CaptainFrank

I'm researching a new car to buy/lease, and the TSX is high on my list, but one of the concerns I had was about the lack of body side moldings, both on the sides of the car and across the rear bumper.

I am worried that this would lead to a higher than usual amount of little dents and dings that one gets from parking lots, shopping carts, and other things that we all hate.

I was wondering what the experience has been so far from you TSX owners, and if perhaps there are optional moldings available from Acura.

Thanks

dom

While I agree that the TSX is more vulnerable to dings than a car with mouldings would be, I don't think not having mouldings is enough of a reason to not buy a car. Dings will most likely eventually happen. But I try to be extra careful where I park.

- Don't park in tight spaces
- Park further away where its unlikely someone will park beside you.
- Never park next to a beater, as that person is unlikely to care if they damage their own car
- Avoid parking close to shopping cart holding area's at your local Wal-Mart or Grocery store.

Besides, aftermarket mouldings are available for the TSX if you feel that strongly about getting them. It ruins the look of the car IMO, but if you like them then get em.

EDIT: BTW, I've had the car 6+months and no dings yet
(Insert pic of me knocking on wood)

DEVO

I say the opposite... you are a target if you park far away. I say park in spots where there are cars on all sides. Avoid parking next to big american cars. If you have to... park really close to them so that they are foced to open the door with some thought.

The worst thing is to park with almost enough room so that the door (other car you are parked next to) can open fully. This just results in the car door opening with full force and bang... another ding.

DEVO

I use to park as far away as possible... I have 3 and only 3 dings on my car for doing just that. Since changing tactics... I have had 0. Call it chance or whatever.

dom

Why would I trust a complete stranger to give thought about not damaging my car. I rather trust the fact that most people are lazy and don't like to walk so they would be unlikely to park next to me.

What if a little kid is in the passenger or back seat? Still trust kids to be careful about opening the door? You have to play the percentages.

If someone purposely dings your car because you parked far then Its unlikely I would think.

DEVO

hehe... ok don't come crying when you get a ding the funny thing is that there is a comercial that is running that shows a lone car out in a parking lot and some idiot looking for a place to park. an guess what... he parks next to the only car out there.

anyway, you are going to get idiots regardless of where you park. and i don't know where you live but there aren't a lot of empty parking lots where I do. so i look for spots that meet the above criteria. as for taking advice from a stranger. wtf are you doing.

dom

I saw that commercial, its damn scary. I guess Dings are a part of life and bound to happen at some point wheather or not you have body side moulding. A friend here at work has no fewer than 20 small dings on his 02 Grand Prix and only 2 of them have hit the moulding all the other ones are above it on the door.

So maybe moulding will help but with so many different sized cars out there today there's no stopping them.

junk5681

Park next to a car that is more expensive than yours. Btw, people on this forum have an irrational hatred for side molding:

http://www.acura-tsx.com/forums/show...&threadid=3875

majormojo

I'm with the "park far away" group. Usually the only others who will do so are people who also have cars they care about. It sounds wrong, but I think that parking next to minivans is pretty safe because their front doors are short and the back ones slide.

WRT body side moldings, I think they could help a bit and that they look just fine on the TSX. However, my prev car (Accord) got a lot of dings well up above the molding. Probably from other cars with back doors that (like the TSX) have their greatest reach on opening at a height much above the typical door molding.

DEVO

mojo... minivans are the worst... not because of the doors but because of what usually goes in one... usually a baby or kids... with that comes strollers, lot's of bags, etc... all of which will most likely hit the car next to it as it get's loaded in. this only happens when the rear opening is full.

chumley

And always pick a four door car over a door car to park next to(shorter doors) and preferably one that has thick side mouldings (look at a four door GM product) Btw expensive cars are no indicator they are as inconsiderate as anybody. Another indicator is how clean the car looks and how deep the wax looks.

95gt

Am i the only one that does not see the point to molding now adays? Aren't they all painted anyway. my wifes highlander has molding on the doors and was hit by a door from another car and shocker, has a ding in it where the paint was chipped away. What is the point?

If you do park far away please don't park at an angle. That just makes me want to ding your car.

KC 2004 TSX

I like the parking far away the best because lazy people won't park far away and lazy people are the ones who let doors swing without regard to others.

I got hit with a shopping cart a few weeks ago !!! I was so pissed!!!! It put 2 small dent just behind the headlight unit on the front passenger side panel.

Body molding would not have helped

jcg878

I'm in the park farther away camp, but it doesn't help in lots that will fill up. In my commuter train lot I park at the end of a row, with my passenger door facing the curb. The lot's going to fill up anyway, so I pick the closest one of these spots that I can find. I figure most people there are coming alone, so my driver's side door isn't at high risk. There's usually a Boxster and a Corvette occupying the other similar end spots when I get there. I definitely avoid minivans like the plague!

I do have one ding already, on the rear passenger side door. No paint damage, but it distorts light annoyingly well.

sauceman

You're quite right about that.

Unfortunately for me, I guess, Wal-Mart stores and other big box hardware stores are my biggest customers, to which I have to deliver frequent and regular service. This exposes me to dings, I had a plethora on my 95 Accord, and now I have 3 dings and one hell of a deep scratch on the passenger mirror.

I used to not worry about it with the Accord because of the high mileage and low value, but with the TSX it's a different story.

I park reasonnably far away from other cars, and I hope to God I'm still parked close enough to the other cars that Murphy's Law will ignore me and my car. If there are sports/luxury/modded cars around, I will try and stick with them, I know they pay attention to their car. If there's a lot beside an 87 rusty crappy Caravan, any GM for that matter, I sure as hell won't park beside, if it is not just to make sure my car doesn't catch one of their diseases!(jk)

And, true also that tight spaces is a big no-no for me.

Even with this, I still managed to get 3 dings and a scratch (more like a dent).

KC 2004 TSX

I've given up . I park as far away as possible. That is all I can do.

DEVO

KC,

didn't you get dinged by parking far away?

If I get an end parking spot I make sure that the driver side door of the car next to me has the most room possible. If the other car is parked in such a way that the passenger side is facing me then I don't worry because usually there is only one person in the car where I park.

speedzer

side moldings do not help at all.
i have two major door dings. one one the front fender and the other on the rear fender. on the rear, the idiot opened his door soo hard that it chipped the paint. so now its bare metal showing. but the good news is my dealer. when i bought the car, they gave me 4 years of door ding repairs for free.
i recommend u ask for this service.

KC 2004 TSX

YES

I got from a shopping cart. I saw the cart hit it. The store I go to has a small lot, so yes I was as far as possible but it fills up quick.

KC 2004 TSX

This is a cool service.

Speedzer are you from Hockeytown?

speedzer

not really. i'm from the big ole Houston. ur almost guarantee to have door dings down here

combustible1

don't forget to park uphill, or where there is a slight incline, in lots with shopping carts.

If you're downhill, even slightly, from an out-of-control cart, your much more likely to get dinged, and dinged hard.

Uphill, chances are you won't get a cart coming your way at all, or if so, it won't be slamming into you with as much momentum.

majormojo

Second the "park uphill" advice. I mentioned in a post on the stupidity thread how I hit my own vehicle with a large cart at Home Depot. I had 20-odd 55lb cement bags and some lumber on a big metal cart that got going too fast for me to stop in time.

People claim the TSX has weak brakes - try stopping a 1200+ lb "vehicle" with only a pair of size 11 Nikes! Now that is insufficient braking!

Spud

There's not a car door in the world that's going to make contact with your door at the same place as the side mouldings...

Granny at the shopping mall with her 1975 De Ville is going to swing that door open at full force and miss the side moulding on any car, putting a painful little verticle smile in any car door within a half mile.

Side mouldings or not, the dings will happen...

None for me so far though!!!

TfD

The mouldings never seem to be in the right place anyway...