Aftermarket Body Panels

[raroZ28]

I need a new p/s fender and I was about to buy one on ebay but I noticed on the auction it said it's a "steel" fender.

That doesn't really make a whole lot of sense, as I'm sure it'd be much easier and cheaper to produce a plastic fender.

So I called the number and it was an indian guy and it sounded like he was in a boiler room type environment, so I'm sure it was an outsourced call center so he didn't have access or any real knowledge of the part, all he does is take orders, which isn't what I really wanted.

He assured me that the fender WAS steel and that it was not a typo, and that all fenders for my car that I could purchase on the internet are steel, as no aftermarket company makes them out of plastic, they all make them out of steel. That doesn't make any sense to me, and the fender I'm replacing was an aftermarket replacement the body shop put on in 04 and it is a plastic fender.

Do you guys think it's a typo, or are there companies out there reproducing fenders for our cars made of steel?

[Joe 1320]

The guy was a moron.

[raroZ28]

The guy was a moron.

Max from discountautobodyparts?

NO!

So you think it was a typo and I should order it?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FENDE...Q5fAccessories

[Joe 1320]

Good lord.... look at what engines they list that are supposed to be in the Camaro.

[raroZ28]

Good lord.... look at what engines they list that are supposed to be in the Camaro.

Yeah I noticed that too. There is another auction for the same price that lists the right engine, but doesn't note what kind of material the fender is made of.

[FroSSty]

I have seen it both ways. Supposed to be steel and is plastic and supposed to be plastic and is steel. But that is the exception not the rule. Typically if it is originally steel you'll get another steel fender. If it is plastic, it could be either or. Steel is easier to punch than plastic is to injection mold...

[raroZ28]

Well I went into a body shop today and talked to a guy there. He said he hasn't heard of any aftermarket company making steel fenders for these cars.

He showed me a primed fender for a 98-02 model. It seemed like nice quality, but he didn't have any 97's in stock. He made a call and said he can have my fender first thing in the am, brand new primed and ready for paint.

So I went ahead and had him order it. I'll be picking it up tomorrow, I hope the quality and fitment is what I'm looking for.

[FroSSty]

Hopefully it is CAPA certifed, at least. I honestly don't sell much aftermarket stuff because it really is inferior to oem in fit, finish and quality.

[raroZ28]

Well it came over the weekend and I test fit it yesterday.





It fits flawlessly. It took about 3 hours to get it perfect, because since the accident the entire car is still slightly tweaked, even after the frame straightening, and I've had problems lining up the hood, bumper etc, but I got this fender fitting perfect. I just had to do some adjusting to the bracket in the wheel well and the bracket in front of the mirror.

I dropped it off at the paint shop today and I'm picking it up tomorrow morning.

Can't wait for tomorrow

[ryan34]

I'm glad to see if fits. My friend hit a deer in his Dakota a couple of years ago. He decided to go after market for the radiator and the fog light that were damaged. They were garbage, the radiator sprung a leak after 7 months and the fog light was smaller than the hole by quite a bit. It fits and works, but looks like ass.

Make sure you get it painted right away. My friends aftermarket bumper was "painted" black (looked exactly like your fender), but started to rust after a couple of months. Unless of course you found a plastic one

[raroZ28]

I'm glad to see if fits. My friend hit a deer in his Dakota a couple of years ago. He decided to go after market for the radiator and the fog light that were damaged. They were garbage, the radiator sprung a leak after 7 months and the fog light was smaller than the hole by quite a bit. It fits and works, but looks like ass.

Make sure you get it painted right away. My friends aftermarket bumper was "painted" black (looked exactly like your fender), but started to rust after a couple of months. Unless of course you found a plastic one

Yeah it's plastic.

The guy at the shop saw what kind of fender it was and said they use those all the time and they work out fine.

And I got it painted today, it's been done since like 3 but he said to wait until the morning to pick it up.

[Steel2686]

Looks like a great fit. I cringe at some of these aftermarket parts. I've had awful luck with most of them. I replaced the hood pistons on my wife's Volvo with aftermarket pistons. They weren't even strong enough to hold the hood up

I returned them and paid the extra $30 for Volvo OEM pistons. Sometimes it's just worth it.

[ryan34]

Looks like a great fit. I cringe at some of these aftermarket parts. I've had awful luck with most of them. I replaced the hood pistons on my wife's Volvo with aftermarket pistons. They weren't even strong enough to holf the hood up

I returned them and paid the extra $30 for Volvo OEM pistons. Sometimes it's just worth it.

Yea, after seeing my friend's issues, I'll only buy aftermarket designed for performance not OEM replacement. Other wise its to the OEM all the way.

[raroZ28]

My boy painted it at the dealership he works at. Came out flawless and I only paid $100 out the door.

He's a perfectionist so I was only going to take it to him.

I'm gonna mail him a thank you card with a $40 gift card for him and his wife or something.

It's raining out now so tomorrow when it's 65 and sunny I'm going to buff the entire car and try to get it clean and shiny, as this fender right now is not going to match very well.

He said the best I can do is get the rest of the car as clean and shiny as possibly.

[Joe 1320]

Looks like it's a nice fit with minimal ripples. Too bad we can't do the rear quarters that easy.