The sun is a wonderful thing. It gives us life and nourishment but it can also do serious damage to your vehicle. Here are some tips on how you can protect your vehicle from the sun if you’re not using your car that often or storing it.
Car Cover
The absolute best way to protect your vehicle from the sun’s harsh UV rays, is to use a car cover. You can buy some cheap ones from eBay or Amazon for about $30-$60 but your best bet is to buy one that was specifically designed for your car, truck, or SUV. It may cost upwards of a couple hundred dollars but it will be a worthwhile investment. A good car cover not only blocks 100% of the sun’s UV rays but rain and snow all while still allowing air to circulate from underneath the cover preventing trapped moist air to form rust.
SunShade
Those silver, reflective shades that you see on parked vehicles on a hot summer day not only help to bounce back some of the UV rays, but they also protect the dashboard. Modern vehicles tend to have a large, one piece dashboard design that is sometimes more difficult to replace than an engine when it cracks. To help protect that, a sun shade is your best bet. $40 or so should get you a good quality sun shade that was designed specifically for your vehicle.
Window Tint
While window tint will not protect the exterior of your vehicle, it will help in reducing UV rays from entering the vehicle. Specially designed window tints and films can block up to 99% of UV light. They not only protect the plastic trim pieces and leather but also help in keeping the inside of the car a bit cooler than if it didn’t have the tint or film. The window tint or film can cost a few hundred dollars and should be professionally installed.
Ceramic Coating
Quite possibly the most expensive option to protect your vehicle is to ceramic coat it. It’s not really a wax but rather a protective film over the paint of your vehicle that protects it from UV light, small rock chips & scratches, and repels water & dirt very easily requiring fewer washes. The biggest drawback, however, is the price. Ceramic coating can cost upwards of $1,000 and requires professional installation/application but it should last for a year or more depending on weather severity.
Eagle Ridge GM – Coquitlam, British Columbia