[HotdogLegend]

Hello my fellow F34 enjoyers. Someone recently hit and ran my car
This means my front bumper is damaged. This also means it's a great time to explore options! I don't like the look of the M sport bumper, but I was thinking of doing an M conversion for the fun of it.

I saw this body kit; I was wondering what your thoughts are.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/32568...d=L1tZNU2XyNYR

For reference, here's a photo of the car with this/similar kit:


Definitely questionable, but I thought I'd see what you all think. For reference, here's the damage to my car. Not terrible, but the cheapest quote I've gotten is $1,700 to repair it. No good swaps from ebay or local junkyards since the F34 isn't common in my area.

[Oksamit78]

Interesting find, however the only selection I'd go with is the one where the front lip is included in the package. I do not like the looks of F80 style front bumpers without the lip. In general, the fit-up of the aftermarket bumpers is always a big unknown. A year ago i had to replace the front bumper cover (M style) and the reputable bodyshop I use for decades was like: "Nop, absolutely not worth it. Get the OEM". I did and have no regrets as it is perfect fit and shape.

A couple of areas of concern would be for me:
1. Material the cover is made out of?
2. No fog lights.
3. Fit-up issues:
- The hood line. Some of the pics already highlight that the top portion of the cover does not follow the hood curvature well (esp picture of white car with a building and gold and black cars in the background. Look at the area just above the left kidney grill and left headlight).
- joints to the fenders.
4. What changes are required to the ducting behind lower grill and behind the side grills? Is this kit a direct bolt on for cars with M Appearance bumpers or for non-Ms? There is a difference in ducting between two. If you do elect to go with OEM M on yours, you will require additional expenses for replacement ducts.

Rear cover - not to my taste.

Since you don't like M style bumper, I'd just fix your bumper and be done. If you go the route of getting the aftermarket kit, at the end of the day, it will cost you way more than $1700 to get it, then have it installed on your car as there could be quite a bit of manual labour in fit-up and paint work.

[BaconDouble]

For me personally, I think the front looks way too busy.
I appreciate some of the M-sport looks for the sedans, but they don't translate well to the F34 chassis.

[HotdogLegend]

Originally Posted by Oksamit78

Interesting find, however the only selection I'd go with is the one where the front lip is included in the package. I do not like the looks of F80 style front bumpers without the lip. In general, the fit-up of the aftermarket bumpers is always a big unknown. A year ago i had to replace the front bumper cover (M style) and the reputable bodyshop I use for decades was like: "Nop, absolutely not worth it. Get the OEM". I did and have no regrets as it is perfect fit and shape.

A couple of areas of concern would be for me:
1. Material the cover is made out of?
2. No fog lights.
3. Fit-up issues:
- The hood line. Some of the pics already highlight that the top portion of the cover does not follow the hood curvature well (esp picture of white car with a building and gold and black cars in the background. Look at the area just above the left kidney grill and left headlight).
- joints to the fenders.
4. What changes are required to the ducting behind lower grill and behind the side grills? Is this kit a direct bolt on for cars with M Appearance bumpers or for non-Ms? There is a difference in ducting between two. If you do elect to go with OEM M on yours, you will require additional expenses for replacement ducts.

Rear cover - not to my taste.

Since you don't like M style bumper, I'd just fix your bumper and be done. If you go the route of getting the aftermarket kit, at the end of the day, it will cost you way more than $1700 to get it, then have it installed on your car as there could be quite a bit of manual labour in fit-up and paint work.

Glad I asked; hadn't thought about the fog lights or the vents. It's definitely a little sketchy. I'll probably stick to my current bumper and eventually go M-sport even though I'm not the biggest fan. A bumper swap is cheaper than fixing it at this point since my insurance doesn't seem to want to cover it. I think the kit is just fiberglass, definitely not metal or carbon. The other issue would be paint-matching. It'd definitely cost a buck to get it looking good.

[angelforce]

I think this would look cool, but as someone said, look like an overkill

Maybe something less busy?