Model 3 Car covers? Tesla's are silly expensive.

[brobinson]

Heres what your post would look like without all of the bizarre carriage returns

It's China. Most of the covers are made in China, whether they have cutouts or whatever, or not.

Thanks guys. I'm not disrespecting anyone,I'm asking what people have found. If you look on AliBaba you often find the exact same ones at a fraction of the stateside cost.

The tree sap, pollen and sandy dust are hard on ceramic coatings too. Need a decent cover, doesn't have to be "perfect", it can be replaced as needed.

I saw the same one I ordered from the same vendor from NJ on e-bay, one priced at $65, another at $95. So, guess which one I got. But I asked them: WTF? They said It's the same item, but we have the promotion in this store.

THE promotion. OK. ITLA011 seems layered enough, decent fit. Nobody supercharges with any cover on, I doubt front ventilation is an issue. We'll see about the charge port clearance, it's all compromises.

Further insights and maybe some gut-wrenching buyer's remorse coming, it's too pitch dark to tell right now.

Meanwhile, while loving my Mod 3, my boy just got a Chevy Bolt. Much more affordable lease. Sigh. That's another something to go see in the light of day.

Sadly money "does not grow on trees". Or we'd all be probably be driving Founder's Edition Roadsters. And if I told him he REALLY should be driving a Roadster, he might well say "sure, send me a check and I will".

 

[Fernand]

I dunno. I guess that's informative. Is there a problem with Carriage Returns? I never knew. It's a way to control line length on smaller devices and not rely on the browser's formatting. Is it creating a bizarre problem with some viewers?

 

[Fernand]

white powder kept comming off of it.. even 3-4 weeks after i started using it...

You mean it started to pulverize, like turn to dust? I've seen something like that with some types of rubberized fabrics. That sucks.

 

[qdeathstar]

You mean it started to pulverize, like turn to dust? I've seen something like that with some types of rubberized fabrics. That sucks.

it was like that from the factory..

 

[Fernand]

Well, not to keep anyone in suspense , so far so good. You can see the material is thick and the stitching is good, the restraints are ok, the underbelly is soft. The fit is good enough. If I lift the cover a bit, I can charge at home without cutting a flap, as there's enough play around the charge port and at the front.

It's not as ballerina tight as the $350 one, and it doesn't say TESLA. Frankly, even if the $300 difference meant less than it does, I'm not sure I'd spend it on that. This one protects the finish from dust and tree droppings OK, it reflects a lot of UV and heat, it's not shedding or shredding so far, and at $65 I'm alright with not spending 5 times as much on ... say, walking 5 times as much out front, staring at it. Considering what they get them for in China, Tesla could be a bit more restrained with the markup.

I'm haggling with the vendor over the imaginary mirror pockets (that have since vanished from the product description page as well ;-)

 

[qdeathstar]

I don’t think tesla get there’s from China, they are made in california, if I recall correctly.

 

[Fernand]

Well, if they do make them in California, that might justify a higher price for sure. That mirror pocket is nice. Not sure it's critical. I see covers as a nuisance necessity for some situations. I don't plan to drive around with the cover on, and I don't like whooping "TESLA here!", but it's a nice touch.

But where did you see where they make them? Anybody have one with an origin tag?

 

[Burrito]

i used to try and save a few bucks buying "equivalent" items for things, i would say very rarely did i save long run. usually i end up buying things multiple times before ultimately buying what i should have the first time. not saying this is the case, but general advice.

good luck with the cover

 

[Plug-n-Play]

View attachment 450162

Is the cover lifted up a bit, or is that as far down as it goes?

 

[qdeathstar]

Is the cover lifted up a bit, or is that as far down as it goes?

I got the same one before the evanex one. It goes down further and overall is better than the evanex one... the only issue is that i live on the water and the wind that comes off the inlet blew the cover off many times because baggy... your supposed to strap it down i guess but at least with the evanex one it fit tight and didn’t need strapping... but every time i took that one off it was like my car had a cochin problem.

 

[Fernand]

Is the cover lifted up a bit, or is that as far down as it goes?

Oh, no, in the photo it's lifted quite a bit for charging. Normally the cover goes all the way down and covers front and back fully if desired. There's a fabric strap, front and back, with a non-scratching plastic click fastener, not sure what they call those, that you can set tighter or looser, and then quickly engage or disengage. There are different grades of these covers, and this one is pretty decent. It's not a cheap elastic type, and it's unlikely it would blow off if you adjust the straps correctly, barring hurricane conditions of course.

Now, this is not a cover that's designed for the Model 3, it's generic. There are e.g. no "pockets" for the mirrors. The vendors weren't sure, and they have since modified their listing to remove the claim it had them. So far it hasn't mattered, but it could put strain on the mirror mechanism.

To charge, I've lifted it a bit as shown to provide some slack. This isn't perfectly elegant, but it's been OK so far, at a fraction of the cost.

Since the car had some road film on it, I don't yet know how it will interact with a perfectly clean waxed body, I'll know soon.

Of course for someone who plans to install and remove such a cover daily, and for whom the price difference isn't too troubling, and if the Tesla offering IS in fact truly superior in execution, materials, ease of setting and removing (and not just in look), then for them the $350 (+tax?) Outdoor Tesla cover is a better choice. But since covers are generally a royal pain, and don't end up being used as much as planned, a generic cheaper one might be "good enough" for less demanding use.

@Burrito's 100% right in general of course. But I have had SO many experiences contrary to the "you get what you pay for" principle, that I'm willing to give low cost things a try. I'm not alone in this, and it's important to have complete evaluation info. In a few days I'll post a more "final" assessment, and I'd advise fellow explorers of the low end to wait a bit. The vendor is polite and responsive but does not offer a perfect Prime-type return policy that covers return shipping.

 

[Watts_Up]

Heres what your post would look like without all of the bizarre carriage returns

I think the shorter lines were there because the author was using a phone?

 

[Fernand]

My cover's listing with joytutous-autous now says "mirror pockets" on Ebay again.

Car Cover All Weather Outdoor Waterproof Windproof Adjustable FitsTesla Model 3 | eBay

They had removed that in the listing for a while. Who knows, it's a hard thing to cut and stitch. Mine doesn't have any, it's not critical. The lack of front ventilation mesh isn't either. If you're charging at home, you have to lift part-way and reposition for the mobile connector anyway.

As I suspected, the lovely black storage bag that comes with it is most useful, considering I don't use the cover all the time, or even all that much. It's good enough for me. If I'd spent $350 I'd be feeling obligated to use it more, so it's worked out well. The straps held it OK during the crazy winds that caused power shutoffs in Northern California.