Buyer Beware!- Dud Headlights

[ReallyDirtyThirty]

Hey folks, I thought I'd post this up in case anyone is considering replacing the headlights on their car.

Luckily I didn't pay for these... the PO had these headlights installed over a year ago, so at least I didn't pay for them.

However... I have a pair of the LED/Projector unit light assemblies installed on my car which were purchased from Xtreme Motorcars. Xtreme Mototcars

The clear lenses on both headlights are peeling badly (will post pictures later), I mean really badly. It looks like a snake shedding its skin!

At some point I'll need to replace them with different units, but I wanted to let the good folks on this forum know first so anyone considering the purchase wouldn't shell out the $2,000+ the company is asking for these units. Do not waste your money!!

Link to their ebay auction:

Porsche 986 Boxster 996 MK1 Chrome LED DRL Projector Headlights | eBay

[TypeA]

Originally Posted by ReallyDirtyThirty

At some point I'll need to replace them with different units

It sounds like a clear coat issue, cant they be resurfaced? Its a fairly straight forward procedure, just takes a little time and patience. But thanks for giving everyone a heads up.

[particlewave]

Unfortunately, the surface peeling is only one of many issues with these.
I think they are worth about $250 new, but that's just me.

[Joe B]

It says they have a warranty. Only to the original purchaser? 30 days ?

[ReallyDirtyThirty]

Only to the Original Purchaser and only for a year. If I remember correctly, the PO had them installed over 14 months ago. I'm not too miffed because I didn't buy the car for the headlights, I actually never really liked them that much, they're a little too "JDM Ricer" for me and my tastes.

The next hurtle is going to be what to replace them with. The girlfriend says I'm not allowed to put more money into the car, and according to her "the headlights are fine". However, I think I might get the local shop to play ball with me and "fail" the car on the Virginia State Safety Inspection for the headlights and bring that back to her as an excuse for me to upgrade to some nice used factory Xenons. Thoughts on my plan boys??

[WillH]

Originally Posted by particlewave

Unfortunately, the surface peeling is only one of many issues with these.
I think they are worth about $250 new, but that's just me.

Have you had one apart? Will the cover, (clear exposed piece without silver eyebrow), fit on a factory shell?

[particlewave]

Yes, I've completely disassembled some. No, the lenses won't fit OEM headlights.

I recommend GT Projectors Bi-Xenon as they are far superior to Litronics.

[clickman]

Originally Posted by particlewave

I recommend GT Projectors Bi-Xenon as they are far superior to Litronics.

And far cheaper.

[hancock1701]

Originally Posted by ReallyDirtyThirty

Only to the Original Purchaser and only for a year. If I remember correctly, the PO had them installed over 14 months ago. I'm not too miffed because I didn't buy the car for the headlights, I actually never really liked them that much, they're a little too "JDM Ricer" for me and my tastes.

The next hurtle is going to be what to replace them with. The girlfriend says I'm not allowed to put more money into the car, and according to her "the headlights are fine". However, I think I might get the local shop to play ball with me and "fail" the car on the Virginia State Safety Inspection for the headlights and bring that back to her as an excuse for me to upgrade to some nice used factory Xenons. Thoughts on my plan boys??

I don't know how bad they're peeling, but if it is essential a clear coat issue, I'm sure you can do a headlight restoration (including sanding off the clear coat completely), then polish, and UV protect it. I did mine a year ago, and chose to paint clear coat on them. Of course they don't look brand new, super clear, and shiny like new headlights, but they look fine.

BTW, $3000 for that pair of headlights is insane!!! It's almost half what the car's worth.

[RandallNeighbour]

Originally Posted by ReallyDirtyThirty

The girlfriend says I'm not allowed to put more money into the car

So is this woman bankrolling you at the moment? That's the only reason I can come up with as to why you'd need an excuse to buy presentable headlamps for the car. Something's not right with this story or situation. Porsche ownership ain't cheap, even when there's no mechanical problems with these cars and they just need brake pads and oil and tires. Does she realize it's not a Toyota Camry? What's she going to say when your rear tires wear out by the end of the year? (I get about 10-12k on my rear tires at the most).

After you've re-aligned her understanding of the general costs involved with Porsche ownership, I highly recommend you purchase a cheap set of used halogen headlamps from Woody (screen name is itsnotanova) or some guy on this forum who has them for sale for a reasonable price and pop them in and call it a day. Litronics (xenons) are quite nice, but they're terribly expensive, even used unless you stumble on a seller who doesn't know what he has for sale.

[ReallyDirtyThirty]

Originally Posted by particlewave

I recommend GT Projectors Bi-Xenon as they are far superior to Litronics.

I think you're underestimating how horrible I am at projects like that headlight retro-fit! I'm more of a hammer and an angle grinder kind of guy, haha! The kit looks great. You ought to consider a little side business of selling finished assemblies and having the customer send you good condition cores back ala the BumperPlugs guy business model. Either way, great work on that kit!