Hi all, I joined the club last week and this is my first post. In March I am taking ownership of my Dad’s 2014 Mk3. It has been garaged since he bought it from a dealer as a demonstrator and having only done 11.5K miles it is in pristine condition. I feel very privileged and excited to have the opportunity to own such a lovely car.
I don’t have a garage so it will have to sit on my drive. I have looked for a suitable tailored car cover but all I can find at present is either a ‘generic one’ or a tailored one for ‘inside’. I am very happy to invest in the best I can find , there must be members who have gone through this research before , I would be grateful for your recommendations please
Welcome to the club. Where are you based? The car sounds lovely and we all look forward to seeing photos when you get it. Covers seem to be a divisive topic on here. I used a fairly run of the mill Halfords universal full cover for my mk3 but found the wind where I am (coastal) caused it to come off and I got very paranoid about the straps and any build up of moisture doing more harm than good. I also found it less easy to just hop into the car when I felt like it so it didn’t get used as much as it should. Since having my mk4 I have left it uncovered and personally found giving it a good clean periodically and making the most of the nice bright sunny days you can get all year round suits me better and encourages me to use the car (as well as ensuring I take good care of it!). In my limited experience I would recommend a higher standard cover as you elude to and I’m
Sure people on here will give you recommendations on specific ones.
If a soft top I’d be inclined to protect it from the elements with an hood cover only. I see maybe its the PRHT so probably wouldn’t bother about any cover.
Leaving the car out in all weathers is ok but do clean and wax regularly and that goes for all rubber hood seals too, clean protect with suitable products.
Make doubly sure your drain points are clear too including, sealing the front scuttle grommets, a first job really for new MX-5 owners. Happy ownership.
Thanks for your replies, that is very interesting. There is additiknal information to add to this. When he purchased the car he paid for a Gen 3 glasscoat ceramic coating to be applied. I have contacted Gen 3 to ask whether that coating is still in tact or whether it is likely to to have "faded’ for want of a better description. They say it will still be as much in tact as when it was applied and adding wax over the top of that isnt recommended as it just attracts dirt.
Given your replies and as it is a hardtop, i’m based in Sheffield so no salty air, i wonder whether it would be better not to cover it?
I haven’t been back to Gen 3 yet to ask whether washing with auto glym’s polar wash and then applying the polar seal ‘rinse’ falls under the ‘don’t apply wax’ advice or would enhance the Gen 3 shine.
