Here's a bit of an odd one, and would like some advice if anyone has some.

I'm in the market for a car cover, for use outside as my usage of Jackson will be dropping significantly in the next couple of weeks. MINI seem to do one for the Clubman, but don't seem to have one for the core car of the brand.

No idea Phil.

I only use mine once a week now and TBH not a fan of covers so it stays outside with Tom's coating he put on when I got it.

We had one on our caravan at first and it did cause some minor marks due to wind movement and then condensation, yes it was covered for longer spells! So throw it away and gave it a really good waxing and no issues.

Maybe modern ones are better?

Any cover will cause scratching. Even a tiny bit of dirt will be dragged across the paint when it moves in the wind. This is especially prevalent when it's cold/icy and if you've got trees near where you're parked.

Modern paint finishes are well protected from UV light etc. Your best bet is to just leave it bare, remove bird poo asap and clean it periodically.

I know this is an old post, but this information might be useful to others thinking about this.

Car covers.........love or hate, they are like marmite!

Yes they can cause scratches even the best ones, I have used one on my own car, to which I'm not overly happy about but it was better than leaving it for a few months cover in bird poo.

Honestly if you're looking for protection these are better options:

Car port.....expensive option and not always possible.
Rent a garage.....again not always an option.

Prevention and protection = get it covered with a ceramic coating by a professional and keep to a fairly regular maintenance plan of washing. If you cant stretch to a ceramic coating, a good application of a quality sealant and top it up with a regular waxing.

Just my view, car covers are fine(ish) for one offs but they will/can still cause some paint damage that will require correcting.