Matrx8

iTrader: (2)

First of all, I purchased this kit online. Notice that it is not Extreme Dimensions. When I got the body kit I looked it over and it seemed fine to my untrained eye. It had some scratches etc but surely the body shop can just fix that right? However, I noticed the little ED sticker on the inside of one of the bumpers and I said "oh ****" because I've heard a lot of people including RL friends saying stay away from ED.

I emailed the vendor asking why they sent me a ED kit instead of the Vfiber kit I bought. They basically said that they found ED makes the best quality kit of that body style (yeah right) and if I have any problems blah blah blah.

A few days later I had a friend help me take it down to the body shop with his truck. [understatement] In hindsight, with 30-40 MPH winds and the bumpers not being tied down, that was probably a bad decision. [/understatement] The rear bumper flew out of the truck at 50MPH, hit the highway and preceded to blow to the other side of the 2 lane highway (thank God it didn't hit anyone). One of the corners was destroyed and it had road rash out the wazoo, but hopefully the guy at the shop can fix it. Needless to say I was a little irritated. Just a little.

When we finally got to the shop after tieing them down with jumper cables (yes, jumper cables) because the gas station nearby only sold junk food and beer, the guy basically told me that not only could he not fix the broken bumper, but even the pieces that WERE 'undamaged' were completely worthless. He said they would undoubtedly not fit right, there would be gaps, it wouldn't be smooth etc. He had me look at the bumper of my car and said "You want THIS bumper to look like that right? It won't. It's going to look horrible. The PAINT will look great but the bumper itself will have waves and gaps and bumps and scratches and there's nothing I can do about it."

I had him throw the entire body kit in the dumpster on the spot. Not just because one of the bumpers was damaged, but I love my 8 far too much to put anything la moitié cul on it (pardon my french). He also said that if I want to get a body kit that looks nice I would be paying a custom body shop 5K+ for purchase, shipping, installation and painting of a REAL body kit. Not only that, insurance doesn't cover it unless you ask them to (They'll charge you more), it does not increase the value of the car, and if god forbid you should ever hit anything, the damage will probably be irreparable and will have to be completely replaced.

Yes, I am out 6 or 700 bucks, but like the guy said, at least he told me because there's a lot of shops out there that will say "Yeah we can put it on for you", charge you an arm and a leg to get it looking half way decent but just not good enough, then when you say "WTF is this, it looks like crap" they say "That's the bumper you gave us to work with, where's my money?". Was that a run on sentence?

EDIT: update March 20 2012

EricB

iTrader: (7)

wait, you thought a replica would be decent?

First of all, you failed to read the part where no replicas are good.

Second of all, its failside, therefore if you read you would have noticed and not purchased it.

Third of all, you should fetch it out of the trash and sell it used for a hefty discount to someone who knows what they are getting into.

Fourth of all, next purchase do your homework and purchase mazdaspeed and no im not talking about replica M1 or Mspeed or any of that bullshit.

Replicas suck, when purchasing make sure you know what your getting yourself into. I would have brought the bumper home and spent hours doing the fitting work myself and take my time with it to get it pretty good. Actually its failside so id probly throw it out on the spot like you did.

Your other post about vinyl wrap looks like a good design. Hope your okay with chips from rocks making it look like ****. also if you are in a collision, have fun replacing the panels with vinyl that matches. The ink will be a different color due to different printer / other panels would have faded. Vinyl'ing is cool for show cars that may as well not have any motors in them because its stupid to attempt driving them daily.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

A quick search prior to buying could have saved you $700.00. Who the hell drives down the highway with an unsecured body kit in an open bed pick up anyway?

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

Needless to say I felt the same way reading your post. More than a little actually.

Matrx8

iTrader: (2)

Well I was going to make some long rant defending my actions, but I'll digress and just say this instead.

I'm young dumb and stupid. I realize that. This isn't my first mistake, it won't be my last. This was intended to be a warning for anyone thinking of doing the same thing. If this thread is just going to be a flame fest, I'll just delete it. If you're gonna get all pissed off because "there's 10,000 of these threads already", then fine. Delete it or I'll just do it myself. I just wanted to share a life experience, that's all.

olddragger

iTrader: (3)

that was honest man--i feel for ya. These type mistakes are the ones you remember. You manned up about it and that is something a lot of people are not able to do.
kudos dude.
I am glad you respect your car enough to draw the line in what you will except for it.
Keep on rotoring man--you have OD's respect---not that means anything at all....

Matrx8

iTrader: (2)

Thank you Dragger.

brilliantblackrx8

Does anyone else get the humor in the name "Extreme Dimensions"? I bet the owner's do.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

It is what it is, learn from your mistake and move on.

monchie

You can't go wrong with authentic.

ZouRx8

iTrader: (1)

I do not want to end up like the OP here but I have always wanted to have the appearance package for my car. I have seen the xcess motors appearance package pn ebay(yes on ebay, I know) and wondered if this could be worth trying? I have searched/advanced searched/google searched and the only bit of info I found about there quality was on the genesis forums which actually turned out to look nice. I also am not to worried about it being scratched just the fitment. Thoughts? Bad idea?

http://www.gencoupe.com/product-revi...5-shipped.html

noob_butcher

i have bought from them they sell **** and it always comes all fucked up

ZouRx8

iTrader: (1)

^glad I asked!

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

If you are going with an aftermarket kit...you need to stick to a major Japanese brand

I have installed an Autoexe kit and it fit great with almost no modifications....but they aren't cheap either

Stick with the OEM Mazdaspeed one for the easiest and best fitting kit...well worth the price you pay. Especially if you can get it factory painted......super simple..and in the long run the cheapest way to go

Matrx8

iTrader: (2)

Any imperfections on the fiberglass will show up in the paint, that's what the body shop told me. If it's wavy, if it has scratches, or really any kind of imperfections. The paint itself will look just fine, but what it's covering will look like ****. If you love your 8 like I do, you won't settle for that.

I just ordered 4 pieces (I say that cause it's not really a kit) from Shine Auto Project, a FEED replica front bumper and sides, and a KS style rear bumper (they don't have a FEED rear bumper, my sides and rear have CF accents). I have heard nothing but good things from them, and I've been asking around quite a bit. The basic consensus is that their hybrid CF doesn't break easily like normal CF, and while the fit might not be totally perfect like Mazdaspeed, it's VERY good and 100x better than extreme ****. Guess I'll find out for myself.

ZouRx8

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Dan, I agree that the only 'right way' is with the Japanese brand.

I would also like to stress that I am only looking for the front air dam and side flares, not a complete kit. I would like to think that with just a simple lip it would be difficult to screw it up, but maybe I am wrong lol.


Edit: ok so while I was typing this, Matrx8, I didn't know you were going to drop a list of **** pics lol!!! Those all look amazing but what I said above still stands. Also I do expect the piece to be scratched from daily driving so I am not looking for perfection.

shakeyourbrakes

iTrader: (4)

Hey, i hate to say it, but first mistake was buying this kit at all (replica or authentic)..
If your thinking about fitting your 8 with a kit, make sure to check out the "all bodykits" thread to make sure the veilside is what you want... without getting too harsh... theres a LOT of other options out there.
That sucks about everything though, I guess at least the shop was honest and didnt charge to you. It wouldve been a lot worse story if they went through with it probably and you had a poorly fitted kit

Rotr8

iTrader: (2)

but guys they have a video on youtube, they are totally legit.

Cvzrx8

so many vids out there showing how they bend them and hit them with hammers even throwing the bumpers off the roof lol!

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

we only beat you up in memory of having beat ourselves up for the all the errors we have committed, it takes a big man to admit his mistakes publicly, you are well on your way in life ...

limpbozkit

iTrader: (1)

This guy has 12 posts total and hops on here just to say this? He has never really bought anything from Xcess motors because if this statement were true and he was half of a decent user on this forum he would have made a thread about it and included pics of their "****" products. Xcess motors sells cheap parts, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're ****. I say for the low cost of their product try em out! There really isn't a whole lot of people on this forum that have talked about their experiences with xcess motors.

EricB

iTrader: (7)

tilts front bumper is what shine used to make the mold for their feed replica, last i saw, grog put it on and there were some obvious corner light issues, in the end your paying almost about the same as genuine mazdaspeed. Though IMHO feed is the nicest front and would use shines kit if i wasnt planning on buying a rx7 :/

though, for the rear... i hate it with a passion. it looks good on tilts car because he is super aggressive when it comes to wheels and a drop. plus that ive seen the same style rear on several different cars. Its like a broad design that gets applied to every car similar to that of buddyclub bodykits and cwest bodykits. They all look the same. Not a fan of that type of carbon, im more of a twill weave kind of guy, but whatever floats your boat.

Matrx8

iTrader: (2)

You're just Mr. Negativity aren't you?

dmedz8

iTrader: (5)

Valid points. I wonder what that rear would look like with a diff. cooler in the rear grill.

FazdaRX_8

iTrader: (1)

I find it hilarious that you believe some claimed professional stranger to throw away $700

I am surprised you didn't sell your car on the spot when you found out it didn't have pistons, and it may need an engine rebuild after 40k

No body kit will fit right, it needs tlc and with that almost all the body kits can be made to fit, some have more work, then others.

some guy at some auto shop just SCARED YOU out of 700.....

I bet the body shop drug it out of the dumpster and is selling it right now.......

Mod Note: 3 Day Ban for Insulting another Member