S3 Hatch Outdoor Cover

[Boydie]

Potentially buying a run around and keeping the miles off the S3

Instead of letting it just sit naked in the drive and protect it from the cat take the bonnet as a short cut, what car cover would you recommend for outdoors?

Paint work is pristine so don't want anything that will possibly cause marring (I may expect something)

Thanks for your help

 

[Bells]

Potentially buying a run around and keeping the miles off the S3

Instead of letting it just sit naked in the drive and protect it from the cat take the bonnet as a short cut, what car cover would you recommend for outdoors?

Paint work is pristine so don't want anything that will possibly cause marring (I may expect something)

Thanks for your help

You get issues with every cover according to the detailers I’ve watched on YouTube and spoken to in person over the years, they all hate them with a passion. Unless you’re washing the car every time the cover goes on you’ll always get some marring / scratching to the paintwork unfortunately.

I’d either not bother or look into getting your bonnet ppf’d instead - would be cheaper in the long run compared to a full detail to repair the damage a cover would do.

 

[Boydie]

Sounds good @Bells - I do a lot of detailing and know the issues that may arise hence my query

 

[Harvey]

I have been using covers for years on my cars and always wash prior to covering and use a double cover method so there's one fitted cover underneath and another cover one size larger over this which fits under the front and rear bumpers to give a better full coverage. I then use plastic eyelets I fit to the outer cover to the front and rear of each wheel and loop a bungie around the rear of each wheel so there a four fixing points to the cover. I've never ever had a cover come off or get damaged doing this and my cover recommendation is not to bother with the expensive ones and just buy a decent quality as they all suffer from UV damage at some point. No matter what you do the paintwork will suffer when using car covers so just wash wash wash before covering and keep the paint polished.

The wife's Astra mk3 lives under here under a carport.

You can see my Astra mk2 behind the Audi which lives outside.

 

[Boydie]

You see I want something - this will be a first for me owning a second car and keeping a "good" car for weekends/the odd day

I dont have a garage big enough to keep it in or a car port but a big enough drive to let it sit - I dont want to garage it somewhere else as it will not be used as often

Any links to something ideal?

 

[Harvey]

I use the StreetWize Waterproof Car Cover Large (SWWCCL is the short code) for my outer cover on the Astra mk2 & mk3 which fully cover nicely and these are a similar size to the A3/S3 mk3 Hatchback & Sportback. Argos sell these for £35 click me. The full StreetWize Waterproof covers are these so don't get confused with the breathable covers which aren't waterproof and designed for indoor use.

 

[Harvey]

These are just my recommendations but it's worked for me over the years so grab yourself some plastic eyelets like these click me and just tap with a hammer to fit front and rear of each wheel. Then get 4x bungies at roughly 800mm long and loop behind each wheel to keep the cover in place. I've used this method for years and you can reuse the eyelets multiple times but I don't bother fitting the rubber washers they come with.