Our old car had a habbit of collecting dings in carparks Admittedly it was a Vauxhall Antara with flimsy panels that would flex alarmingly when you pressed against them, and dented very easily.

Anyway, we have a nice shiny new FL2 in fuji white, and to mitigate the unavoidable Im thinking of getting the door protector strips added.

Do you think they look okay against the white paint?

If we changed our minds, do they come off without leaving any marks?

Alternatively, we could leave them off, but then could anyone comment on what a handful of small dings would do to the part exchange value of the car?

We had our last car for just under two years, first dent collected 2nd day of owning it.. even after deliberately spending ages to park in the widest spot (next to disabled spaces) we could find. Then we just seemed to collect new ones every few months. We caught one in the act onces, and after a bit of wrangling the beemers owner agreed to pay for repairs.. Unfortunately we chose to use one of those mobile 'smart' repair companies. Who couldn't get the color match right, and spent two days sanding, filling, spraying, polishing to turn a small annoying ding into a big patch of uneven miscolored mess. He gave us a refund in the end, but Im sure it played a part in the low p/x we got on it. Lesson learnt, pay the extra and get it done in a body shop.

Got mine colour coded in a body shop and applied when dry.look good and do the job well  2010 HSE Galway Green auto GONE

i find they good as they are,they match other areas of my 59 reg gs e,as my lower front/back bummpers are not colour coded,so they match,dont know if urs is the same,or like mine.they have saved my doors a few times, i think they look good on mine,and bring things together,as my lower door mouldings are the same colour,have a look at my gallery. Current: Freelander 2 GS, Orkney Grey, Factory fit privacy glass, design pack and Clearview pack. Almond Leather ,rear spoiler,rear mudflaps.my13.

Gone:Freelander 2, GS, "61"

Gone: Freelander 2, GS.e, "59"

Gone: Freelander 2, S, "08"

Must be the first time you've owned a Land Rover/ a proper off road vehicle Sam.........................








There are two ways to avoid door digs when you own one - take it offroading and get it covered in mud, nobody will want to park near to you for fear of getting their clothes dirty.................... or do what most of us do and park across two slots at the supermarket. Both are much cheaper than buying door fenders and getting them body coloured How can carbon have a footprint, it has no feet?
Now driving - RRE Coupe Dynamic Lux Auto with Plus pack, Fuji White, Ebony, SD4 with tow pack
Gone - 2010MY FFRR TDv8 Stornoway and Ivory, Privacy - the pace of a TDv8 RRS, the incomparable grace of a Range Rover
Gone but will be missed- RRS Tdv8 HSE Stornoway Grey with Ebony Leather
Gone (only a little missed) RRS Tdv6 2.7SE Giverny Green/Aspen
Defender 90 County HT in Epsom Green

don't think the black strips on a white car will look good

colour coded maybe, but i have never had a ding in my door, a smashed indicator on the passenger side but nothing on the metal work  Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

I recently had a guy massage some dents out of a door - it was magic! I've never seen anything like it, you genuinly could not see the dent before hand and no paint nor filler in sight..... best £50 i ever spent!

So I would say the money that you would spend on the mouldings and just try and park safe - fingers crossed you wont get many, and any you do get I fully recommend my man to remove them for you Freelander 2 TD4 Auto, SE, Narvik Black, Alpaca full leather, Rear Headrest Entertainment System, 6 CD, 18 HSE Wheels, Privicy tints

I've wondered about fitting these too, but I simply can't come to terms with forking out yet another £120 ish for something that, what with the car having a £30K + price tag, really should be standard! Even the bumpers having nothing but paint to protect them; I just know that they'll be a substantial amount of paintwork to pay for before it returns at the end of the 3 year contract

Thanks for all the advice.

gilfishman: The protectors look good on your car thanks for sharing the pics

Tim: haha. thats one way to avoid dings but surely more likely to be keyed

Captain Worm: Your advice sounds the best - i.e. save money, still stinging from buying the car. Are you referring to paintless dent repair? Only thing that puts me off that is that depending on location, they sometimes have to drill holes to get the metal rods in... but otherwise definately a good back up plan.

Tigger: I agree.. unfortunately I forgot to ask about them when haggling otherwise I would definatley have ask for them to be 'thrown' or put on at cost. For a car as wide as the FL2, it definately makes sense to have them as standard/color coded.