[thefinnisher]

Here's a little simple idea to protect against minor scratches with poor drivers and people who want to get a little too close to your vehicle. It doesn't help against the big stuff, and I know the corners are still RSVP'ing to invitations.

In my previous car I had some scratches caused by other drivers and they were not significant enough to open the wallet and pay the deductible.

A proper bull bar would probably be best, but I'm not ready for the "running of the bulls in pamplona" yet.

I used two 10 inch 2 hole rubber bumpers by Buyers Products D210. They are less than $10 each and then another ten-ner for stainless hardware.

The other license plate bumpers were either too ugly, bulky, or seemed poor with aerodynamics so this is what I came up with. See attached photos for an instructional tour and amusement.

 

[thefinnisher]

A few more photos.

 

[focus805]

Great idea -- thanks for the write-up. I have a WeatherTech BumpFrame. It works well, but one of the mounting tabs cracked after somebody backed into it. Bumper protected, however. Your solution is much better --

 

[icerabbit]

That seems like a pretty cool and straightforward idea!

I may have to adopt that.

So, just four screws to undo that black license plate thing, then drill, bolt through ...
I never looked at it for fear I'd be horrified to see the rough holes in the bumper.

 

[thefinnisher]

focus805, I bought the WeatherTech BumpFrame too but felt the material was too hard. It also seemed prone to cracking rather than absorbing. I figured with this solution there would be a bit more absorbing and probably even protect the other person's vehicle.

icerabbit, yes behind the license plate there are four screws that attach the slightly larger plastic frame to the bumper. I didn't think about taking a photo of that part. I'll try to describe it. The bumper has a raised embossed rectangle on which the plastic license plate frame sits on. The rectangle shape supports the plastic frame so it can't move sideways or up-down, and hence the screw holes are pretty small. I kind of thought it looked pretty neat behind there.