability of such covers in India.

#1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKbtDGZEDec

This looks very tempting. I know there would be concerns on the safety aspect of this as this is prone to get stolen. However, upon putting some extra effort, I'm sure we can get some good ideas to mitigate this concern. Suggestions welcome.
I chanced upon a similar idea - but on a smaller scale - a mosquito net (check out http://easymosquitonet.com/)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSCgqqfSCJ4

#2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVFghE0Q9vk

Though, this does not provide a full-body protection, it is very convenient when you have to protect your car from heat.

#3:
Scroll over to 0:35secs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv0PNWn02wA

Very similar to the usual car-cover that we use. The addition is that it can be directly rolled out from/into a bag.

These three types of car-covers were very much appealing and makes life easy. When we have such a high car-population in the country, I think that these should be available somewhere. Unfortunately, googling doesn't help me in locating any dealers in India.

Cheers!

[shreyak_ss]

Guys, need some help. I have been using car cover for my Octavia bought from the dealership itself. Now, after 2 years of usage, the cover has gotten loose and since my driveway is quite windy, the cover flutters and dust seeps into it, thus defeating the purpose of a cover as well as causing more scratches to the body.
I have been on the lookout for a new cover. Have heard about the Polco tyvek and the tph covers. I quite liked the tph cover since it fits the body well and is custom made for the car. But it's really expensive. So has anyone used tph cover? Can you please tell me if its worth it and if it maintains it's shape for a long time. Does it stay well in case of windy situations? Also, which is the best product to buy from their portfolio. Please help.

[sinhead]

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

Tools used - needle and thread for the difficult corners, and for the easier straight-line sewing needs I used a regular Usha sewing machine.

Any special thread needed for this? Not sure if the regular household thread used for clothes would work?