unfortunaltely, my wife's suv and BBQ pit take up almost all the room under our covered carport so i have to park my mini in the driveway (which has trees all around it) after a storm or any decent wind some tree crap (small sticks, leaves, and stuff end up un my hood and roof. i thought about getting a car cover but everybody i talked to said it would scratch the car far more than any small tree debris? you guys that have to park your mini under trees, has the tree debris done any damage to car? thanks

 

I prefer not to park under any large trees... once, I did have a large branch fall on top of my Jeep, causing a minor dent. The small sticks, acorns, pine cones, etc. are not a problem, though walnuts or hickory nuts could be.

In the summer, sap is a continuous problem and depending on type of trees, berry stains are even worse. Evergreen sap (rosin) is terrible and difficult to clean off.

I store my grill outside with a cover and I don't worry about scratches at all with it. Maybe you can make some room for the Mini. We have an average-sized garage. My wife's Mazda 5 takes up one side. The other side has a mini-fridge, chest freezer, a huge JDeere riding mower, and just enough room for the Mini.

 

Parking under trees is not a good idea, besides the tree leaves, twigs, acorns, whatever, there is the risk of a limb coming down and nice dent and the ever popular bird droppings. If you can't move the SUV outdoors where it belongs, or cut down the tree/s I guess you better take a chance with the car cover.

 

I have no garage to park in and both my MINI and my BMW unfortuantely park under a large tree. The car cover for the BMW is padded and for small stuff like tiny little branches, leaves, etc it does fine but the acorns still have put dents in the hood and roof right thru the padding. The MINI does not have a cover.

As for the cover scratching the paint maybe but where I live the sand and salt during the winter do much more scratching just flying around the roads than the cover will ever do.

 

How about extending the car port or (I know the tree huggers are going to love this one) taking down the tree? I know folks who take down trees when they put in swimming pools to prevent the detritus from falling into the pool so why not take one down to protect your MINI's paint?

....and before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, I am not a proponent of the deforestation that's going on in South America.

 

BoxedUp, it is a shame that you even have state your environmental position as you did, but you are right. I'm sure someone is offended at the thought of cutting down a tree because of a car.

I too like trees, I like forests, but I do not like trees falling on my cars or house (as one did last spring). I had 6 large trees removed before rebuilding the damaged portion of my house, but there are still plenty left on my lot. The earth never even flinched.

 

I have a cover for my Clubbie and a cover for my daughters Coupe. Both were purchased from the dealer. The Clubbie's cover is that thick fabric and the Coupe's cover is the thin fabric. I don't put them on when it's real windy - to prevent any possible scratching. Also, I don't put either one on when the cars are wet and it could freeze - very tough to get them off. The thick fabric can get very heavy when when wet (doesn't really absorb water, but I can't get it completely dry when taking it off). The thin fabric is very hard to get on when it's windy. The thick fabric is tough to wash because it's so bulky. They're great to have on the car when it's going to snow because I can just use a push broom to clean them off. The thick one does get real stiff and difficult to take off and store though.

 

My biggest problem with parking under trees is the amount of bird crap I have on my car the next morning.