In all of the Mini Pictures I have seen, I haven't seen one car with the door guards.

Is there a reason? I've always added or choosen this with my cars. People are

forever letting their doors bang into other people's cars.

I'm just very curious why so many have not opted for these?

 

Body side moldings are ugly. I think you will find most owners go out of their way to park away from most cars like in the back of the lot and just walk a little farther.

 

you can buy door guards and bumper guards aftermarket. i got clear bumper guards which are a necessity for city living.
check http://www.autofreak.net for the ones i got. but there are others out there on-line.

 

If you're referring to side molding, I don't think it does much good. There is such a variation in vehicle heights and door shapes that no matter where you place the molding, you're only protected against a small percentage of vehicles.

Plus, it looks terrible!

 

There's a guy in my neighborhood with a CR/W who has a very thin chrome protective door strip on his doors. I suspect all they're good for is to protect the edge of his doors when he gets in and out of his MINI. (...he has several cars in his garage and I would think clearances get tight in there.) That's all I've ever seen.

_________________
'03 IB/W Cooper

 

>>In all of the Mini Pictures I have seen, I haven't seen one car with the door guards.
>>
>>Is there a reason? I've always added or choosen this with my cars. People are
>>
>>forever letting their doors bang into other people's cars.
>>
>>I'm just very curious why so many have not opted for these?


Do you mean door guards or body side mouldings? MINI owners don't need door guards because they aren't going to hit anything with their doors. If it's body side moulding you mean it isn't very effective and, as others have said, it's ugly.


R.E.
>>
>>

 

>>Do you mean door guards or body side mouldings? MINI owners don't need door guards because they aren't going to hit anything with their doors. If it's body side moulding you mean it isn't very effective and, as others have said, it's ugly.

Clear 3M door guards are useful. They are easy to apply and look minimal but allow some protection against any mishap when the heavy door swings out into a solid stationary object like a wall or another car. Accidents can and do happen. Door guards will help.

Body mouldings? Can be done but the MINI has such a clean door line.
http://www.triple-c.com/Store_Detail...ShowLarge=True

$230 for a four piece set

One idea is magnet door guards to put on the doors as you leave. Get some really strong ones that stick good and set your car alarm sensitivity up so if anyone tries to pry off your protection then get a surprise.

On a practical note I know that either my side mirrors or wheel arches will provide some safety for my MINI so I position my parking to maximize these elements from cars around me.

 

Nice look minihune

 

minihune,

The stick on moulding in the picture doesn't look too bad, but it's located such that it would do very little to help prevent a door ding. Magnetic door guards might not be a bad idea if you're willing to bother with applying and removing them. Clear door edge guards would also be ok but in 45 years of driving I can't remember a case when I needed them.

It seems the best we can do is park away from others and hope for the best. Sometimes the trade off is your MINI parked way out by itself becomes a vandal magnet.

It amuses me to see 300 lb SUV drivers fighting it out for the closest place to the door at their local Walmart......heaven forbid they should have to walk.

I was born to live in Hawaii, but I'm stuck in Arkansas.

R.E.

 

Nice look minihune

 

I researched this like crazy when I got mine. I agree with others that the shape of the sides just don't look right with molding. It would be kind of like seeing side molding on a classic old car. So I:

bought some magnetic pads on a BMW site (hopefully one of the previous posts linked to that or you can do a search) to put on strategically when forced to park too close to a potential offending vehicle. There are also stick on moldings that can be kept on while driving, but I think ugly and not MC.

I too just park in safe place and even avoid head in parking when I can. If I had the money I would also hire a guard in rare occasions where I must put my beauty at risk.

 

For some reason when I saw that pict, it reminded me of a 350Z....

:???:

 

>>On a practical note I know that either my side mirrors or wheel arches will provide some safety for my MINI so I position my parking to maximize these elements from cars around me.

Yeah, our cars are short enough that if you pull into a parking spot as little as possible, you end up with your mirrors and wheel arches in line with most other car's doors.

 

Also, corner slot if possible and as far over from the other vehicle as possible. Sometimes it is even reassuring to see no matter how wide they'd open their door it wouldn't be far enough to touch the Mini.

But even that, aligning wheel arches and mirrors doesn't mean that car might not vacate and some bulgemobile might pull in and ruin the defensive parking. It's a game of odds and the more you do the better chance of not losing.

Hey, maybe just carry a couple of orange cones to make spots around you look officially closed. Yeah, that's it!!!

 

>>Hey, maybe just carry a couple of orange cones to make spots around you look officially closed. Yeah, that's it!!!

Somehow I think having cones might attract unwanted attention like parking across two stalls diagonally