I need a good cover for my 05' Roadster. Id like to avoid the $350-$400.
But, I live on the beach. no covered parking. intense sun, wind, somtimes w/sand, Heavey yet brief thunderstorms, and the occassional Hurricane.
Why do I live on the beach?
Can I get something good in the $200 range. How are the Noah, The Evalution?

 

Hurricane?..............don't think a cover will be much good. Enjoy the beach, snowing here!

 

Covers and tires provoke religious discussions on this forum. I bought some cheap Walmart covers for my 2005s since they live in a garage, My son took his 2007 to FL and I wanted a good cover for his outdoor parking, We ended uo with one from The Cover Store (the-cover-store.com) but made compromises, They seem to either a) protect from rain or b) protect from bumps and scratches or c) last a long time, but not all three without spending a lot of money. We elected to go with a cover that was thicker and claimed to protect the car from bumps/scratches at the expense of repelling water and long term durability. I also was not sure how much he would use it and did not want to spend a ton of money on soemthing he would jam in his trunk. If it was me, I would spend the $200-300 and buy the best fitted cover I could and make sure it has pockets for the mirrors, which tends to keep it tighter against the car and prevents crap from blowing in underneath. Crap under a blowing cover causes swirls and just leaves a mess, defeating the purpose of having a cover. There are a lot of cover sellers and google is your friend.

 

I have the Noah. Repels light rain well, but medium to heavy rain will soak through. It's breathable, so it does dry out. It's heavy enough to protect against scratches, but I don't think anything will stop dents. Although it's a perfect, tight custom fit the the SRT roadster, in heavy winds you need to have the cable lock running under the car or air will get under the cover and the front will come off (often followed by the rear!) In your hurricane winds, even with the lock on, you will return to your car to find the cover off of the front and back with only the cable keeping it from being 2 counties away!

After 2 years in the weather (late spring-late fall...garaged during winter), the wind rubbing on the convertible top causes the under side of the cover to get fuzzy and leave lint on the top. Mine is a weekend nice weather driver, so it spent way more time under the cover than being driven (currently 6500 miles). I'm going to have my friend's Mom, who's a seamstress, sew a piece of nylon or non-linting material on the underside of the cover just where the convertible top is, because the lint drives me crazy! If it was truely waterproof, I would worry about her stitching breaking the water barrier in the cover exterior, but like I said, it's water resistent!

I'd buy another one. I think it has held up well given the amount of weather it has seen. I did expect it to be a little more water "proof", but I guess if it's got to breathe, then it's going to let the heavy rain through. It's also protected the car well from the sun (no foggy headlight lense), bird droppings, fall leaves, fireworks, etc.

One suggestion i can give is for placing the antenna grommet. You have to cut a small hole where the antenna is and place a plastic grommet (supplied with cover) on the hole to keep the cover from tearing. I put the cover on as best as I could with the antenna still attached to the car and then eye-balled the hole location. After I cut the whole (slightly off from where I really needed it), I realized that the stock antenna just unscrews. I should have unscrewed the antenna, put the cover on, felt through the cover for the antenna base and then cut the grommet hole exactly where it needed to be. Since my hole was off by an inch and a half or so, it put unnecessary stress on the cover at the grommet and the cover did tear a little after about 1.5 years. Just enough to relieve the stress, but it's still a 1.5 inch tear!

I can't speak of the other covers, but I wanted to give my review of the Noah since I saw you had a convertible and the lint after 2 years use drives me crazy. Coupes shouldn't have any problems!
Mike

 

I have the CoverCraft Evolution. It's a good high dollar one year cover if used outside. After one year,rain easily soak's right thru it. Always leaving lint all over my car as the material continually breaks down. Other than the excellent fit, i don't have anything good to say about it. If you find a good outside car cover,I would be interested in purchasing one also. Squirrel Crusher

 

~ check with: Auto Accessories & Aftermarket Parts at AutoAnything | Truck Accessories & Car Accessories | Floor Mats, Tonneau Covers & Car Covers

they have great prices and a large selection (with custom fit).

 

I say spend the big bucks. It's usually a case of "You get what you pay for!" You'll buy something so,so be disappointed and turn around and buy the expensive one anyway. I ended up with Cover King's "Storm".

 

I'll addend that my cheapie cover also tore around the antenna hole. If I had to do it over, I would just remove/replace the antenna each time. It's a one minute job.