[MSCW list] Car Covers (Lawrence Hyde)

[W Forlini]

Lawrence,

My ’91 has spent the majority of its life with me living outside under a cover along with some friends here in NoVA. For me, a quality cover is a must to protect the car and paint from the elements and other crud like leaves, bird droppings, those little helicopter things and that crazy yellow pollen we get around here.

Most of my covers are from Covercraft. They have several different options when it comes to material and a pretty decent chart to help you decide what might work best for you. I stick with their five-layer all climate covers. The five-layer is kinda bulky, not cheap and won’t last forever but it’s probably the best compromise between cost and protection. Covercraft's covers are custom cut to your specific year/make/model and include mirror pockets and antenna options. You may not think you need a custom-fit cover until you see the less-expensive generic cover you bought fly off the car and blow down the street during the first big storm. I haven’t had any custom-fit covers fly off in the wind - though I also use a cable and lock as added insurance. My Miata’s cover fits equally well with either the soft top up or when I have the factory hard top installed.

Good quality covers are usually warranted for about four years and that’s about the actual lifetime I’ve been getting from them. Expect a five-layer cover for a Miata to cost a little over $200 (or roughly $50 a year in my head.) You can order Covercraft covers from several online vendors or from Covercraft themselves. It has been my experience that all covers end up shipping direct from Covercraft no matter who I purchase from so I’m always looking for a company that’s offering free shipping and/or having a good sale.

There are other companies out there and many use the same or similar materials for their covers - usually produced by Kimberly-Clark. Many, including Covercraft, will send some samples of their material to examine upon request.

Good luck on your cover quest.

Walter



> On Aug 20, 2024, at 5:29 PM, mscw-request at lists.mscw1.com wrote:
> 
> Due to circumstances beyond my control, my Miata may need to spend the 
> winter parked outside the garage.? I will search the interweb for info 
> and opinions, but I thought I'd start here first.? Does anyone have 
> firsthand experience with a car cover for your Miata?? Any particular 
> brand or features that are good, or ones I should steer clear of?
> 
> Thanks in advance
> Lawrence