[23109VC]

okay....I quickly researched it and it looks like this stuff has poor fitment and poor quality.... so if I do this mod and go with a GT3 bumper it's going to be OEM parts.

from looking at Pelican Parts it appears the following are their prices:

OEM 986 "base" bumper cover : $575

996 GT3 bumper - $1215.

Wow. Twice the cost. I suspected it would cost more, but didn't think it would be that price. I assume they make the GT3 bumper in far fewer numbers, resulting in a higher per unit cost?

if it's truly $600 vs $1200...I'll have to sleep on whether it's worth $600 to ME to get this bumper. I maybe could convince myself to do it...since this is likely the only chance to do it and have it make any financial sense..since the actual cost are far higher.

the cost to remove/reinstall and all the prep/paint work is being covered by ins...whcih is likely quite a bit. Figure a $1200 bumper cover, and another $1000 in paint work - maybe it's more than that... and you have a roghly $2500 job that I would get for $600.

one thing I have considered is that if I do the GT3 bumper, I know I'll really want to do the side skirts. i saw a photo online of a boxster with just the GT3 bumper and stock skirts and it looked odd to me. the front was too heavy looking. the same guy then later put on the skirts, and those pics it looks awesome...so if I did it the way I "want" right now, i'd also want to get the skirts, ,which are $700. plus install/paint which could be at least $500. so assume $1200 for the skirts and $600 for the bumper...i'm up to $1800.

lets just call it an even $2000....not sure if I want to spend *that* much just for a cosmetic upgrade.


if I opt to skip this upgrade and just replace the parts with stock replacement parts, the car will still look much better than it does now. it will get a totally new bumper over, new paint, and since the whole cover is being done, theyw ill end up painting a good portion of the hood/fenders... resulting in the entire front end looking virtually new. all the chips/scrapes will be gone.

i can also finally fix the little air vents in my bumper ccover. they are supposed to be black but mine have all the paint worn off and they look whitish/gray. those can be fixed.

so no matter what i do, my car will look better. just have to figure out if i wan tto "pay to play" and upgrade the looks.

it's tempting as this is the time to do it. just not feeling $2000 being poured into a car that is worth maybe $10-12k max.

are my prices right? high? low? anyone care to offer an opinion?

thanks.