Keeping Car Covered in Sun - Good or Bad?


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Dear All,

My new car is usually kept covered in the sun all day long & I do cover it in my garrage after I drive back home. Is this advisable in summers also? I mean since the engine remains warm after driving to office, should one immediately cover the car? Can the paint/shine be affected due to this? I use the official Honda jazz cover provided by the dealer..

Cheers

Jazzy
 
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I can not comment on covering the car and keeping it under direct sunlight as I dont know if it is good or bad!. But if possible avoid parking the car in sun at all. Direct sunlight is not good for the paint, interior plastics and upholstery. In case there is no option, try to find a place where sunlight is present for some part of the day only.

Anyway coming to covering your car, always give sometime for the car engine bay and tyres to cool off and come to ambient temperature. It is not good to cover the car as soon as you park it after a drive.
 
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I can not comment on covering the car and keeping it under direct sunlight as I dont know if it is good or bad!. But if possible avoid parking the car in sun at all. Direct sunlight is not good for the paint, interior plastics and upholstery. In case there is no option, try to find a place where sunlight is present for some part of the day only.

Anyway coming to covering your car, always give sometime for the car engine bay and tyres to cool off and come to ambient temperature. It is not good to cover the car as soon as you park it after a drive.
Thanks buddy. I was thinking on the same lines too. With summers approaching, I will probably cover it after 10-15mins or so.

Cheers

Jazzy
 

350Z

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Keeping the car parked under a shelter is the best idea for summers. Just avoid direct sunlight and also it is not advisable to cover it straight after a drive. Allow some time for the parts to cool down. I usually cover up one car at night after returning from a long drive and other one which is used daily is not covered at all.

Drive Safe,
350Z
 
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Covering or no covering. Ensure that you keep your window a little open so that air flow get inside out via that window. It will keep your car's temperature down as well window glass would be intact. I have seen many people complaining that their glass broke due to heat inside the car due to parking under direct Sun light.

As far as covering the car concerned. Well it is up to you to decide that how frequently or regularly you can do it. Because car covers are just a sheet which covers it from dust and water and 100% times open from bottom part so air flow via that would happen and bring the temperature down.
 
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Covering or no covering. Ensure that you keep your window a little open so that air flow get inside out via that window. It will keep your car's temperature down as well window glass would be intact. I have seen many people complaining that their glass broke due to heat inside the car due to parking under direct Sun light.

As far as covering the car concerned. Well it is up to you to decide that how frequently or regularly you can do it. Because car covers are just a sheet which covers it from dust and water and 100% times open from bottom part so air flow via that would happen and bring the temperature down.
Hi Shalinder, I don't have any option as the parking is inside office premises but its an open parking(thank god I at least have a proper parking & its not on the road). Keeping window slightly open maybe a risky proposition dont you think? Moreover my main motive of covering the car at all times is mainly to prevent scratches which are done by miscreants whenever they see a new car. I have been a victim of this earlier.

Cheers

Jazzy
 
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guys one biggest harm of direct sunlight is on paint. i have seen car which were brought new but now its colour has faded because its parked in sun only! [cry]
 
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I cover the car after use.

After driving in city and returning back, i cover it up.

After long drives , as it will be dirty i won't cover it up.

And for Hawk there are 2 trees to cover it from Direct Sun.
 
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My car is always parked under direct sunlight. It can't be parked under shade. Is there any way for protecting it from direct sunlight other than covering?
 
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If the car is parked in direct sunlight, is it harmful to put the cover ? something like green house effect ? does it cause the car body to get more heated without any air circulation in direct sunlight. The heat from cover get transferred to the car body isn't it ?
 
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As few of you have pointed it out, covering your car immediately after a long(ish) drive is not advisable, as the cover acts as an insulation and the heat dissipation would be slow.

While protecting your car's paint job, plastic durability and shine, car should be covered in harsh summers but is generally not possible doing it everyday, day in and day out.

Give you an instance of my wife's car; bought in 2007 and ALWAYS covered when not in use. Her daily drive is not more than 9 Kms one way, which I assume should be fine when considering to cover the car. The paint quality, plastic shine and quality of the dashboard, steering, handles, and the bumpers are still factory new or recently waxed and polished. Whenever I take it to the workshop, the SA's always refuse to believe its 5 years old.

So, yes covering the car does help protect the paint and plastic shine and quality but do keep in mind that the car needs to cool down as well.
 
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But what happens if the car is parked in direct sunlight (without taking it outside for a long time), and if we put the cover, is it advisable ?
 
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But what happens if the car is parked in direct sunlight (without taking it outside for a long time), and if we put the cover, is it advisable ?
Harinhs,

You could definitely cover your car if you won't be using it for a long duration and keep it protected from the harsh summer heat and sunlight. However, even if you don't, its the paint and plastic quality that bears the brunt of it which won't be visible right away but after a prolonged exposure to heat and sunlight.
 
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Buy a good quality UV protected cover, the cover should reflect heat outwards (not transmit inwards unless you use your car to also bake a cake).
Also its a good idea to let the car cool down before putting a cover and needless to say after you remove the cover and drive down , keep the windows rolled down for a while.[cheers]

Also keep the covers clean, they do get inverted inadvertently (if they are same color inside out) and the dust inside can cause scratches
 
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My car is always parked under direct sunlight. It can't be parked under shade. Is there any way for protecting it from direct sunlight other than covering?
Use paint protection coats from the likes of 3m or others, but they last for 3-6 months depending on the quality of the job and how you keep your ride maintained (its like a thin coat over the body which kind of locks the body texture and ensure paint fade later than usual)
or
4 guys can stand around all day with a large umbrella each but then you could rather put a cover on (but the harder part in this will be to find the umbrellas that could cover the car fully) [:)]

Sorry for the back to back posts mods, please merge if you can
 

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