SicK TypeS

My friend drives her civic to work in Manhattan. She also parks on the street. What can she do to keep the bumper damage minimal? Parking garages are out of the question, it's a 05 civic. I'm pretty sure she wants to put some kind of bumper guard things on there (front and rear bumpers), but I don't know anything about them. Which (if any) are good? Are there any that aren't such an eye sore? Would a clear bra help with the "bumper car like" parking that goes on? I was wondering what the member living in the city do. thanks.

subinf

I know that if I had left the front bra on my TL (not the clear one, but the black one) it would have helped avoid some some small knicks from people misjudging the distance between my bumper and their own when pulling out. Leave the front license plate on...see below. Otherwise if someone gives you (or her) a good tap there isnt much out there.

MJMeucci

In seattle my front plate and its bracket has taken quite a beating while protecting my bumper well....

Titand19

I saw this guy with a 5 series parallel park. then he got out, open the trunk and this foam creation which looked very fuctional unrolled over the middle portion of his bumper. The concept was similar to one of those fire escape ladders unrolling if you get my drift. It looked like the foam sections were round, maybe 1" in diameter 2 to 2.5 ft wide, no space inbetween them. Pretty cool.

zeroday

http://www.bumperpad.com/gallery.html

synth19

^ interesting. That just seems it would be kinda cumbersome to put on/off everytime I parked. I personally just take my beater '01 civic when I know I have to parallel park in the city. My bumpers have scratches from getting bumped, but no big deal, it comes with the territory.

cM3go

^ someone could steal that

zeroday

smother it with dog feces after attaching it to the vehicle. problem solved.

Maximized

It's a fact of life of city life. Figure that you are going to have to repaint your bumper every so often and save accordingly. I wouldn't have a nice car in the city unless you have a dedicated parking space.

SodaLuvr

Rubber bumper covers >*

M TYPE X

It would take a lot of money to smother NYC with dog feces!

... oh, you only wanted to cover the bumper cover.

Too many people on this site who like to do everything half-assed

BstonBruin

what happens when you wanna leave and take it off

Go90go

^Haha, damn. Sometimes gotta think a little ahead... Those clear nose protectors from 3M should do the trick... I mean, aren't those things about 8mm thick? I have a personal spot so I'm not too worried but I once parked my Civic ( RIP) outside of a club when a fight broke out. Idiots were rolling on the street and went straight into my front bumper. I'll probably pick some of those up as soon as I repaint the car. A truck backed into it and another one hit it from the rear.

~Cheers~

Crazy88

But, as someone else said, bumper damage comes with living in a city without a designated parking spot.

Python2121

Every time my acura has been brought to nyc new scratches ALWAYS appear.

While you cant do this it's still good advice:

In Nashville it is legal to remove the front plates (whereas in NY it is), but I have left them on anyway because it means that people who back up into the front will just hit the plate, not the bumper. This has absorbed a number small bumps.

Water-S

another reason not to live in NYC or major metro city. people park so damn close.

SteVTEC

I've seen E46 3-series with these rubber strips that are about an inch wide and wrap around the entire front and rear bumpers. They're really clean looking and look totally OEM, and I guess help with bumper abuse a ton. I'm thinking they might be an accessory from BMW dealerships because I haven't seen anything else like them.

SicK TypeS

know any good sites for that sell the rubber strips? how do they stick onto the bumper?

Trojanman750

my bumper got bashed real good while parking, but i figured it was karma because i did that a few times when i owned my first few cheap beater cars.