Door Ding Protection

The other day, I received a comment on the blog asking, “How do you all protect against door dings?” Thinking about it, the previous 970 Panamera we had was fitted with a clear stone guard film, but for the current Panamera and Boxster, I haven’t done any specific door ding protection.

So, I did a little research on door ding protection, but all I found were the usual tips like “choose a wide parking spot,” “don’t park next to cars with lots of scratches,” and “apply door edge protectors,” which made me think, “Well, that makes sense.” Maybe those are really the only practical measures.

I also looked into door ding protection products, but many of them made me feel, “Even if they’re practical, I really don’t want to put these on because they ruin the car’s design.”

Our Approach

There are three types of door ding protection:

① Measures to prevent door dings from happening (Prevention)
② Measures to minimize damage if a door ding occurs (Mitigation)
③ Measures to restore the damage after a door ding has happened (Repair)

In our case, we only do ①. When we go shopping at supermarkets or malls with the Panamera, even if it means parking a bit farther from the entrance, we try to park in spots where there are no cars nearby.

Also, for example, if there’s a wall or pillar on the left side and no risk of parking on the left, I park as close as possible to the right white line, giving off a strong “Don’t even think about parking next to me!” vibe (I know it’s a bit of a selfish parking move… sorry). Basically, I try to reduce the risk as much as possible when parking.

However, on weekends at shopping mall parking lots or smaller parking areas, it’s not always possible to park spaciously, so in those cases, there’s not much you can do. So far, I’ve never been the cause or victim of a door ding, but I want to keep my precious Porsche as scratch-free as possible.

That said, how do you all usually protect your cars from door dings? Please share your methods and recommended products in the comments. I plan to share this valuable information on the blog at a later date. Thank you in advance!