Stange goings on last night
11-12-2010, 01:19 AM
#1
Stange goings on last night
Cut a long story short, fed up of having to clean my car every week as a result of parking on a "tree lined street" due to bird crap and tree sap in London, I invested in a cover which I have had on my car for 7 months without issue.
Yesterday was windy, sure. At 2am I know the car cover was on my car. At 5.30 its gone. Cover had 2 straps underneath and one strap on each wingmirror holding it on, and the cover itself is a snug fit.
No sign of the cover this morning. 2 wing mirror velcro straps are beside the car. No sign of cover on my road or neighbouring roads. Given its size, Id have thought even if it did break loose, it would soon snag on something else.
So the way I see it, either someone has nicked it (and thought the wind might have been a good reason why I think itd have gone), its blown off far far away somehow, or its blown off and some samaritan collected it and will come knocking to return it on the weekend.
This isnt a debate about whether covers are good or bad, or how secure they are in the wind. It was damn well secured, but if the wind took it then thats one of those things. I'd be very pissed off if I found someone nicked it. Its a tailored cover, so little use for anyone unless for similar shaped car.
Opinions or guesses on what happened? Can the wind really have caused 2 straps with clips to come undone and have slid some velcro nooses off my wingmirrors and then peeled the cover off? Evidence is leaning towards it being pinched...
Yesterday was windy, sure. At 2am I know the car cover was on my car. At 5.30 its gone. Cover had 2 straps underneath and one strap on each wingmirror holding it on, and the cover itself is a snug fit.
No sign of the cover this morning. 2 wing mirror velcro straps are beside the car. No sign of cover on my road or neighbouring roads. Given its size, Id have thought even if it did break loose, it would soon snag on something else.
So the way I see it, either someone has nicked it (and thought the wind might have been a good reason why I think itd have gone), its blown off far far away somehow, or its blown off and some samaritan collected it and will come knocking to return it on the weekend.
This isnt a debate about whether covers are good or bad, or how secure they are in the wind. It was damn well secured, but if the wind took it then thats one of those things. I'd be very pissed off if I found someone nicked it. Its a tailored cover, so little use for anyone unless for similar shaped car.
Opinions or guesses on what happened? Can the wind really have caused 2 straps with clips to come undone and have slid some velcro nooses off my wingmirrors and then peeled the cover off? Evidence is leaning towards it being pinched...
11-12-2010, 01:32 AM
#3
I found a car cover in my front garden this morning.
Belongs to a Mercedes owner who lives about 6 house away down the road.
No idea how well secured it was, i haven't returned it yet. Will do later today.
Looks like it was a good cover before the wind shredded it though.
Belongs to a Mercedes owner who lives about 6 house away down the road.
No idea how well secured it was, i haven't returned it yet. Will do later today.
Looks like it was a good cover before the wind shredded it though.
11-12-2010, 01:39 AM
#4
I just cant get my head around it. Its been untouched for 7 odd months. The velcro ties I used around the mirrors for additional security look like they have slid off. On occasion this has happened before, so not outsdie the realms of possibility. But 2 straps underneath? Could the wind have torn the seam where the strap meets the cover, or could it have caused the clips to snap? Really?
Maybe 1 strap might have come loose and Id expect a bundle of cover around the car somewhere, but the fact its vanished is plain weird.
I do have a locking kit but never used it. I guess as one its an additional hassle to take off (so maybe a good deterrent), but if someone was intent on getting cover off, then a lock could anger them and lead to more damage than just letting them take the cover.
Ironically Id just ordered a 2nd cover, as whenever I take the cover off, it usually needs a clean, and drying it at this time of a year is an issue. But now Im somewhat reluctant to put it back on, in case it just gets swiped again...
Maybe 1 strap might have come loose and Id expect a bundle of cover around the car somewhere, but the fact its vanished is plain weird.
I do have a locking kit but never used it. I guess as one its an additional hassle to take off (so maybe a good deterrent), but if someone was intent on getting cover off, then a lock could anger them and lead to more damage than just letting them take the cover.
Ironically Id just ordered a 2nd cover, as whenever I take the cover off, it usually needs a clean, and drying it at this time of a year is an issue. But now Im somewhat reluctant to put it back on, in case it just gets swiped again...
11-12-2010, 01:50 AM
#5
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i normally wipe my cover down with a chamois before removing to make sure its nice and dry for when it goes back on. its an arse ache trying to dry it out once its off the car.
But back on topic, it was probably swiped by some drunk students. Though given the wind last night its still a likely cause it was that. I watched my cover get blown about a lot over the evening and was quite worried it would tear off. The strap clips are strong but I reckon if tugged on hard enough they would unclip themselves or snap and once one clip fails it'll give the wind enough slack and leverage on the rest of the cover to pull the other clips off.
But yeah, I am surprised that if that was the case the cover is not somewhere obviously down your street/in someones garden!
Incidently which cover do you have/where did you buy yours?
But back on topic, it was probably swiped by some drunk students. Though given the wind last night its still a likely cause it was that. I watched my cover get blown about a lot over the evening and was quite worried it would tear off. The strap clips are strong but I reckon if tugged on hard enough they would unclip themselves or snap and once one clip fails it'll give the wind enough slack and leverage on the rest of the cover to pull the other clips off.
But yeah, I am surprised that if that was the case the cover is not somewhere obviously down your street/in someones garden!
Incidently which cover do you have/where did you buy yours?
11-12-2010, 01:56 AM
#6
It was a relatively cheap (£70) basic cover from coveryourcar.com. Was very impressed with it. Decent fit for the money, quite difficult to actually pull on as its fitted, had 2 straps and a pair of eyelets for a lock, but a cat or fox seems to have nibbled through one of the eyelets, bizarrely.
Its not so expensive that I care its gone, there had been a build up of dirt around the bottom, but it did its job and kept the car clean. Im tempted to start using the new cover I bought if I knew it was wind that was the cause of its disappearance, but if theft Id think twice, and there lies my issue.
Its not so expensive that I care its gone, there had been a build up of dirt around the bottom, but it did its job and kept the car clean. Im tempted to start using the new cover I bought if I knew it was wind that was the cause of its disappearance, but if theft Id think twice, and there lies my issue.
11-12-2010, 02:04 AM
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My guess is it was nicked. I've had car covers for 5 years or so and live in London like you. It has blown off a few times but never that far away from the car so easily retrieved.
My current cover is loosely fitted yet was still on this morning so it's likely that yours was taken off - perhaps a theft attempt. Scour the area as it may have been dumped further on as they're not much use to other cars.
My current cover is loosely fitted yet was still on this morning so it's likely that yours was taken off - perhaps a theft attempt. Scour the area as it may have been dumped further on as they're not much use to other cars.
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11-12-2010, 02:07 AM
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I'd guess the wind.
If it's anything like the wind round my way it was string enough to knock down trees and blow tin men to Kansas.
Just how windy was it down your street last night?
Considering the car cover is basically a big bloody sail it would have been blown off easily, if it were a sail that large on a boat i would use metal cables and shackles – a few bits of elastic, velcro and cotton stitching wouldn't stand a chance.
Unless of course it had a wind vent in it so it didn't inflate
Did it have a wind vent?
If it's anything like the wind round my way it was string enough to knock down trees and blow tin men to Kansas.
Just how windy was it down your street last night?
Considering the car cover is basically a big bloody sail it would have been blown off easily, if it were a sail that large on a boat i would use metal cables and shackles – a few bits of elastic, velcro and cotton stitching wouldn't stand a chance.
Unless of course it had a wind vent in it so it didn't inflate
Did it have a wind vent?
11-12-2010, 02:10 AM
#9
Dont disagree, the puzzling part is where its gone.
Ive got a steering wheel lock on the car, and the street is pretty quiet, so if they were going to try and smash the window, they would have likely been heard.
Cant work out why someone would want just the dirty old cover, but at the same time, if they wanted to see what was under the cover, then why bother taking it away with them opposed to dumping it?
At Rob, no it did not have a wind vent. Elderly neighbour who said cover was on at 2am claimed it wasnt that windy from then on...
Street is narrow, cars parked either side and only room for a single car to drive down the road, so if it had broke loose, would you not have expected it to snag on something though?
Ive got a steering wheel lock on the car, and the street is pretty quiet, so if they were going to try and smash the window, they would have likely been heard.
Cant work out why someone would want just the dirty old cover, but at the same time, if they wanted to see what was under the cover, then why bother taking it away with them opposed to dumping it?
At Rob, no it did not have a wind vent. Elderly neighbour who said cover was on at 2am claimed it wasnt that windy from then on...
Street is narrow, cars parked either side and only room for a single car to drive down the road, so if it had broke loose, would you not have expected it to snag on something though?
