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Date:         Fri, 28 Apr 2006 00:20:17 -0400
Reply-To:     The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         The Bus Depot <vanagon@BUSDEPOT.COM>
Subject:      Re: are all after market bumpers created equal?
Comments: cc: robert shawn feller <feller@CARBONCOW.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <005601c66a63$8d3057a0$6701a8c0@emachine>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

> I bought two after market bumpers over the winter (chrome) > from two different online vendors we all know. Although they > looked like cheap plating when I got them they would suffice > for my need as a finish my restoration this week. > Upon installation I'm appaled at the fit of either bumper. > End caps don't fit well, holes don't line up well and > required additional drilling and all around suck in my > opinion. Are the all buying from the same crap source to get > us affordable bumpers?

They all come out of the same factory in Italy, no matter whose brand name (or alleged country of origin) is on them. (There were some even worse ones on the market a few years ago from God-knows-where, but I haven't seem them in a while and never carried them.) The only difference from vendor to vendor is whether or not they have the holes drilled for the impact strip. They're offered both ways, and sometimes an importer who doesn't know what a U.S. spec Vanagon looks like will buy the ones without holes by mistake. (We sell them with the holes, of course.) I would not call the bumpers OE quality, but we've sold hundreds over the years and had very few complaints about them. The fit is generally decent if not perfect, and they look completely stock once installed. In other words they're acceptable, not exceptional. Personally, my only gripe (being on the east coast) is that the chrome plating is not comparable to OE, so they will rust sooner in certain climates. (Waxing them periodically helps.)

The alternatives? A junkyard bumper of course (if you can find one that isn't tweaked or already rusting); a non-stock custom bumper (there are a couple out there); or a genuine VW bumper. Last time I checked genuine ones were still available, but they're $600 for a front and $800 for a rear. For the absurd sum of $1400 a pair, you get an easier fit and they will go longer without rusting ... that is, if you don't ding them up first. The problem, as we all know, is that it doesn't take much of an impact to dent a Vanagon bumper (either genuine or aftermarket). The Vanagon bumper is almost useless as a bumper; it's really more of a cosmetic cover over the crumple zone. Paying $1400 a pair instead of $300 a pair doesn't improve this - it just makes you feel a whole lot worse if you ding one.

- Ron Salmon The Bus Depot, Inc. www.busdepot.com (215) 234-VWVW

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