Car Cover Polypropylene. Breathable?

Joined
Apr 7, 2010
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Miami
I haven't bought a car cover in a long while. I'm looking to buy one for my temporarily retired commuter car. My wife and I are pulling my commuter car off insurance to save $1000+ year on car insurance.

Browsing what's popular, it seems a lot of the mid-tier car covers are made of something called Polypropylene. It looks quite a bit different from the breathable car covers I bought over a decade ago. This stuff looks like thin tarp material. I can't find much information about this stuff online. Does anyone know if this stuff is breathable? I don't want to spend 400+ for my 20 year old beater car. CarCover.com has a $200 polypropylene car cover I'm interested in. It's their platinum line and they say it's made of polypropylene.

There's not a lot of detailed discussion, material information, or long term review of these car covers. Are they more damage than good? Keep in mind this car will be sitting outside for probably the next 6 months under a tree. That's why I want to buy a car cover, to keep the sap off and bird droppings. Would a $200 car cover cause more damage than good?

Appreciate the input. Thanks.
 
If the polyprop is a solid sheet, it is not breathable. If it is made of PP fibers weaved together into a fabric, it is breathable unless it has a coating. There are some breathable PP covers.

Personally, I would apply a synthetic sealant and wax, then just check it every now and then for sap and bird guano, as well as check the tires to make sure they aren't losing air, and drive it every few weeks, leaving only a little gas in and refilling only partial tanks so it isn't getting terribly old, especially if it has ethanol in it.
 
When I put my Miata away for the winter I used a $60 cover from eBay. I don't know if it was breathable or not. Was cotton lined and still looked good after 4 years of use. When I uncovered it in the spring the car was dry and looked the same as when I put it away. When I looked at it the winter under 4 inches of snow I felt better having it covered.
 
When I put my Miata away for the winter I used a $60 cover from eBay. I don't know if it was breathable or not. Was cotton lined and still looked good after 4 years of use. When I uncovered it in the spring the car was dry and looked the same as when I put it away. When I looked at it the winter under 4 inches of snow I felt better having it covered.
Cool. Thanks for the example. I may stick an iron bolt underneath the cover and another beside it on top, and see if the corrosion differs in anyway, just to satisfy my mind.
 
I always did, fresh oil change, full gas tank, inside air vent closed, steel wool in exhaust pipes and air filter intake and tires inflated to 50 psi.
Mine was stored on a paved pad. If it was on dirt or grass I'd put down some kind tarp ask a vapor barrier.
 
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I’ve found an easy to satisfy my own curiosity. I’m just going to check underneath the car on humid, saturated mornings where there is lots of dew. If the underside of the car is moist, I’m probably going to toss it, but if it’s dry, than it’s doing a good job. This morning the car was as dry as a bad joke. Looks to be breathable so far.

I’d rather have the car covered for 6 months than be covered by bird droppings. I am not interested in washing this car while it sits. Even yesterday, when I was putting it on, in the span of 3 days there were 4-6 bird droppings on it. The tree life! Grrr
 
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