C5 Convertible ...no Garage!

I've lived on the beach (garaging didn't help), about 1/2 mile inland (garage was a must) and now 2 miles from the beach.

When the surf's up and the westerly breeze is above 15kt it carries salt a couple of miles inland. TV masts and west facing aluminum screen frames show salt damage within 6-mos of installation. So, there's potential for damage but a cover and a weekly wash is adequate.

I covered a 911 outdoors for nearly three years--no problem (and the preservation on that 911 doesn't approach what the C5 has.)

Pay extra attention to cleaning wheels & brake components. -- enjoy.

Ask the folks at <

> about near-ocean covers. Tell them it's for a convertible and whether it will be covered mostly during the day or during the night.

-- PJ

A cover should protect it from salt spray which is carried inland at least a couple of miles..also from salt water fog...and a frequent car wash helps.

I take it that the Vettes of today as opposed to the ones I owned (and am familiar with) back in the late 60s are more delicate. I used a cover in San Antonio, TX, which was effective in preventing paint fading. Otherwise, my old 71 454 4 spd was very strong.

Do a lot of rinsing, I lived on an island 7 miles off the coast of Florida for the last 24 years. Even having a garage for my ragtop I had to constantly rinse it off. Average 3 times a week. We are lucky that our water wasn't too hard and didn't have a problem with water spots, as long as you drove it to air dry it immediately after rinsing.

Funny to see pe>I'm looking at buying a C5 convertible. I don't have a garage to keep

do you realize that excessive water pushed the salt down further down in crevasses and will cause more rust on metal parts. that's why you see a lot of rust around tail light and the bottom of fender walls on cars that are from the coast areas. my brother lives by Galveston Tx. and hardly washes his truck for that very reason. His wife washes her truck all the time. she has excessive rust and he hardly has any.

my2¢

Sorry, 'Key I can't buy into that line. May be worth the 2¢ in Louisana but not within 100 yards of my 20.

...not borne out by my experience near the Pacific Ocean. Whether it be an older rust-prone 911 or a C4 or a C5 ... I've regularly rinsed with softened water (even though it has more salt than un-softened tap water.) Works better than neglect!

In daily SoCal driving there's lots of road grime. Left on the finish, it's an invitation to scuffing. 'Hardly washing,' may be OK for a truck in Galveston or a 'vette in Louisana. In SoCal, near the beach, a dirty/salty car is *pure-dumb*.

I'm two miles inland but ungaraged cars gather dew on 1/3 of the nights each year. A cover helps but on cool nights it will form on the bottom half of the wheels and brakes -- when there's salt residue on those parts, corrosion sets in.

-- PJ