Hi there, new (to me) Tesla owner here. Just traded in my 2018 Honda Clarity for a 2018 Tesla 3 Dual Motor Long Range due to the pending fuel pump recall with no ETA on parts and the basic math making the trade a no brainer. I'm completely blown away by the experience of the Tesla vs. the Honda from two very different 2018 cars with quite similar used prices. As for my question: we park our car outside since we use our garage for high-end mountain bikes. I'd like to get a car cover to protect it, but the Tesla ones are $$$. Any recommendations on durable alternatives? Pros would be relatively easy to put on/take off and ability to hold up over time. Portability isn't an issue bc I likely will use the cover only at home.
Nice. I'm been browsing this channel and you remind me of my dad, a retired NASA engineer. It's a good comparison. Here's mine. Squirrels like to sit in the tree and poop on my car, so I'd like to cover the whole thing.
In my 1.5-car garage, I have bike hoists to make room for my Honda Clarity. Unless you have one of those flat-roofed garages that would prevent you from hoisting the bikes out of the way, I'd suggest this alternative to a car cover. To prevent dirt and grime from transferring to the inside of my car cover, I'm reticent to put the cover on my second (outside) car unless the car is clean. Otherwise, I worry the dirt and grime would scratch my car's finish later. So I ridiculously end up washing and drying my car before a possible hailstorm just so I can put the cover on without getting it dirty (and grimy).
In August I traded-in my 2018 Clarity on a new 2023 M3 RWD. Here's a good discussion: https://www.teslaownersonline.com/threads/car-cover-whats-the-best-cover-that-is-actually-available.8804/ That said, this one comes highly recommended by several sources: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09BYZ6GC5 Of course, you can't go wrong with Weathertech - but you're gonna pay a LOT: https://www.weathertech.com/tesla/2018/model-3/sunbrella/car-cover-bodystyle-option/withchargeportopening/
We actually ride bikes more than drive the car, so making it less convenient to access the bikes is not appealing. We also have an extra-high popcorn ceiling garage in the place we rent Good point on only covering the car when it is super clean though. I picked up one of those Amazon covers, but haven't tried it yet because the squirrels already made their marks.