door guards/protectors

I was worried about the edge of the door getting chipped, so I wen to PEP Boys and found some clear edging for the doors. So far I've only put it on the front doors. It looks better than I expected it to. I figure that if it yellows I'll take it off, clean the residue off and replace it.

I've only had my sweet little car 3 weeks and some bad driver (I've got some other words for the driver, but will refrain from printing them here!) put two small deep scratches in my rear bumper - grrrrr- I tried to buff them out, but they are so deep that it went into the plastic. Does anyone have any ideas on how to repair them without going to a body shop and spending $$$?

 

I've wondered about side mouldings myself. So far, I've been able to park where I can avoid the possibility of being dinged. I'm reluctant to use the ready made stick on mouldings, even if installed by a body shop, because, eventually, the admesve starts to deteriorate and the ends of the strips bend out from the body of the car. They also look like crap even when newly installed, especially the wide rubber ones.
What might look ok to me is mouldings colored to match the car; this would have to come from Toyota. There is still the problem of the mouldings pulling away from the car body.
Maybe Toyota will add these to the '05's, and offer it as an add-on to the 04's? I'd trust factory installed moulding, especially if color coded.
How 'bout boat fenders hung from suction cups on the windows? Give your Prius a nautical look???
Bob
p.s. if any of you do install them and take photos of same, would you be so kind as to post the photos?

 

I saw a place online that made stick-on, colour-matched magnetic protective strips. I don't know how they'd look on the car, but that might be one option that's very easy to apply and remove, but still provide adequate protection.

 

http://www.anythingtoyota.com/search_resul...ceEnd=&txtSale=

Seems like anythingtoyota.com has Prius Door Edge Guards
Description: Color-keyed for subtle style.Protection against costly door damage. Custom fit for your Toyota. Press on application.Not all shown colors were available on all years. If you are not sure where to find your color code check our Vehicle ID page.

They also seem to have MUDFLAPS, and clear vinyl cargo covers for the 2004 Prius....

Have never dealt with them though.

 

Dave, do you remember where you found the place or what the name was?

 

X-Pel (you can Google that term) also sells clear door guards. From other posts, they are supposed to be even clearer and longer-lasting than the 3M paint protective film. I ordered two sets for my Priuses; when I have the time and the weather to install, I'll post about how it goes.