Price Points: Protective car covers

Protective car covers

We mentioned a while ago that, after having our trusty old VW Passat estate for 15 years, we bought a new one. It wasn’t brand new, it was a year old, but felt new to us. We’ve had it about a year, and it has served us well so far.

One thing we’ve noticed is that our huge sycamore isn’t treating it well. Our car is parked – not directly under, but – fairly close to the tree. In the spring, the car gets covered in sticky sap; in the summer, dead bugs & insects get stuck to the roof and bonnet; in the autumn, whirligigs and leaves find their way down into crevices in the bonnet; and in the winter, the car seems to be perpetually sodden and sprouting green moss and algae.

To spare the paintwork from any further harm, we’re going to buy one of these protective car covers. None of them are cheap, but they’ll keep the car looking shiny and new!

  1. Halfords all seasons car cover (L): £62.99, Halfords
    • Treated material protects from UV damage
    • Super weatherproof material keeps your car dry
    • Soft lining protects your car from paint damage
    • Elasticated end panels to fit around the bumpers
    • Under car securing straps to ensure a good fit
    • Carry bag included
    • Dimensions: 470cm x 180cm x 135cm
    • 2 year guarantee
  2. Car cover compatible with Volkswagen Passat: £104.00, Amazon
    Quality material: The car cover is made of high-quality Oxford material, suitable for waterproof, rain-proof and snow-proof. Provide all-weather, all-season protection for your car. Is best bodyguard for your car!
    All weather: The perfect car cover for all seasons! Protect your car from tree sap, UV rays, dirt, dust, debris, industrial pollutants and bird droppings. Excellent anti-pollution, anti-scratch, anti-ultraviolet and bad weather protection, we also use reflective sunscreen materials to provide anti-ultraviolet protection, especially outdoors in summer.
    Easy to operate: Ingeniously designed to prevent moisture and reduce heat accumulation. Don’t worry about any impact on the car, you can use it with confidence. The operation is simple. The storage is convenient and the product can be placed in the trunk.
    Unique design: Four colours for your choice, wind-proof straps to protect your car cover from blowing off by heavy wind. The side zipper design makes it more convenient to use. Matching password lock for adding extra security.
  3. Car cover for 2020 Volkswagen Passat wagon – Premium edition: £245.94, CarCovers Factory
    Our Premium Edition is our top of the line cover that is heavy duty, made of polypropylene and outperforms 7-layer material that offers maximum level of protection. It not only protects both the inside and outside of a vehicle, but also acts as a theft-deterrent by keeping your vehicle out of view from potential thieves.
    Features include:
    • 100% waterproof and breathable due to micro-porous oil based materials
    • Inner fleece lining material ensuring vehicle’s paint is not compromised
    • Ultrasonic double stitched welding on the cover prevents water from going through
    • High quality UV resistant chemicals coated on the outer layer of this cover, ensuring vehicle paint never fades
    • Reinforced grommet; lanyard on both sides of the cover
    • Guaranteed to fit perfectly
    • Protects your vehicle from: ice, rain, snow, high winds, strong UV rays and smallest pea sized hail.
    • Elastic hem in the front and rear allowing tuck fit
    • Material resists mildew, mould, rot, bird droppings, tree sap, dirt and acid rain

shop protective car covers

Some of the links on our blog are affiliate links. We may receive a small commission - at no cost to you - if you click through and make a purchase.
Prices & links correct at time of publication.

Car cover for 2020 Volkswagen Passat wagon – Premium edition
Car cover for 2020 Volkswagen Passat wagon – Premium edition
£245.94
Car cover compatible with Volkswagen Passat
Car cover compatible with Volkswagen Passat
£104.00
Halfords all seasons car cover (L)
Halfords all seasons car cover (L)
£62.99
Car cover for 2020 Volkswagen Passat wagon – Premium edition
Car cover for 2020 Volkswagen Passat wagon – Premium edition
£245.94
Car cover compatible with Volkswagen Passat
Car cover compatible with Volkswagen Passat
£104.00
Halfords all seasons car cover (L)
Halfords all seasons car cover (L)
£62.99
Car cover for 2020 Volkswagen Passat wagon – Premium edition
Car cover for 2020 Volkswagen Passat wagon – Premium edition
£245.94
Car cover compatible with Volkswagen Passat
Car cover compatible with Volkswagen Passat
£104.00
Halfords all seasons car cover (L)
Halfords all seasons car cover (L)
£62.99
Car cover for 2020 Volkswagen Passat wagon – Premium edition
Car cover for 2020 Volkswagen Passat wagon – Premium edition
£245.94
Car cover compatible with Volkswagen Passat
Car cover compatible with Volkswagen Passat
£104.00
Halfords all seasons car cover (L)
Halfords all seasons car cover (L)
£62.99
Car cover for 2020 Volkswagen Passat wagon – Premium edition
Car cover for 2020 Volkswagen Passat wagon – Premium edition
£245.94
Car cover compatible with Volkswagen Passat
Car cover compatible with Volkswagen Passat
£104.00
Halfords all seasons car cover (L)
Halfords all seasons car cover (L)
£62.99

Price Points: VW Passat estate roof racks

VW Passat roof racks

Now, this week’s Price Points post may seem a little bit niche, but bear with me! We’ve recently bought a new (to us) estate car; our old one was just that… almost 20 year old.

Our old car was a VW Passat estate and we loved it so much, we simply upgraded to a newer version. They’re attractive, really reliable, can take a bit of roughing up and have a lot of boot space.

Even with all that room in the back, there are often occasions that we need even more. Being in the vintage & antiques business, we regularly need to transport bulky bits of furniture that we buy at auctions, markets and boot sales. Items that are too large to fit inside the car; that’s where the roof rack comes into play.

It’s only when I looked into getting some kind of universal roof rack that I learned that there isn’t really such a thing. Well, there is, but I wouldn’t be that trusting of their safety when we’re steaming along at 50 miles per hour along a motorway in high winds!

VW Passat estate roof racks are made specifically to fit on the ‘flush rails’ that come as standard on this model of car. Our old, pre-2014 Passat estate had a different type of roof rails so a swap wasn’t possible.

After scouring the internet and reading up about load limits, bar measurements and security measures, I’ve arrived at this VW Passat estate roof racks shortlist…

  1. Maypole locking aluminium solid rails cross roof bars for VW Passat Estate 2014+: £69.95, eBay
    TUV/GS tested to 90kg
    Lockable: comes with 2 keys
    135cm
  2. Green Valley roof rack rail bars, lockable, compatible with VW Passat Estate 2015-onwards, flush rails: £99.95, AmazonMax load capacity: 100kg
    Lockable – locks bars to vehicle
    Dimensions 107cm x 3cm x 2cm 3 Years Warranty
  3. Thule SlideBars package: £362.95 The Roof Box Company
    Maximum load limit: 75kg
    Thule’s SlideBars won a Red Dot product design award in 2011.
    Package comprises foot pack, aluminium slidebars, adapter kit and locks

    Foot Pack: The Thule Evo 7106 Foot Pack may only be used on vehicles with flush rails. It has a maximum load limit of 75kg, so this is the load limit for the whole system. It’s always important to think about the weight of the roof bars – 12.5kg to 14kg for this whole 2 bar system, depending on bar length – the weight of what you fix to them and the weight of what you are carrying.
    SlideBars: SlideBars include a standard T-track slot in the top of each bar, which must be used otherwise of course the bar cannot slide and the benefit of the whole system is lost!
    Adapter Kit: The Adapter Kit contains the essential components required to fix the roof bars to the vehicle.
    Locks: One Key System locks are included. We have a free lock matching scheme for all your Thule gear which, as a customer, you may continue to use any time you want. This means that you can use the same key for most of your Thule products. In practice, only having one key for all roof mounted bike carriers is the most useful part of a ‘one key system’, a system which is offered by all the major brands we sell.

shop VW Passat roof racks

Some of the links on our blog are affiliate links. We may receive a small commission - at no cost to you - if you click through and make a purchase.
Prices & links correct at time of publication.

Thule SlideBars package
Thule SlideBars package
£362.95
Green Valley roof rack rail bars
Green Valley roof rack rail bars
£99.95
Maypole solid rails cross roof bars
Maypole solid rails cross roof bars
£69.95
Thule SlideBars package
Thule SlideBars package
£362.95
Green Valley roof rack rail bars
Green Valley roof rack rail bars
£99.95
Maypole solid rails cross roof bars
Maypole solid rails cross roof bars
£69.95
Thule SlideBars package
Thule SlideBars package
£362.95
Green Valley roof rack rail bars
Green Valley roof rack rail bars
£99.95
Maypole solid rails cross roof bars
Maypole solid rails cross roof bars
£69.95
Thule SlideBars package
Thule SlideBars package
£362.95
Green Valley roof rack rail bars
Green Valley roof rack rail bars
£99.95
Maypole solid rails cross roof bars
Maypole solid rails cross roof bars
£69.95
Thule SlideBars package
Thule SlideBars package
£362.95
Green Valley roof rack rail bars
Green Valley roof rack rail bars
£99.95
Maypole solid rails cross roof bars
Maypole solid rails cross roof bars
£69.95