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Car Shades – Fitted car window shades

August 15, 2019 By Helen 13 Comments

Car Shades make bespoke shades to fit your car, to enable passengers, canine as well as human to keep their cool when travelling by car in the summer. 

A miniature wire haired dachshund in a car with a shaded window behind

Every summer we are told again and again how dangerous it is to leave a dog in a hot car. What I hadn’t appreciated was that your dog can get hot in the sun in a car when you are travelling even with the air conditioning on full blast. 

Ed and I were driving for a weekend away; Herbert was in the back in his Solvit car seat, and the sun was beating down onto his side of the car. 

I realised that even with the air conditioning on, he was hot and panting, so soaked a duster in water and spread it over him before we got off the motorway at the next stop so he could travel on my lap, out of the sun, with the air vent on him, for the remainder of the journey. 

A quick poll of my friends was divided over the best type of car shade – the stick on ones fall (or can be pulled) off, let in the sun around them, and you can’t open the window, and the over-the-door ones can tear and are generally unsatisfactory. 

A carshades branded bag next to a silver car, with a miniature wire haired dachshund in front

Some research led me to Car Shades, who make bespoke window shades for over 800 makes and models of car – including our urban run-around Suzuki Splash – who send me a set for review. 

You get 4 separate shades; one for each rear window, and two for the boot, two easy to fit clips for each window as well as a fitting tool, all supplied in a protective storage bag.  The shades are feel reassuringly robust – their outer frame is strong and they don’t bend or warp when you hold, or even wave them around.  

Also available are two shade rear door sets for about 150 models. 

Fitting Car Shades is easy

Use the fitting tool to fit one of the metal clips under the rubber seal each side of the window and then pop the shade in, where it is held firmly in place. There are photographic step by step instructions provided, but the process is fairly intuitive, and there are videos online should you need some extra help. 

There is a handy tab to help remove the shade for less sunny days – or at the end of the summer. 

Rear window of a car fitted with a carshade

Car Shades Bespoke Fit

Being custom made for each make of car, the shades fit exactly, blocking all the direct sunlight from the window they are fitted to, but passengers (human and canine) and driver can still see out.

The shade stays firmly in place when the window is open, and will also act as a bug screen keeping those pesky eegie beegies out. 

View of a car window fitted with a carshade

I actually can’t think of any disadvantages, the custom Car Shades are undeniably more expensive starting at £62.99 a set (including delivery, or £44.95 for rear doors only), but they are so much better that they are certainly worth every penny.  

When we change cars we’ll certainly be investing in a new set, especially as they manufacture in the UK. 

Dogs in cars and the law 

The law says that dogs must be restrained in the car when travelling, if your dog is loose and causes you to have accident then your insurance could be invalid – the financial and moral implications do not bear thinking about.   Herbert travels wearing an Ancol car harness, slipped into his Solvit car seat in the back.   He usually spends the journey curled up asleep, but also like to sit up and look out of the window. 

We were sent a set of Car Shades for review, all opinions our own. 

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Filed Under: Pets, Review Tagged With: Car Shades, Travel with dogs

About Helen

Helen is a Freelance writer

Previous Post: « The simple secret to easy raw fed dog meal prep

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jaime Oliver says

    August 15, 2019 at 4:39 pm

    aww we love these shades. they will be my go to regardless of what car we have. I pop them off in the winter and clip mine back in March 🙂

    Reply
    • Helen says

      August 19, 2019 at 6:00 am

      I am SO impressed by them, as is Herbert!

      Reply
  2. Franca Desjardins says

    August 20, 2019 at 12:13 am

    These shades look fantastic! Like the idea of the fitting tool too. I will have a look. Thanks for the recommendation 🙂

    Reply
    • Helen says

      August 22, 2019 at 8:37 am

      they are amazingly good. Really high quality and a doddle to fit.

      Reply
  3. Laura says

    August 20, 2019 at 1:13 am

    They look fantastic and such a worthwhile investment not only for hounds but small folks to.

    Reply
    • Helen says

      August 22, 2019 at 8:36 am

      Absolutely. dogs and babies / small children can’t tell you they are uncomfortable.

      Reply
  4. Valerie says

    August 20, 2019 at 4:26 am

    Those car shades are very cool! We’ve tried a few types and the fit or style has never been right. These look promising.

    Reply
    • Helen says

      August 22, 2019 at 8:36 am

      I think they are excellent, and actually well worth the investment if you just get the read door set.

      Reply
  5. Crystal says

    August 22, 2019 at 2:08 pm

    These should would be so helpful for those not only with pets, but for small children too.

    Reply
  6. Jennifer says

    August 22, 2019 at 6:43 pm

    These look fantastic. They seem so much better than the flimsy stick on ones!

    Reply
    • Helen says

      August 23, 2019 at 10:50 am

      So much better. Really substantial.

      Reply
  7. Nayna Kanabar says

    August 22, 2019 at 7:50 pm

    The shades sound great and I like the fact that they are customised to fit each car.

    Reply
  8. Sarah | Boo Roo and Tigger Too says

    August 22, 2019 at 8:50 pm

    I love that these are made for each car model. We have built in retractable sunshades on the back windows but they seem to block out the sunlight for the children

    Reply

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