I'm in need of an outdoor cover for a MK2. Prices on ebay vary wildly from less than 30 to 200+ appreciate you get what you pay for but wonder if anyone can suggest any recommendations? Cheers
I have recently gone through this exercise and narrowed it down to Every Car Covered - WeatherPro £164 https://www.everycarcovered.com/products/vw-golf-mk2-mk3-mk4-1983-2003-weatherpro-car-cover Storm Stormforce - Outdoor £187.96 https://www.stormcarcovers.co.uk/products/vw-car-covers Richbrook - Stormguard £195 https://richbrook.co.uk/product/stormguard-volkswagen-tailored-4-layer-outdoor-car-covers/ All of the above are a 4 layer all year cover: robust outer layer, padded second layer, soft inner lining with waterproof/breathable membrane. They are all listed as the same product for Mk1 to Mk4, so clearly not perfectly tailored to a Mk2. Additional straps and locking kits are available for extra £££. All three companies produce other covers, there are winter only ones which are cheaper as 2 layer option. I imagine they would sweat in warm days and break down in direct sunlight. Also indoor covers and other accessories. The specs, descriptions and reviews for all 3 products are very similar. The most expensive, the Richbrook one has sone Auto Express awards, 2021 and 2022. The cheapest, Every Car Covered seems like the 'underdog', I get the impression it's a smaller family run business and this make me feel like even though it's cheaper the quality would be no less, they're just trying to stay competitive. On this occasion Trust pilot offers no help, Every Car Covered (3.5) and Storm Car Covers (3.1) but out of only 4 reviews each it's easy to get bad results when a couple of people have a negative experience. For Every Car Covered on of the negative comments is about the customer service not the product. Richbrook scored 3.8 but out of only have 3 reviews and all for different products. There is another company that offers tailored fit specific to a Mk2 but other than the link below I'm not going any further with that as that price is just too much for me. Specialised Covers - Stormshield £249 https://www.specialisedcovers.com/stormshield-outdoor-
In the end I went with the every car covered one as it was cheaper. It’s a bit baggy, as I said above it’s designed to for mk1 to 4, and clearly there’s a size difference between models. But although baggy it’s a good tight fit where it counts, with the elastic around the bottom. mine is a big bumper. I’ve literally only put it on this week. I had shows two weeks running and didn’t need to use the car in between. So since it was clean for the first show I decided to keep the bird shit and tree sap from my neighbours tree off it. But as it happens we’ve had some pretty stormy weather so glad I put it on. I can’t imagine the other two options would be much different.
I've bought a couple of generic covers recently to keep the rain off project cars and would say they're... not great. I paid about £30 each because I'm cheap. I went for a cover for slightly larger cars and they are a bit baggy and flap about when it's windy but not lost one yet. First one I got had a zip on one side for front door access. It leaked and let the rain in, would not recommend. Second one without zip hasn't leaked yet. It's also silver which seems to keep the car cool even on spanking sunny days. Amazon link - I got size "A2" Best photo I could easily find is above - you can see how baggy the cover is. Not sure how much the paint is getting damaged due to the cover flapping about and likely rubbing on the bodywork but would assume that it's not doing it any favours. Both covers I got have straps at each corner that I thread through wheels to tie up. This is OK as long as you have big enough holes in your wheels. It's a PITA otherwise. There's also a strap which goes under the middle of the car with a crappy plastic clip that has broken on both covers I have. I would be interested to hear what the more expensive covers are like, probably wouldn't buy one though. Once I get my cars watertight again I will be taking the covers off.
@AKAeddypeck A mate of mine bought a cover for his 205 from Specialised car covers since they're local ish to us. He lives on a hill and specifically asked them if it would be OK in heavy winds. They said it would be, and it wasn't. Didn't last a winter.
I dont have any space to keep my car inside so treated my car to one of these Outdoor Carcoon Archives - Carcoon Storage Systems i didnt want a cover rubbing and wearing the new paint.
im keen on protecting my golf as well but was told covers can retain moisture and cause rust. what is everyones thoughts ?
This is why I'm not so keen on long term cover usage, especially the cheap ones that claim to be breathable but almost certainly aren't! @drunkenalan fancy pants! Cheaper alternative could be something like a small gazebo / marquee type thing?
i looked at marquee or gazebo's but didn't want a metal frame being moved about by the wind near my car the bubble is very good, i only have a thin dust cover over the car to protect it, whilst put the cover on or off. it consumes about 6p of electric a day. and has only stopped working twice in a year, both time because the plug came out the Fan. i have ordered a small 12v solar panel to connect to a car battery to see if i can run it like that, the fans are only 12v computer sized fans.
Yeah, I got the Stormforce one and it has done a great job of protecting from the sun and keeping the car dry for 3 years now and it’s still going strong. Can take the cover off when the cars been sitting in the sun all day and the interior will be coolish, ie not baking hot inside so full protection from UV on the exterior and interior. It is waterproof too for winter. Only problem is in the winter when it’s cold and the bodywork is freezing I do then get some condensation under the cover which sits on the paintwork which is hard to dry out. I just make sure it’s polished with Autoglym which helps seal the paintwork and let the cover slide about when it’s windy. Covers aren’t the perfect solution but do, on the whole, work well and keep all the cavities dry like inside the doors, scuttle tray, sunroof recess, etc where otherwise water would sit all the time in winter. Pricey on the face of it, but if it lasts three years that’s only a quid a week or so.
I bought a bespoke one for my GTO years ago, Fleece lined tailored fit. Worth spending a bit more as they are much better quality imho. Only downside is car has to be spotless as any dirt between cover and car could cause scratches.
