Better to leave my car outside in the elements or get a car cover?

A

Amberelise

New member
I just bought a 2012 Hyundai Elantra. I live in downtown Chicago and have an assigned space in an outdoor lot outside my condo building. The condo association would absolutely NOT allow me to erect any sort of garage or carport over my spot.



We use the car every other weekend to to pick up and drop off my boyfriend's kids in Wisconsin. Otherwise, we generally use the car sparingly with perhaps the odd errand on our free weekends.



I would be horrified if by using a car cover I've done more harm than good. The problem is, my location makes it impossible for me to wash my car every time I want to put the cover on. The nearest car wash is a mile away (which is about an 8 minute drive through wet and overly salted city streets).



Should I get the cover, or am I better off just keeping the car waxed up? Last night we washed the car at the car wash and then drove it to the indoor parking lot at Target to clay, seal and wax the car. You really have to be inventive when living in the city with no garage!
 
In your urban situation I would choose to go without a cover. A good treatment of a sealant and interior products with UV inhibitors will work out just fine.



There are certainly benefits to covers, but only if you can easily maintain their care and use properly, which in your case, is not convenient.
 
Brad B. said:
In your urban situation I would choose to go without a cover. A good treatment of a sealant and interior products with UV inhibitors will work out just fine.



There are certainly benefits to covers, but only if you can easily maintain their care and use properly, which in your case, is not convenient.
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I 100% agree with Brad
 
I'd say it depends. A quality cover will prevent bird bombs and other stuff from etching your paint. It will also help with door dings. Is the marring induced from the cover worse than those two? That's your call.
 
Thank you, guys. We park next to supports for a balcony on one side and no one has ever been assigned the spot on our left, so up to this point the chance for door dings have been minimal. But, something to definitely keep in mind if that space is ever assigned.



If anyone else has another point of view, I'm all ears. :)
 
Amberelise- Welcome to Autopia!



I to think you're better off without the cover. Just too much potential for damage to justify it unless there's some "terrible conditions" situation to consider (fallout, etc.).
 
Amberelise said:
If anyone else has another point of view, I'm all ears. :)
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Ms. Amber, welcome aboard! My father just got the same car. Doing very well so far. Truly amazing content for the money :cool:



Yeah, the outside car cover theory is a non-starter, as the others have mentioned. Personally, I'd give very strong consideration to one of the two "permanent" sealants since the car is going to be exposed 24/7. In fact, I can't really come up with any other ideas apart from re-sealing the car every 6 months or so (which will lose its appeal after a year).
 
I agree with Brad, Tom, Jason and Accumulator that no cover is better.. putting a car cover on a salt encrusted car in winter would cause marring of the paintwork. You could do it for spring (once the streets are swept), summer and fall...
 
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