So you finally got that new car or truck. Congratulations! I really don’t want to be the one that blows the candles out on your cake but did you get your first dent yet? Maybe a door ding in a parking lot? If not, I’m sure you already know that you are likely to get at least few while you own that car. So how do you defend against this? Is there some way to protect my car?
Color Keyed Body Side Molding on a Toyota Camry
The best way to protect your car or truck from dents and door dings is by installing a professional grade body side molding. You can also protect other areas of the vehicle in the same way with wheel well molding and door edge guards.
Body side moldings are usually strips of rubber or vinyl that attach horizontally to the side of your vehicle. By installing them down the center of the door this rubber strip usually protects you from another door hitting yours. Usually the moulding will stick out farther than the body of the vehicle itself, so if someone swings their door into the side of your car it will hit the body side molding first. They usually come in black, chrome and there are some colors available as well.
Body side molding installs easily. Almost all car molding attaches with 3M automotive grade attachment tape, which is the same way that the car manufacturers use to attach factory body side molding. If installed properly the molding should never come loose. There are other areas of your car that should also be protected. These areas are the wheel well area and the door edge areas.
Wheel well molding attaches in the same manner with a 3M tape. These mouldings will trim the area of the wheel well with a thin vinyl bead that will protect this exposed area. You can also use this molding to cover up an existing dent in this area. Once applied over the dent or scratch you will never know the damage was there. This trick is used at the car dealers all of the time. Sometimes it used to just dress up the vehicle with a chrome or black trim.
Door edge guards protect just that – the edge of your car door. They also protect whatever you are hitting with your door. Because of the soft vinyl edge, if you were to open your car door into another car the likelihood of you damaging either car is minimal. The door edge guards will act as a shock absorber and help prevent any damage that would otherwise happened.
For most of us, buying a new car or truck is one of the largest investments that we will ever make in our lives. We take pride in what we drive. It doesn’t matter if we drive a Hyundai or a Porsche (okay maybe it does, but follow me here for a second). We like to drive in clean, shiny, dent free cars. Spending a few dollars on molding protection now will no doubt save you potentially hundreds of dollars in the future repairing and repainting your new car or truck.