icecream

So here's the story:

I got hit n run last month in Seattle's Chinatown. My rear bumper got cracked. So I bring it to the insurance and they gave me a check to repair it.

Rather than change into a stock rear bumper, I get a brabus rear bumper for my w209 clk from carnutz. Its an reputable shop here in the Northwest.
Here's their website: http://www.carnutzcustomz.com/

So I bring it in to pacific autobody to get it painted and fitted. I left my car there for 9 days to get it done. They do a decent work for the paint.
Here's their website: http://www.pacificautobody.net/

So today I pick the car up and they give me a bill for $1400. The bill is only for the paint and fitting the bumper in. They said that the bumper has a bad fitment and scratches that needs to be primered. The PDC holes is also too small for the car. They need to bore it out to make it larger. I saw that the bumper has mounts inside but they say that the mounts are different and therefore, they need to take the mounts out of the old bumper and make it fit. It cost me over $1000 for the labor.

I just don't expect this from an original BRABUS bumper.

I thought the fitment would not be a problem at all. Why I get spend 1400 in a bumper and spend another 1400 on fitting it. So I spend $2800 just to get this bumper into my car. I should just get a replica bumper and make it fit. It will be cheaper.

Is the fitment of the BRABUS bumper bad like what I experienced or maybe one of the shop is f***kin with me? please give your opinion or maybe your experience with brabus parts. I still couldn't believe i need to spend this much money on a rear bumper.

dynomite05

I don't have any experience with Brabus but from what I have read the original Brabus bumpers should not give issues with fitment. They are made to fit original mounting points. I guess you could call Brabus and verify the bumper.

csxian

Brabus is not OEM so it may not be a perfect fit like an OEM bumper. However, $1400 for the installation and painting sounds way too expensive for me. I have a friend that bought a real J's racing for his CSX and the bumper needs to be cut in 3 pieces to make it fits as the fitment is horrible but the bill is still less than $1000 for one bumper. It's in Vancouver, BC Canada which generally more expensive than in the US.

I don't know if the bumper you got is really a genuine but you can always call brabus to confirm about that. However, what can you do after you do the research?

lowpost

I had no problems - fit right on. It's not as perfect as I would have liked, the gap is a bit more than oem, but it's nowhere close to the problems you seem to have.

csxian

Mind to share where you got the bumper from?

icecream

^I got it from carnutz customz.... its on the post

icecream

yea, I will contact carnutz customz and brabus to verify whether the bumper is authentic.

I still don't know what I'm going to do... I just want to know whether they screw me or not...

do you have large gap in between the trunk and bumper?

dynomite05

Got any pics of the bumper?

lowpost

yeah prob like 1/8" more than oem. I forced myself to stop looking at it.

icecream

here's some pics



and close-up pics of the gaps

dynomite05

It doesn't look that bad IMO

lowpost

did you vinyl the bottom? I was thinking about doing that.

The gap looks just like mine. Although my shop didn't have to do any extra effort to make it fit - I think they're bull****ting you.

icecream

I told them to mask the lower part and paint it flat black. cost me 100 bucks.

Thanks man, now I know... The gap on the side in my left side is bigger than the gap in the right side though.

Supafly

I have a Brabus front facia fitted and well, the one side of the grille is a bit closer to the hood than the otherside....i tried almost everything to make it fit better aside from moving the fender and hood around to fix the gaps...
90% fitment.

icecream

thanks supafly, I'll get my front brabus too