[EnerJi]

I just picked up my first BMW, a 2013 EB-II 335i at the Performance Center in South Carolina. Amazing car, and I plan to keep it several years.

My challenges:

My condo building garage parking space is mostly exposed to the elements. Bad garage design, and there's no opportunity to swap my space. I live a block from the beach, and there's also some significant construction going on within my immediate area.

Consequently, there is a LOT of dust and sand in the air. I left my old car for just a week parked in the space my new Bimmer is going to live in, and it was literally caked in sand, so much so that I could barely see out the front/rear windshield to move it into another space.

I travel out of town for work often and work from home when I'm not traveling, so the car may go unused for days at a time and accumulate sand.

My questions:

Short of moving, any suggestions on steps I can take to protect my car and its paint from the sand and dust in the air? As long as I take pains not to rub the sand into the paint, is it relatively harmless? Would regular waxing help protect the paint?

I would consider a car cover, but if I planned to use it often I realistically would not be able to guarantee the car was freshly washed and spotless prior to putting it on (no car washing allowed in the garage.) Therefore, I would be concerned that putting on and taking off the cover on while there is some sand on the vehicle might scratch the paint?

I know there are several beach-residing folks on the forum, so any and all suggestions are welcome!