Hidy all, I'm new here and have a new-to-me 2017 Prius. My car is registered in a state that does not require a front plate. I am currently in NYC for a while and my car is getting destroyed from having to park on the street. Sorry, but I don't have $400/month to spend on a garage. I got a bumper bully for the but the front of the car is breaking my heart. Lots of nicks and scrapes--the beginnings of the NYC tell-tale "bumper rash," but because the Prius has such a low, sloped profile the damage is even around the hood ornament. Today, I walked out and found that the grill had been cracked. I've been trying to find something to protect the front of the car but the only thing I can find are bump shox type products that go around a front plate holder. I don't have a front plate so to make use of a bump shox I would need to drill in a plate holder. All of the tow mount plate holders are on the side of the front bumper and won't offer the same protection with the bump shox product as the front center mount plate holder. My questions are: Are there other options for me for protecting the front of my car? What kind of plate holder should I get if I go the bump shox route? Is there some sort of compound I could use to repair the crack in the grill--it's in one of the grill slats, if you follow me. I can post a pic tomorrow. Or another hack that won't look terrible? Are there any geographically based forums on here or does anyone have advice on finding a good Prius mechanic that's not the dealership? Thank you in advance for your collective expertise. Apologies if some of my questions should be posted elsewhere. If that's the case, please kindly point me to the correct forums. This is my 1st post on PriusChat. Thank you, Rick
welcome! i don't have any good advice, but our daughter parked in the city for a year, and her accord was wrecked. i wish you all the best!
LOL @bisco. Not very encouraging! But yeah, parking on the street brings about certain risks of which include, but not limited to, hit and runs, theft of wheels, cat, contents, etc. I would say use some high visibility stickers on the front and rear bumpers, but that won't stop a drunk or inattentive driver from hitting it. I would also try to only park at the head of a curbline of cars. If you can't park in a garage, only thing you can do is have good full coverage insurance.
yeah,she even got sideswiped one night. doors, mirror, bumper, a real mess. and no one leaves a note on your car like the old days...
The stealership tried to talk me into a 3m coating? I believe my brother said something about a Teflon protective coating you can get for it. Told me it was about $45 per gallon at oreillys but I haven't looked into it.
Protective coating? A brush bar on the front and a tow hitch on the rear are the only things that *might* stop your bumpers from being destroyed. EDIT: found this thread... Bumper/Grill Guards | PriusChat
"Before we tell you if the ceramic coating is better than Teflon coating, you need to understand that the latter costs roughly Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000, depending on the size of your vehicle. In comparison, prices of the ceramic coating start at roughly Rs 18,000 and goes all the way up to Rs 35,000 as per the size of your car and the exact package you opt for."
Yeah I wouldn't waste my money if I was you. A paint coating is ok for bird poop or tree sap, but it's not gonna help if somebody's literally ramming your car to make some space to park
This is normal and it's not going to change in New York. The rip your side of your mirror covers off as well you'll find them on the ground because people clip your mirrors as they drive by. Get used to it. Bumper dimples are common throw a hole and pull it out. Leave the nice car at home and drive the crappy car in the city. I grew up there that's what we always did
Not worth the expense of trying to prevent the scratches and stuff. All the parts that get hit the most are already plastic, so you don't have to worry about corrosion after the paint gets ripped. If at some point in the future you leave the city and need the car to look that nice again? Spend the money on a cleanup then. You'll get bled try if you try as-you-go. Now, I left NYC before I got into a Prius so apologies if this has gone out of date, but back then all the good cheap mechanics were along Metropolitan Ave around Middle Village, just along the Brooklyn/Queens line. Mind you they looked like the sketchiest dumps but the mechanics were great.
I might say between the energy absorbing foam, the honkin' metal reinforcement, and the crushable metal supports, there's more of a bumper here than any of my childhood cars with chrome thingies in front.
I would venture the bumper on this 80~81 Civic could take a bit more of a love tap. Hydraulically mounted too.
It doesn't take much of a tap to put a crease in a chrome gutter style bumper forever. A modern tupperware end cap style bumper can take a lot of hits and only show a few of them. It's been working.
