The front bumper is an important part of your car. It flexes to absorb a blow, rather than being damaged from low speed impacts.

Even though the front bumper absorbs impacts very well, it still needs protection. We're not talking about protection in a crash. It's almost inevitable that your front bumper will get damaged in an accident. We're talking about protection from scratches, dents, and cracks in everyday driving situations. If the damage is significant enough, the cover can loosen and begin to fall off.

The Most Common Reasons Front Bumpers Get Damaged

An accident isn't the only event that can damage your front bumper. There are a few things that can scratch, dent, or crack your front bumper. For example:

• Rolled curbs
• Steep driveways
• Speed bumps
• Large road debris

The less ground clearance your car has, the more likely your front bumper will get damaged. Luckily, there are some affordable products that offer protection for your front bumper. Let's talk about what's available on the market:

1. All-Fit Lip Kit

There's something on the market called a bumper lip. It serves several purposes:

• Reduce the airflow under the vehicle, which helps with fuel economy
• Give the vehicle a lowered look
• Protect the bumper from damage

A lot of bumper lips on the market are designed only to serve the first two purposes. Manufacturers of these bumper lips don't consider front bumper protection as much as they do the airflow and/or aesthetics. If you're concerned about protecting your front bumper, you want to get a bumper lip that's built for protection. That means you want a durable front bumper made with materials that can withstand a lot of impacts. That's where the All-Fit Lip Kit comes in.

The All-Fit Lip Kit is an OEM-grade product, which means it offers real protection. Most of the competing products use a really soft foam material that offers almost no protection at all. All-Fit Lip Kits are made with high grade rubber that can:

• Bend in any direction (instead of breaking) when hit, which offers extra protection to the front bumper
• Stay on the bumper practically forever
• Withstand all kinds of weather
• Protect the underside of the front bumper from scrapes and damage over and over again

The All-Fit Lip Kit is such a tried-and-true product that a professional racing team put it on all of its cars.

2. All-Fit Flex Trim

If you're looking for a solution that isn't so obvious, look no further than the All-Fit Flex Trim. It's a stick-on product you can add to any part of your vehicle. It's a quite flexible product -- literally and figuratively. For example, you can apply All-Fit Flex Trim to the:

• Window trim
• Dashboard
• Door panels
• Wheel wells
• Headlights

The All-Fit Flex Trim also works quite well when it comes to protecting the front bumper from contact damage. If you add Flex Trim across the bottom of the front bumper, the bumper will get protection from the "bumper rash" that can happen from parking.

Unlike the really big/thick rubber bumper protection mats many companies offer, Flex Trim can blend in with the finish of the vehicle. So it protects your vehicle without taking away from its appearance.

3. Transparent Film

There's also transparent film. It's an adhesive-backed protective film that covers the paint on the front bumper. For example, 3M offers a "clear bra" product you can stick on your front bumper. The main purpose of doing this is to protect the paint on the front bumper.

Transparent film won't offer any significant protection, though. It will only protect your bumper from light scrapes, not cracks or dents. Considering how expensive it is and how time-consuming it is to install, we don't think that it's worth the investment if you're looking for good front bumper protection. You'd get so much more value out of an All-Fit Lip Kit or Flex Trim.