Got a 95-96 aftermarket bumper on Ebay for $82. The Oregon shop that was selling this has a $75 charge to paint it. If that seems cheap to you, let me tell you that it was. As I was installing the thing, paint started flaking off with the flexing and I had to refinish the top surface completely.

Rec#1: Get it painted locally. That way you know who to go to if problems crop up. Make sure they will back up their work and know how to paint bumpers (ie. flex agent)

Install was straight forward. Remove grill. Remove bolts in front and sides in the fender area. I removed the headlights and clearance lights only because Haynes says you need to but I am not absolutely certain it has to be done.

The aftermarket bumper did not fit perfectly. It was tough getting one side to mount after the other side was bolted down. Also, the curves at the sides of the bumper at the clearance light does not accurately follow the curves of the fenders, leaving a gap.

Rec#2: If your car looks sharp, get OEM and pay the extra bucks. Mine doesn't so I can live with the B-grade fitment.

Rec#3: Splash guard fastening hardware was majorly rusted out. Just pry them out of the splash guard/lower bumper without even attempting to unscrew them. Buy replacement hardware at you local autoshop.

My original bumper was ruined after I took a sander to it in a weak attempt to smooth out some pock marks. Although the aftermarket doesn't look factory, it at least isn't an eye sore.

 

Hey, thanks for the heads up! I was just about to buy one of these from the same shop and have them paint it. Guess I'll take it somewhere else.

 

outch - sorry to hear u got crappy paint =(

 

The shop said the bumpers come pre-primed. I think that's the problem. When the paint flaked off, all that was left was the bumper cover material, so I think the primer was the weak link.

 

I had that problem when I did my conversion on my 96 to a 97+. But the thing is, the shop should ALWAYS prime the bumper themselves, which means sanding it and scuffing it, then priming it, then paint it. There is really no excuse for them not to, especially if they do not want to have to re-do it.