Flush mounted reflectors - post install pics

[White08M3]

o god

[Legen_wait for it_dary]

*crosses fingers*

[SlammedR8]

gross
fill and paint your bumpers people!!

Why would you purchase a Euro bumper? this boggles my mind...JUST HAVE YOURS PAINTED!!!!!!

[gadget]

Agree this looks terrible.

In life you get what you pay for. I don't feel bad for those that already bought thiers (aka Cheapskates)

How much would it cost to fill and paint the bumper. A little surprised no one has done this yet. this is a ~$70K car. Clearly we can all afford to have it done right. Yet people are to busy putting other mods, often making the car look worse. just my 2 cents

[J08M3]

Filling a plastic bumper that easily bends?? is that a good idea? Won't the filler pop out easily? I'm no expert on body work, but I do know my auto body guy strongly recommended not filling it and if you want it done right to order the euro bumper. But that's a bit expensive for me so I guess I'll have reflectors.

[yahtzee]

Originally Posted by Big Windy

did you paint around the edges with some AW touch-up paint? it looks that way.

Had to....the inside edge was black and would have caused it to look worse.

[yahtzee]

The word is "cheapskates", buddy, and I am not one of them. If I were I wouldn't have risked spending almost $100 in product and extra shipping because it looked pretty decent from afar (if I recall, we never saw up close pics like I have taken, although I could be incorrect). How about you step up and get your bumper redone and let us all know how it goes? You game?

Originally Posted by gadget

Agree this looks terrible.

In life you get what you pay for. I don't feel bad for those that already bought thiers (aka Cheapscapes)

How much would it cost to fill and paint the bumper. A little surprised no one has done this yet. this is a ~$70K car. Clearly we can all afford to have it done right. Yet people are to busy putting other mods, often making the car look worse. just my 2 cents

[nusevad]

Damn that sucks, painted reflectors ftw for now i guess.

How hard is it to remove those?

[!Xoible]

definitely filling the bumper is the solution to this

[SlammedR8]

Originally Posted by Motorsport

As far as filling the bumper goes Nate@Industry has done it and it looks perfect. I asked him to post a DIY thread with all the necessary steps when he gets the next car to work on. I think that aside from getting the Euro spec, if done right this is by far the best solution.

Thats right, I will post pics of my E93 - it will be going in to be filled and painted as soon as I get the car.
And for whoevers body shop said they dont recommend doing it, I recommend you switch body shops - coz if the guy cant do something as simple as filling the bumper, I don't think I would trust him to work on a car that has been in an accident or even the least bit of paintwork.

[SlammedR8]

Originally Posted by J08M3

Filling a plastic bumper that easily bends?? is that a good idea? Won't the filler pop out easily? I'm no expert on body work, but I do know my auto body guy strongly recommended not filling it and if you want it done right to order the euro bumper. But that's a bit expensive for me so I guess I'll have reflectors.

It was YOU, who said that...your body shop is horribly wrong.

Ask Nate,

[Steveo58]

crap. I ordered these as well... looks worse than painting the stock ones! Agh!

[yahtzee]

I will say that they have agreed NOT to charge me the restocking fee given all of the headaches and will be refunding my money. Good way to end this debacle. Thanks, Jinxter/Boris.

[Jinxter]

We are truly sorry for yahtzee's order and are working with him to resolve this issue.

As to fitment of these reflector inserts I will start off first by saying each bumper is slightly different and we will work with our customers to satisfy them.

I will be test fitting each set of reflector inserts on my own vehicle prior to shipment.

We do not want to put blame on any of our customer but for best fitment you need to work with the tape layering. We include a 1ft strip for exactly this situation.

I am not one to point fingers but everyone must know that dealing with aftermarket parts can require slight modification or in some cases modification can not even fix the issue. I have seen after market front spoilers made by various companies (Not going to list names but they are some of the well known/trusted companies) carbon fiber or even ABS that didn't line up and are off. I am trying to fill the gap and make these inserts user modifiable for best results.

We have learned a lot working with Yahtzee and appreciate his criticism as it only push's us further on creating a superior product.

[J08M3]

Originally Posted by slammedm3

It was YOU, who said that...your body shop is horribly wrong.

Ask Nate,

They are an excellent body shop, they didn't tell me why they don't like doing it though, but next time I see them I will ask why and post their reason here. (they could very well be horribly wrong I don't know) The questions I posed were just my own curiosities based on my limited knowledge of bodywork.

[MTrizzy]

..staying orange

[J08M3]

Originally Posted by slammedm3

It was YOU, who said that...your body shop is horribly wrong.

Ask Nate,

Ok... after speaking to the body shop today I asked them the reason for not wanting to fill plastic bumpers. They said after having done this in the past numerous times using plastic fillers from different companies, it never holds up. It looks great at first, but either it doesn't bond properly or it doesn't expand and contract at the same rate as the bumper. So it's only a matter of time before you start to see a ring around the filled in area. The only way to do it properly and have it last is to buy the Euro bumper.

[gadget]

Originally Posted by yahtzee

The word is "cheapskates", buddy, and I am not one of them. If I were I wouldn't have risked spending almost $100 in product and extra shipping because it looked pretty decent from afar (if I recall, we never saw up close pics like I have taken, although I could be incorrect). How about you step up and get your bumper redone and let us all know how it goes? You game?

1st- pardon my spelling, may I suggest you file a complaint via the attached link.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=145526

2nd- You are right, props to you for being the guinea pig and posting pics. But if in fact you are not a cheapskate, then why not be the guinea pig for the filled bumper? Clearly you can't leave your car as is. It looks terrible.

3rd- I've my deposit for the first allocation 09 at my dealer. Once I get the car I will take it to reputable body shops to see if the hole can be filled in. If not I will import a euro bumper from Mexico and install it. Maybe someone with an 08 can do this sooner.

[SlammedR8]

Originally Posted by J08M3

Ok... after speaking to the body shop today I asked them the reason for not wanting to fill plastic bumpers. They said after having done this in the past numerous times using plastic fillers from different companies, it never holds up. It looks great at first, but either it doesn't bond properly or it doesn't expand and contract at the same rate as the bumper. So it's only a matter of time before you start to see a ring around the filled in area. The only way to do it properly and have it last is to buy the Euro bumper.

If a body shop doesnt know what they are doing, then yes..your right it will eventually start to show the filled area. but if you have it done by a proper shop, it will not do this.
But in any case... I like to have my front bumper repainted every year or so as it gets attacked by stones and gets sandblasted on the highway after a while. So IN THE EVENT that the filling would even begin to show, a simple sanding job and repaint and gone again for a few years. (STILL CHEAPER THEN BUYING A EURO BUMPER AND HAVING THAT PAINTED!)

[SlammedR8]

Originally Posted by Motorsport

It is definitely true that some shops don't want to do it from fears that it wouldn't come out right or that it wouldn't last. What I can say is that I contacted a certified BMW repair center and they told me it wouldn't be a problem whatsoever for them to do the work. So, based on the fact that a completely reputable source like this confirms there are no drawbacks to this procedure, and they of course guarantee the work on behalf of BMW, I would think there really is no fear from something of this sort. Also, Nate has had this done a while ago and there is absolutely nothing wrong in any way with his bumper.

Exactly....anyone in the Toronto area can PM me and I can hook you up with my body shop to do this work properly and at a good price!

[Shade]

Custom Body shop Reflector delete will be the best.

(look at IND's M3 front reflectors delete)

[zkM3]

I will stick with the orange reflector until someone make a clear one.....