Guys, I am looking for your opinion on this.

I need a new bumper cover due to someone backing in to me with a trailer hitch.

The stock ones go from 1250 - 1500 (one for sale here for 1500.00)

Then I saw the Extreme Dimensions Duraflex cover for 375.00

Obviously the price difference is enticing but want to know from you about your experiences with the Duraflex and specifically why the price difference?

Can anyone speak to this?

 

you can buy stock on ebay for 500-750. if you buy a cheap one be prepared to spend 4 to 6 extra hrs labor to finish it when you have it put on

 

I'm sure you can find a used stock one in good condition for under $1k. My friend got a duraflex bumper for his 2012 mirage a few years ago and the fitment was terrible. (imagine early 2000s ebay honda civic bodykit)

 

The difference in price comes from material. OEM is a plastic /propolene blend that required very little work to install. My parts are hand laid fiberglass and require typical fiberglass paint prep
* sanding
* drilling
* bondo skimming
* primer
* paint

So to some extent the above comments are correct, you will have to take my part to a custom body & paint shop to install. You save money, but you have to put more work in than OEM. So it's a give and take, mine still ends up being more affordable and when done right looks fabulous.

 

Is this a front or rear bumper?

i had a duraflex sl65 style front bumper on my sl55 for a little over a year. It was purchased on eBay. I did the conversion and prep myself.

the fit was acceptable. The bumper is fiberglass so you have little flex with it. Fit tight to the aluminum fenders with a little finessing (pulling them outward slightly, just by grabbing them
by hand)
gaps inconsistent around headlamps. Filled and sanded as best as possible but bottom line they are a little off. From a few feet back unnoticeable. To anyone I didn't flat out point the gaps too, it was unnoticeable.
the body line around the headlamp wasn't as crisp.
Fit around the main grille was tight. The stock 03-06 grille cracked from the tight fit. An 07-08 grille worked out perfect.
center lower mesh fit perfectly after drilling holes and installing stock plastic clips. Remove the included mesh, it looked cheesy by comparison.
i made my own sl65 style fog and side grilles, don't know if stockers would fit but my custom pieces came out great.

Had to figure out a way of attaching splash shields.
parktronkc sensor openings had to be cutout. Fog light openings had to be cutout. Bumper trim retainer clip cutouts had to be made. This was easy with a spiral saw. The bumper trims had to be modified slightly to stay tight to bumper, the FRp was too thick for the clips in spots.

After prep finish was excellent. I did get some cracks later after bottoming out once that slowly started to spread.

Note you can't use the stock bumper reinforcements, and only the center energy absorber could be used. In a collision (god forbid) this bumper will not perform like stock.
There isn't a tow hook provision a no easy way of having the stock cover in place .


Overall I was satisfied with it, I purchased it as a temporary bumper until I found a nice genuine sl65 bumper to repair and install - my OE bumper was damaged after hitting a bird and I wanted my car looking good (fast) for an upcoming car show. I had it all done within 2 weeks. for the price it was fantastic.
If you aren't doing it yourself Or familiar with some body work I wouldn't recommend, as it took quite a bit of improvising to work properly and I'm not sure how a collision body shop would approach this. Would have to be a custom
body shop.
I also wouldn't recommend if you plan on leaving it on permanently as it won't hold up, look or perform like stock but does look okay. Like I said, I bought it as a temporary solution which it was awesome for! As I did all of t myself, labor was free and cost all-in was around $600 if I recall.

 

Pictures of the duraflex sl65 bumper

 

The bumper cover you mention FS here is mine. It will not fit your car as the 2003 thru 2006 bumper covers are different then the 2007 & 2008. GL, as I have yet to see one on eBay that isn't all busted up and/or repaired.

 

Thanks Chuck, I was talking about OEM bumpers but did mention yours as an example.