As soon as you buy a vehicle it starts to depreciate as soon as you drive it off the lot – cars are expensive and maintaining the look and performance of your vehicle can be too! A car cover is relatively very cheap and yet they provide the most effective means of protecting your investment short of keeping the vehicle in your garage.
By using a good quality car cover you will maintain the value of your investment in the vehicle as well as help to keep it looking its very best for when you are driving it. In addition, a car cover will save you time and money when it comes to maintaining it – you will need to wash and wax the vehicle less often because the elements which act to create dirt and grime will be drastically reduced due to the protective layer. Much of the inherent value in a car is stored in the appearance – if you maintain the bodywork and have a great looking paint job, then you will be ensuring you get more of your money back when you come to sell the vehicle down the road – a good looking car is also much easier to sell!
A good quality car cover will protect your vehicle from the effects of rain and snow melt; water is one of the major hazards to your vehicle in terms of both its looks and structural integrity. Rust can severely damage the paintwork but even more expensive than this is the effect rust has on the metal body work of the vehicle including crucial control systems such as steering gear, brakes and exhausts. Simply having to replace a rusted exhaust will be more than the cost of a good quality car cover for many drivers!
Make sure you choose a car cover which has low water permeability – water permeability is a measure of how well water can pass through the cover. The cover must allow water to pass from underneath and escape as well as allowing air to circulate; this will ensure that dampness is unable to build up causing mold and mildew as well as rust spots but, at the same time rain and snow melt will have washed off and dried before it has time to pass through to reach the vehicle underneath.
Ensure the car cover fits well and is easily fitted and stowed away when not in use. A light weight cover is more appropriate if you are using the car regularly and is easier to fit when the wind is blowing than a heavy duty cover. So saying, a heavy duty cover will afford greater physical protection from knocks and dings caused by pets and wildlife, tree debris and storm damage and the children playing near the stored vehicle.
One often overlooked preventative measure that a car cover brings is the deterrence it provides to thieves and vandals. If a car is fitted with a cover, opportunistic thieves are more likely to pass the car by because of the extra hassle of getting the cover off and so, the greater likelihood that they will be detected and caught.
Author Resource:
Jack Labens works for Empire Covers, a leading provider of car covers, truck covers, car mats, and other vehicle covers and accessories. Empire Covers can be found online at: http://www.empirecovers.com or at their blog http://www.empirecovers-blog.com .