This actually happens all the time in my garage, where Lola is parked next to Mushroom, the 2005 Prius.  I finally applied heavy duty packing tape to the offending surfaces, and it works well.

Ellen

�Be Content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you 
realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.� ~Lao Tzu

> Date: Tue, 28 Jun 2011 08:56:07 -0700
> From: camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM
> Subject: Trim for door underside?
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> 
> When I was getting into the van in a parking lot yesterday, the door
> swung wider than it should have and briefly touched the side of the car
> parked next to me. As I climbed in, my weight drew the tip of the van
> door downward, leaving a comma-shaped scrape in the paint of his gas cap
> door.
> 
> The guy who owned the car wasn't bothered, it had plenty of scrapes on
> it. But if it had been a shiny new expensive luxury sedan I might have
> been in doo-doo.
> 
> The bottom edge of the door on my van is just painted metal. I wish it
> didn't want to swing wide so easily -- other cars I've owned had
> "detents" where the door could be parked in a partially-open position. I
> often am using both hands to pull myself up into the seat so I can't
> hold the door at the same time.
> 
>  Is there some kind of pre-fabbed rubber or vinyl trim strip that can be
> applied there to reduce the scratch potential?
> 
> -- RJS