REVscene - Vancouver Automotive Forum

Mr.C · 07-16-2015, 10:18 AM

A couple of years ago, I bought a replica AC Schnitzer kit (front and rear valance) for my E38, from the owner, Grant.

Yes, I knew what I was getting into. The kit is an infamous DTM Fiberwerkz one, that has a history of poor fitment.

However, Grant assured me he had paid someone "a few hundred dollars" to make the rear valance fit properly, and even had it painted for a car it ended up not going onto.

Fast forward a month or so, and I had them in hands. It was painted, indeed, but at the time my E38 had busted chain guides, so I didn't install it.

It spent a year or two in my garage, nicely packed in bubble wrap, waiting for the right E38 to go on.

Yesterday, I put it on. The front fitment was "meh", but that was expected already. Some shaving and sanding later, and it fits pretty nice:

However...

The rear valance... the one that supposedly had a few hundred dollars spent on fitment and paint:

This was after about an hour of sanding; the top edge was horrendously wavy.

There was no way in hell somebody ever test fit this on an E38. It's about 1" total too big. I'm going to take it to a body shop, but I'm seriously considering just buying another bumper and making exact cutouts for the tips.

I believe this speaks volumes about the owner, Grant. Look, I sell used parts online all the time. I make sure to point out every detail, every scratch, every defect, major or minor, so the buyer knows exactly what they're getting.

I knew going in that the front lip would need work, and that it did. That's fine. But the rear valance? It looks terrible. It's wavy. It fits like shit. Even after an hour of fiddling around with it, it still looks like shit.

Had I known, I'd have just bought the front lip and be done with it. Now I'm probably looking at either a few hundred bucks of bodywork to make it look so-so, or, more likely, another bumper.

The level of dishonesty is appalling, really. Would it be so hard to say that the rear valance also needed work?

tl;dr: Grant of Tyee Imports bs'ed me about fitment of shitty aftermarket parts.

Also, for the record, be careful with DTM Fiberwerkz stuff. I wouldn't buy anything from them that would involve cutting my OEM parts. Lips? Sure. Valances that involve cutting? Nope.

Phil@rise · 07-16-2015, 10:49 AM

wavy because of the rivets....

pingu81 · 07-16-2015, 11:01 AM

Have you approached Grant since installing the parts to explain the issues?

EndLeSS8 · 07-16-2015, 11:40 AM

umm no offense, but it's a replica kit....

fitment is expected to be bad....

swfk · 07-16-2015, 12:33 PM

Best to test fit before you buy, especially for replica parts

FN-2199 · 07-16-2015, 12:49 PM

So you bought a replica part.

You were assured it would fit.
Received it and didn't immediately test fit the part (regardless of your broken chain guides)
Complain two years later that it doesn't fit
...and you didn't contact the owner? (unconfirmed)

People have different perceptions on what is "ok" to them in terms of fitment and in your case, many find that acceptable.

dared3vil0 · 07-16-2015, 12:55 PM

You seriously bad mouth someone's company because you purchased a REPLICA lip and valence from the owner who said he spent a couple hundred making the valence fit properly, and it's not perfect?

It's a fucking replica kit...

white rocket · 07-16-2015, 01:42 PM

Seller assured buyer that the replica kit would fit and also said he went to lengths to make the rear fit better. It feels shitty taking someones word then finding out that word don't mean shit. Buyer beware and assure proper fitment next time. No need for a thread though but since it's already created, contact the seller and report back.

PandaDog · 07-16-2015, 01:47 PM

I think all bodykit parts would need some work regardless of it being a replica or authentic piece. There may be variables here and there which affect how it fits on different vehicles of the same model/year. For fiberglass pieces it's best to have it on the car and tweaked while it's on the car

jasonturbo · 07-16-2015, 02:00 PM

Bro tip:

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.

Timpo · 07-16-2015, 04:49 PM

why are you guys complaining about OP just because he bought a replica?
the seller confirmed that it will fit, which it didn't.

sure, it's a fake, what can you expect?
but the seller shouldn't have told him that it will fit perfectly fine.

flagella · 07-16-2015, 05:20 PM

Seller was wrong in this case but the buyer has done such a shitty due diligence.

multicartual · 07-16-2015, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.C

tl;dr: Grant of Tyee Imports bs'ed me about fitment of shitty aftermarket parts.

Maaaaaan, I think everyone here will agree that a replica kit is like rolling the dice, sometimes you luck out and it fits with minimal work, other times shit is waaaay out of whack.

I believe my TRD Widebody replica kit for my old 1994 Supra turbo was mostly OK, but I'm pretty sure the side skirts were similarly warped and shitty.

Mr.C · 07-16-2015, 06:37 PM

@Phil: Wavy on the top edge.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FRESHvibe

So you bought a replica part.

You were assured it would fit.
Received it and didn't immediately test fit the part (regardless of your broken chain guides)
Complain two years later that it doesn't fit
...and you didn't contact the owner? (unconfirmed)

People have different perceptions on what is "ok" to them in terms of fitment and in your case, many find that acceptable.

Contacted him almost immediately on receiving, as the wavy-ness on top was noticeable. No way to test fit without hacking away the bumper.

Never received a reply. Prodded him a few months later and he gave a non-committal "he'd look into it". That was two years ago. I lived in Winnipeg at the time. It wasn't exactly something where I could head over and bang on his door.

Also, guys, I'm gonna highlight the part where I said:

I knew going in that the front lip would need work, and that it did. That's fine.

If I had known the rear valance also needed work, I'd simply not have bought it, given what I know of DTM Fiberwerkz.

Mr.Money · 07-16-2015, 07:31 PM

"replica"

WHAT THE FUCK?...YOU MEAN A CHEAP CHINESE KNOCK OFF WORTH 50 DOLLARS ISN'T AS GOOD AS THE REAL THING?????...WHAT THE FUCK WHERE IS MY DEAL OF THE CENTURY!!...100% AS REAL..

Stfu OP!

Gululu · 07-16-2015, 08:12 PM

fiberglass replica bodykit are meant for bosozoku drift teams or for situations where precision fitment is not necessary. good luck finding a bodyshop that would be willing to take on the job,

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoughEntity

I think all bodykit parts would need some work regardless of it being a replica or authentic piece. There may be variables here and there which affect how it fits on different vehicles of the same model/year. For fiberglass pieces it's best to have it on the car and tweaked while it's on the car

listen to this guy, he knows what he's talking about.

a00755836 · 07-16-2015, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.C

Yes, I knew what I was getting into.

there you go...

Mr.C · 07-16-2015, 10:50 PM

Holy shitballs, only like three people read the post and understood what I was complaining about, impressive!

Timpo · 07-16-2015, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gululu

fiberglass replica bodykit are meant for bosozoku drift teams or for situations where precision fitment is not necessary. good luck finding a bodyshop that would be willing to take on the job,

listen to this guy, he knows what he's talking about.

Bosozoku or any Japanese tuners/racers won't have access to Chinese knock offs. It's a huge offence in Japan.

If you go to Japanese airport Kansai(Osaka)/Narita(Tokyo), there's always a poster saying "We do not forgive counterfeit products" and they're taking very serious about it. Japanese customs is very well trained in spotting counterfeit products too.

If you go to Autobacs, Yellow Hat or any Japanese car shop, you will have very hard time finding fake products, whereas in North America, it's not that hard.

jaretron · 07-16-2015, 11:22 PM

I read it, not really worth a call out and it's own thread. Different people have different standards, yes this looks like it's too big but depending on how they mounted it (probably not using rivets) it may have looked better then. I mounted a ww font lip on my civic back in the day and it looked like shit, took it to a body shop and it looked rad. I'm good with my hands, but when it comes to body work they were better.

FN-2199 · 07-16-2015, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.C

@Phil: Wavy on the top edge.

Contacted him almost immediately on receiving, as the wavy-ness on top was noticeable. No way to test fit without hacking away the bumper.

Never received a reply. Prodded him a few months later and he gave a non-committal "he'd look into it". That was two years ago. I lived in Winnipeg at the time. It wasn't exactly something where I could head over and bang on his door.

Also, guys, I'm gonna highlight the part where I said:

I knew going in that the front lip would need work, and that it did. That's fine.

If I had known the rear valance also needed work, I'd simply not have bought it, given what I know of DTM Fiberwerkz.

Well, now that we have more info on your situation, that's absolutely shitty on the owner.
I get that you've been dealt a shitty hand and we all need to rant, but opening a thread about it years later is a bit over the top.

This is kinda like buying a car after the seller told you that they did the timing belt, only to find out years later it has never been done. As usual with used or replica parts/cars/things/women, one must exercise caution and cover their ass.