People can't Park in NYC
 

i love this city but as a driver, my car hates this city. i got my new (used) car for about a month and already the bumber is showing scratches. I swear people can't park if their life is depended on it. but i can't really just blame the people. the city also should be blame. we have around 8+ million people here. why don't they build some more public parking space. like ones they have in malls and charge a meter feed. how do you guys cope with parking in this great city of ours?? i seen people have bumber gourds and even the big plastic mats.

plastic mats work good! good thing im in LI though where parallel parking isnt required in some places. except the damn malls....thats where all the idiots/haters surface.

First of all, I do not like the look of those bumper guards or mats that you hang out of your trunk. It just takes away from the car and is an eyesore. I think the main reason is people cannot properly parallel park and don't have good judgment when they park or try to get out of a spot. Me and many of you have probably seen many people not tap but really bump into the car in front or back of them (sometimes both) when trying to park. I can honestly say that I have "tapped" a few cars myself when parking. I try to use best judgment and accuracy but there's a huge difference in tapping another car and bumping a car. Many people bump a car which lets them know that "Oh I can't reverse or go forward anymore". I've seen virtually brand new cars with all sorts of scratches and stuff on the bumpers. Having a garage helps but your not going to be pulling into a garage or driveway everywhere you go.

bumper car is the way of life in nyc :(

same thing here in philly i just get my bumpers sprayed after they get bad

I rapped my rear bumper in15 mil polyurethane film. I paid 80 to have it done. It’s basically a thicker version of the material used for a clear bra. So far, so good.

Question to Vollandt
 

I am about to get an ES350 and live in a city where paralell parkers will bump your rear bumper constantly. I am also considering protecting it with the clear bra material. However I doubt the standard stuff is thick enough to do much good. I am encoraged that you found a shop with 15mil poly.
Did the piece come with holes for the parking sensors in the bumper?
I still can't believe they only charged you $80 for a custom piece that is thicker than the standard stuff
Thanks

You gotta understand, it's not that they don't know how to park, they just don't give a damn.

The installer cut the holes for the parking sensors. I Wraped the front in 6" and the rear in 12", both 15ml thick. I paid 120

Someone got me last week. First time ever going to wallmart
 

at Green acres mall. Some clown open their door and put a dent in my door. This is the second dent that I have gotten by some A$$ wipe that doesn't give a crap about someones property. Argh

Tahts Why I Love Nyc! :d

Yeah... whats worse is when they hit your car when you're there and try to act like nothing happened... Liberty Mutual wrote me a nice check when someones SUV door left a nice sized ding in my passenger door and the driver tried to act like she didn't do it.. thank goodness for CCTV recordings in some parking lots... I'm just glad I know a great inexpensive body shop for all the times I couldn't catch the guilty party.

im with philly gs3 i get my rear bumper sprayed every 6 months even tho it usually only last a few weeks b4 they scratch it up its just 2 expensive to do all the time and i have the "big rubber mat" lol it helps no matter how tacky it looks the only thing is i think people see it n think its ok to bump u.

i think the clear bra method is the way to go. Doesn't look ugly like a big rubber bumper guard and it's relatively cheaper than getting the car resprayed every 6 months unless you're chummy chummy with a paint shop.

You guys in New York have a lot of choices to go for clear bra services. Call around and to get the best price on a 15 mil or thicker film.

http://clearbrafilms.com/newyork/

Good luck guys.

Clifford

i feel ya on this issue, but bumping other cars while parking is even worse lol, that shiet leaves a bigger mark sometimes. the city is too packed and I sometimes dont even give a damn, i'll just respray my bumper when needed