Body parts?

[Colt45ws]

Anybody know a good place for body parts? I need a new bumper cover and header panel. The big thing seems to be the bumper cover. I found one for $90 on Rockauto but then they want $200 to freight it! Im going, "EeeeYeahNO!"
They are plentiful on ebay but Im kinda iffy on going that route. They usually dont put who made it. I would hate to get it painted and it not fit right.
What do you guys think.

 

[The Critic]

Have you checked the dealer?

An OE bumper cover for the Nissan was like $200.

 

[Colt45ws]

$350

 

[Eddie]

Salvage yard?

 

[01rangerxl]

I've always been happy with Certifit. If you have a common vehicle, they have the parts in stock. Prices are excellent, and quality is as good as it gets for non-OEM parts. If you don't have a warehouse nearby though, that's a problem.

I have ordered a bumper, grille, valence, and header panel for my truck off of eBay from a seller with good feedback. I believe the seller was USAutoParts or something to that effect. Shipping was very reasonable, and they sent all the parts via either UPS or FedEx, including the steel front bumper. The parts were from the same Taiwanese suppliers Certifit uses. The fit was spot on, where you notice a difference is in the quality of the materials.

For example, the stock header panel and grille surround on my truck were made of sturdy, thick fiberglass. The Taiwan replacements were made of plastic and were noticeably more flimsy as a result. They work fine if installed with all of the original hardware, but they definitely are not as sturdy as OEM. I have also noticed that metal parts are thinner. Again, not a problem if you use all of the hardware and attachment points, but just not the same as OEM.

So in summary, fit and finish should be fine. Materials will be lesser than OEM quality though.

 

[Colt45ws]

Hmm, they have one in Seattle. It would still probably save me money rather than having it shipped.
Are the certifit parts like that though? I dont know if I want a flimsy header panel.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: Colt45ws
Hmm, they have one in Seattle. It would still probably save me money rather than having it shipped.
Are the certifit parts like that though? I dont know if I want a flimsy header panel.


As far as I know, Certifit only sells aftermarket replacements and not OEM parts. Everything I've bought there was made in Taiwan. With some of the parts, such as lights, you can't even really tell any difference, but with larger body parts you can as far as materials. They should let you look at the part before buying, but if it's a long drive to Seattle that doesn't really help you.

Unfortunately, it seems if you want parts that are OEM quality in every way, you have to go to the dealer or the junk yard. I think modern CAD is accessible enough to where the aftermarket can make perfect replicas as far as fit, but they are going to use the cheapest materials they can so they can sell a $300 part for $90.

 

[Colt45ws]

Hmmm. Okay. Its probably not likely Ill come across a good bumper cover in a junkyard. They will either have holes from push bumpers or some other damage. A header panel is probably pretty easy, though.
How hard would it be to repaint those parts? Im thinking labor wise if I had someone do it if it would still be beneficial.

 

[bdcardinal]

The problem with OEM body parts from Ford is there is very little mark-up on them for the dealer to sell at a discount and still make money. They offer a truckload program that discounts the cost of the parts for dealers, but very few dealers have room for 10 of each part number for fenders, bumper covers, mirrors, lamps, etc. To give you an example there is a taillamp part that lists for $47.54 and dealer cost is $38.03. Tell me where in there you can give a discount and still make money. That is a 20% markup from cost to list and most body shops expect a minimum 30% discount on parts.

 

[Colt45ws]

Yeah, I kinda seen that when I looked at a ford dealer online and the difference between list and the price they were selling it for was in the neighborhood of $30 on a $350 part.

 

[Colt45ws]

I think what I am going to do is order the bumper and related parts from Ford and then get a junkyard header panel. Ford quoted me $336 for a new front bumper which I think is fair. Lower than list according to a dealer site I visted.
According to car-part, junkyard header panels are running $100-150 undamaged. A new header panel is about the same as a new bumper at Ford so that will save me a bit of coin. Of course, Ill have to pay a bit more in paint over a new part, since it will need prepped before it can be sprayed. But I dont think it will be horribad.

 

[onion]

I had to replace that big stupid plastic bumper cover thingy on the wife's 2004 Accord a while back. Most places in town wanted $350 for an unpainted one... then wanted to charge me $100+ to paint it.

I found one on Ebay for $230 already painted. It's a cheap China knock-off (the same brand that other places in town wanted to charge me $350 for), but it fit just fine and looks good. If the wife breaks this one, I'll buy another one just like it.

 

[Bamboooo]

So - Where is a good, cheap place to buy semi-quality auto parts? I'm mainly looking for body parts - bumper, grill, fenders, lights, trim, etc. Is there a credible online vendor that you guys prefer? Or have had good experiences with? Thanks