One downside to our Prius is that it takes very little pressure to scratch the paint (Tideland Pearl). After taking it to the shop to repair the damage done by a commercial lawm mower of all things, it came home with different small scratches. I took it to another body shop and they will take care of the problems but I'd like to prevent a few in the future. Is there a good source for a bumper strip for the side and some sort of vinyl that I could place under the door handles? Also a strip for the back bumper to protect it? My fingernails are not long but the area just under the door handle is qetting quite scratched up.
The Prius Accessories shop here on Prius Chat is a good place to start. You can get side moldings there... I ordered mud flaps from Deland Toyota (check ebay) to protect the sides further. You can get a rear bumper applique probably from your Toyota dealer, but also online. You can also have "invisible" plastic bra installed on the front, and you can probably have the same material put inside the door handles to protect from people's overly long fingernails, gigantic diamond rings, steel gauntlets, etc.
The most useful stuff I've found is a big roll of 2" wide generic side molding with 3M backing. This site has it (Kit# MDG123): http://www.customautotrim.com/products/mol...y_1_1eights.htm Tt might not be pretty, and it certainly won't protect the paint from all bumps, but it should help.
<_< QUOTE: "...bumper strip for the side..." Perhaps you mean "Body Side Moulding." Do a Search on "body side moulding" Many have added this to their Prius. Not sure, but I believe current cost is about $125 color matched plus whatever a shop charges to install... or installation is do-it-yourself if you feel condifent. No drilling, attached with adhesive strips, instructions included. Here's a photo: [attachmentid=4980]
Body side mouldings it is. Thanks Now for the doors. A neighbor suggested that I buy some clear or smoke vinyl as used to cut glare on windows as this should be easy to apply. I prefer something heavier like the bumper protectors but this "might" do for awhile. Would it damage the paint or would the UV protection in this stuff help? Can the bumper protectors be moved to the edge of the bumper or is their size, shape restrictive? We get all our dings on the edge of the bumper.
<_< Actually, my Dealer's affiliated body shop installed the Body Side Mouldings without charge. Took them about 30-40 minutes. Seems anything over about $50 would be excessive - IMO.
Yes I would agree. We bought ours from Metro toyota in Cleveland and they were an easy install and looked great.
