Body shop says MASHAW bumper needs work

So I ordered the MASHAW GT2 bumper and wing, expecting that these pieces were of high quality, so relatively cheap to install. The body shop said that the wing is fine, but the bumper will require 8+ hours to install because they need to drill holes, fill, install screens, etc... 1. Does anyone else have experience paying to have this bumper installed? 2. Should I spend the $800-1000 to have this bumper installed, or just ship it back and buy something else? Any opinions appreciated!

I think all the aftermarket stuff will be about the same, might try a oem TT front, probably alot less prep work involved, although 800-1000 ain't all that bad. Karlooz has a similar setup, hopefully he'll chime in as well.

I think they are wanking you. UNLESS you did get a POS (which happens). Contact MASHAW and ask. I got a TA (replica) from Kerry Getz a while back and it needed repaint, some areas fixed, screens etc. done and it cost 500 bucks. Just my .02

I have never seen any aftermarket fiberglass products that do not require some "fitting". The things you list would have to be done regardless of the manufacture.

I don't know about the shop thats installing your parts but Mashaw is known for great fitment and high quality parts. You should definitely give Mike Shaw a call and inform him of the situation that you are facing, Im pretty sure that he will stand behind his products. 800 to 1000 bucks to install a bumper is ridiculous, IMO.

I don't have a MAshaw bumper, but I do have their GT2 wing for the turbo... It took some work to align and finish, but over all not much worse if any than my techart front. You should talk to Mike and have the shop talk to him....

Have you seen the Mashaw products and worked with them??

I called Mike and tried not to offend him...Not sure if it worked. He obviously feels very strongly about his products. He thought 8-10 hours seems a little high, but not unreasonable if the shop is doing a really good job.

Darren, It sounds a little on the high side, but not too out of line to me. If it makes you feel any better, even the stock Porsche aerokits have "fitment issues" that require the bodyshop to spend a little time prepping and installing. I learned this when I had the Aerokit II installed on my '02 Boxster S (which looked great without the rear wing). Also, I use a MASHAW rear wing, and my bodyshop said it was very high quality. TD

If it's any consolation, even my RUF RGT front bumper which is made of polyurethane required some prep work -- prime and sand -- before painting. A good body shop will do some prep work to get rid of some pinholing, etc. I don't thin 8 hours is completely unreasonable.

I'm not sure what you're refering to Todd. I've installed a full MK1 aerokit on my race car a couple of times and the MKII sides and front on my cab. I've had zero fitment issues. Just bolt the stuff on and it fits perfect. Obviously the race crowd used lots of third party body parts and they usually take a little tweeking. Some more than others. Jim

Maybe the MKII aerokit is different, but my bodyshop in DC bitched up a storm anytime anybody mentioned aerokits to them, even if they were shipped straight from Porsche. They complained that the connections are awful, and they frequently need to do a fair bit of prep work before installation and painting. I practically had to beg them to install the kit on my car.

Mine fit perect.

I have had NO issues with My Gemballa items , well the hood does change shape a bit when its real cold, but fits great. I Wouldnt say all aftermarket products need allot of work, I will agree that most do. The price they told you is on the high side, but you spend the money already so spend a little more and enjoy it after its done.

What is it with the Washington, D.C. Metro Area? I had an experience similar to Todd's -- I shopped 4 highly-recommended bodyshops before I found one who was willing to install the RUF aerokit. I agree with kilrgt, you already have the MAShaw bumper -- go ahead and have it installed. I am not saying you should overpay but don't try to save money by cutting corners either. Some prep work is necessary even with OEM and polyurethane pieces. Shop around some more for bodyshops.

Evan with the yellow TT in Florida had issues with his gembella items... The hood will never be perfect.. Like everyone said all have various degree of issues... Execpt for a few companies that I would never use... They all look good if a GOOD bodyshop takes the time to prep them right. It's all about the prep...

I guess you live and learn. The body shop called me again and they are now saying that the wing fittment is terrible (he used a different word), and they want me to look at it before they go any further. At this point I'm thinking I should just send the bumper and wing back, losing $300 in shipping, and go with the factory GT3 parts.

Have you talked with MASHAW? He is a nice and professional guy. He likely will take care of anything. Just snap some photos and e-mail them to him.

i have an authentic 1999 gt3 wing if you want it. will require some light mods on the inside to make it work (ie intake hole, fan mount ). simple stuff. i'll sell it cheap.

Deputydog, I'll take it!! Check your pm.

8-10 hours to fix a fiberglass bumper? or is it poly urethane? If its FG find another body shop or send it back. The savings in going cheaper aftermarket will be erased by the man hours these guys are looking to bill you. I think these body shop guys see a Porsche owner and dollar signs appear in their eyes. But either way there is definitely more work required to fit FG parts than factory and its way more fragile than poly urethane. and nothing fits like factory parts, the seams between the fenders and the bumper can vary and those can't be filled in without allot of work. I had sidekirts put in by precisionporsche and one side was about a 1/8 of an inch longer at edge of the rear wheel well than the other side. OEM and aftermarket will not fit exactly the same even after the prep work.

I had a GT3 mk 1 body kit, consisting of a front bumper cover, Porsche factory side skirts, and GT3 rear deck and wing. There were no outrageous problems. This was installed on my '99 996. The rear deck simply bolted on with little adjustment. It even came with the wiring harness adapter. The side skirts were Porsche perfect. The front bumper cover had some aluminum screen bonded into the openings. The bumper cover and screen were painted and the whole unit was installed without any issues. Once again, I guess every installation is different. Michael is pretty good about eventually returning Email inquiries (instant- 1 week later). Good kit with no problems. The aftermarket GT3 rear wing is a bit different, as it has two bolts on each side holding the wing. However, I did have the chance to bolt up a true GT3 wing to my "base", and it fit perfectly. I did have a modified 8 degree shim installed between. This was installed to use my own wing with the stock shim. It bolted right up to the stock unit, just the same. (The stock wing has one bolt on each side to fix the wing.) No problems at all.

price to install mashaw bumper price to install oem gt2 bumper price difference? worth it? good luck

I bought the OEM MkI stuff from Brandywine a while back and my shop had ZERO problems with prep, etc. They did routine prep, paint, and it fitted beautifully.

I went down to the body shop yesterday to see what they were talking about. By this point they were complaining about the wing as well, and they wanted me to see if I was ok with how it lined up. I don't think I'm happy with the alignment of the wing/deck lid. The front edge has so little gap that its rubbing when you open the deck lid, and the back part of the wing is sitting about 3/8" higher than the tail light: So in other words, they can adjust it so that it won't rub in the front, but then the gap in the rear will be even worse. They said I can just leave it like this, or they can spend a lot of time changing the front edge so that everything lines up properly. I don't think that this is what people mean when they say that all fiberglass parts need some work. Filling pinholes, etc I can see that being normal. But the part should line up better than 3/8" right?? There are two rubber standoffs under the rear of the deck lid that they didn't install because if they did it would stick up 1/2". This just all doesn't make any sense to me.

welcome to the world of aftermarket. i went through this about a year ago. you have to leave it alone or just decide to live with it. most people will never notice the improper fit. oem is the way to go if you want perfect fit. i have an oem front turbo bumper, anziano turbo rear bumper, and an anziano turbo rear wing. the rear bumper and wing are pretty close to oem, but there are imperfections that i have just decided to live with and nobody else seems to notice.

I would think that it would not take a huge amount of effort for them to shave the top part a little bit so that they can adjust the piece upward by 3/8" and the bottom should then fit too?

OEM is the way to go, mine needed very minimal work, only bc it was previously painted. I must say the misha wing I had needed quite a bit of work but nothing like that, I'd send it back.

OEm would be nice, the its not an option for narrow body 996 that want the GT2 wing because that is only for the widebodies.

i don't have a mashaw bumper but i do have an aftermarket FRP bumper. qualility is 80% of oem, fit is 95%. if i had the '02+ headlight i probably would have gone oem. check http://www.sunsetimports.com/porscheatcost.php for porsche parts at dealer cost +15%. really good prices unlike local dealers that charge +30%~50% more.

Carlos...I think you meant Sunset not Suncoast that has dealer cost +15%.

thx, i forgot to delete "suncoast porsche" before the link. i edited the post.

Will the OEM GT2 front bumper fit on a 2002+ narrowbody C2?

Who is Kerry Getz? I want a T/A replica bumper!