Looking at buying a new bonnet (Hawkeye) and have seen them at a decent price through these non OE panel suppliers.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SUBARU-IMPREZA...ht_3053wt_1030

Has anyone had any experience with these panels or worth buying a OE one, my budgets tight on this project :0(

Thanks
Ricey

 

I was told by someone in the trade that non oe panels are made on the jigs which are scrapped by the manufacturer once the jigs are out of tolerance that was 20+ years ago and i guess a lot are now made on copy jigs all over the world.

What you may well find is that the panel takes a lot longer to get rigt filling tweaking and fitting to get the shut lines to look good and tbh if it isn't perfect what sort of comeback do you have.

OE panels take some fitting and will usually require a little work.

You get what you pay for i guess

 

Also the condition of the panel thats it packaged in, delivered and handled. This covers both OE and non-OE panels

Dents, creases, warping etc.

On some cars we've had to order three or more geniuine panels to a decent one that didn't need repairing. What I'm saying is the non-OE panels maybe ok, it maybe not. That in itself is a gamble. But you also have to consider how the seller and their supplier handles the panels before getting them to you, as you'll end up wasting money repairing the damaged panel if they don't take care of them properly whilst in the warehouse.

 

i would fit non oe wings but not bonnet. The bonnet i would use to line everything else up. Cant you find a good used one anywhere

 

wrong thread ignore me