anyone used aftermarket fenders?
11-08-2010, 02:12 PM
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anyone used aftermarket fenders? has anyone on here used any of the aftermarket fenders and front bumper covers that you generally see on Ebay, etc.? i cannot seem to find anything suitable that is used and/or price is way high for buying a used and damaged ones anyway.....it seems like every used one i find has lower mounting broken. just wondering how bad they can screw up reproducing plastic fenders and how well they fit compared to the originals. Thanks in advance!
11-08-2010, 03:06 PM
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they are that bad? that sucks.....i was just liking their price and the one place just guaranteed they would fit like the originals even--i am sure they were feeding me a bunch of bs just to buy them. front fenders were $63.00 and free shipping and the front bumper cover was $94.40 and free shipping. the pricing is great, but not THAT great if they don't fit worth a %#^Q*. i guess i will keep looking for good originals. Thanks for the info!
11-09-2010, 12:00 PM
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We have an aftermarket passenger side front fender on the '95 that a Chevy dealership put on (can't believe they didn't use OEM). It doesn't fit right. The curve is off when looking at the side of the car and the stalk leading to the mirror doesn't line up right. I don't recommend them if you can avoid them.
You can recognize an aftermarket front fender on a car in a junkyard given the fact that the OEM ones do not have an indentation where the bolts go under the hood. The aftermarket one I have has an indented area around the bolts.
I don't know what year bumper you are looking for, but I know OEM front bumpers for '93-'97 are very hard to find, but worth finding. People tell me the black plastic ones all over ebay fit too tight and some even lack the area for the nose emblem. If you aren't willing to wait and hunt, at least in my area, you can get one of those plastic ones off craigslist for about 75 bucks and go pick it up yourself.
You can recognize an aftermarket front fender on a car in a junkyard given the fact that the OEM ones do not have an indentation where the bolts go under the hood. The aftermarket one I have has an indented area around the bolts.
I don't know what year bumper you are looking for, but I know OEM front bumpers for '93-'97 are very hard to find, but worth finding. People tell me the black plastic ones all over ebay fit too tight and some even lack the area for the nose emblem. If you aren't willing to wait and hunt, at least in my area, you can get one of those plastic ones off craigslist for about 75 bucks and go pick it up yourself.
11-09-2010, 02:44 PM
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THANKS for the info! i kept thinking "how bad can they really be?" but obviously it's you get what you pay for i guess. i priced new GM stuff today for my '99 SS and the fenders were $196.50 ea. and the front bumper cover was just under $350.....so i will wait it out until i can find a decent pair of used fenders and a bumper cover. when i would call these "economy priced" parts places each one told me all their body shops in the area are using their stuff--yeah, because they can buy it cheap, throw on some paint and make it look half-assed....and that is not what i want. so i will keep looking until if find good used original GM ones. i really appreciate all the input--at least i didn't waste my money on the cheap-made crap! Thanks again!
11-09-2010, 06:33 PM
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Here's a copy and paste of a post I made on Camaroz28.com where I discussed and showed this aftermarket/OEM comparison issue a little bit:
Also, when looking at used bumper covers, the originals were urethane and yellowish on the backside that wasn't painted. Most of the aftermarket ones are black. Given how expensive and difficult it can be to find a perfect used front bumper (since so many Camaros are wrecked going forward and not rear ended--you can easily find an OEM rear bumper) I probably wouldn't pass up an aftermarket front bumper if it was a good price and had the proper nose emblem indention. But I'd still only buy one used... you'll want to see how it fits on the car it's coming off of I would think.
I can tell you a good tip. Some of the aftermarket fenders have beveled edges on the inside where the bolts go. I know for a fact that this fender is aftermarket:
and this one is factory original:
The aftermarket one isn't a perfect fit at all. It has slots instead of holes in some places to imply that you can loosen the bolts and adjust the fender, but there's really not a whole lot that can be done. It doesn't fit at the mirror right, there's a gap that doesn't make sense. The curve near the Z28 emblem isn't quite right either.
If you go to a junkyard and the fender has these beveled edges around the bolts, then it's most definitely fake.
and this one is factory original:
The aftermarket one isn't a perfect fit at all. It has slots instead of holes in some places to imply that you can loosen the bolts and adjust the fender, but there's really not a whole lot that can be done. It doesn't fit at the mirror right, there's a gap that doesn't make sense. The curve near the Z28 emblem isn't quite right either.
If you go to a junkyard and the fender has these beveled edges around the bolts, then it's most definitely fake.
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11-10-2010, 10:47 AM
#9
My car needed a fender this past spring when someone backed into it in a parking spot and cracked my original (drivers side). GM SAID they had stock fenders...well...we refused the first 3 that GM sent us as they were clearly some trash aftermarket with unprepped edges, incorrect curves...disasters really...the 4th one, was a real OEM fender, looked exactly like a stock fender, and fit the car perfectly...was very very minor prep work for my body guy to make it look perfect, and now you can't tell it was replaced...the first 3 were so bad, I'd have been disgusted every time I looked at the car if they'd been installed.
11-10-2010, 12:50 PM
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well that pretty much gives me my answer and which way i am going to go with them....including the front cover. if it's not going to be close i am not going to bother and from the responses i am getting it looks like the aftermarket are basically getting what you are paying for.....junk. i will keep looking for good used or break down and order new GM. thanks for everyone's input--at least it gives me a direction since i ALMOST bought the ones off of Ebay only because of the price. Thanks again!
