WE’VE GO IT COVERED
I used not to be overly keen on car covers – or not outdoor ones, anyway. Too many memories of ancient, semi-derelict saloons (not mine!) mouldering on sidestreets beneath heavygauge plastic sheets in rainy 1970s’ Merseyside, probably.
I have, though, bought a number of more modern ones over the last few years, in an effort to keep the worst of the weather off at least some of my own now ancient and semi-derelict saloons. Most have come from Halfords, at around £50–65 a time, and although they are for a variety of reasons not ideal, they have none the less proved to be reasonably effective – and especially given their modest cost.
I certainly wasn’t planning on buying a cover for the Boxster. The car is going to be in regular use, and with sound paintwork, a zinc-coated body, and not least that hard-top to keep rainwater out of the electrics (see last month’s Technical Topics), it’s surely about as weatherproof as they come. But then Mark Wibberley of carcovershop.co.uk offered me one of his waterproof and breathable outdoor covers to try, and with the first named storm of the autumn on the way, I was very happy to accept.
First impressions are excellent. The stretchy black fabric feels far nicer than the cheap generic jobs, and has a soft inner texture to protect the paint – although as Mark emphasises, the car should always be clean when you drape the cover over it, to prevent dust and dirt acting as an abrasive medium. Crucially, though, while 100 per cent waterproof from the outside, the breathable fabric allows moisture beneath it to evaporate, and so the car doesn’t have to be dry to start with.
The cover, which retails for what I think is a remarkably low £205, is fairly simple to put on – and then, no less importantly, to remove and store. An easily visible label marks the front end (elasticated, as is the rear, for a snug fit), and as long as you employ some kind of system as you unroll and then roll the cover up again, it should be easy enough to retain the correct orientation – and not to let it drag along the ground. Unlike some more expensive tailored covers this one has no mirror pockets, but frankly I think those might spoil both the look and the fit, and so I am perfectly content to do without.
Downsides, as with any cover, are securing it in place with the two straps that pass beneath the body – that’s going to involve crawling around on the ground, whichever way you pitch it – and then trying to stop my much-loved cats exercising their claws on it. (And that’s another reason why I have not yet taken off the hard-top; they would adore the feel of that lovely blue hood.) But that’s a small price to pay for something that appears to offer such effective and convenient protection – and with winter on the way the cats are probably not going to be doing much sunbathing any time soon…
I shall end this month with a brief note about cover of a rather different but no less important kind: insurance. You might remember that I added the Boxster to my and Mrs Horton’s existing multi-car policy with Cardiff-based Admiral. The cost back then was around £50, and I was equally pleasantly surprised when the renewal documents came through for the next 12 months. Fully comprehensive, 5000 miles a year, and with both legal-costs protection and windscreen cover – £265. You can’t really argue with that, can you?