Aftermarket fenders

[Gin+]

I went against my gut feeling and ordered a pair of aftermarket fenders on ebay. Anyone have any experience with fitting or worse case not fitting these things?

[jpulll]

I bought my passenger fender from eBay. came with a crease by the wheel well. I got another one free of charge. same thing, another crease. they had a bad stock of fenders I think. ordered from rock auto afterwards, got their cheapest option and I am happy with fitment for what was it like 30-40 bucks. shipping is outrageous from rock auto tho.

[USAF Long]

Just make sure it's prepped and painted good so you don't get rust later. Aftermarket ones are made to match OEM but aren't galvanized.

[Northern_B6]

How come other members have advised to stay away from aftermarket pieces due to fitment issues?

The fender from rock auto is super cheap... so cheap it makes me think twice about ordering.

[jpulll]

How come other members have advised to stay away from aftermarket pieces due to fitment issues?

The fender from rock auto is super cheap... so cheap it makes me think twice about ordering.

I was thinking too about fitment issues with the rock auto fender. but there really are not any. my lower valence doesn't match up but that's because one of the plastic pieces holding the lower valence to the bumper broke off from my impact. it's all how you align it. even an OEM fender can look like shit if you don't align it right. I had a friend help me because I admit I had to really pull the fender to get it align perfectly.

if you are that worried, pick up the most expensive fender replacement from rock auto-CAPA certified.

[Gin+]

How come other members have advised to stay away from aftermarket pieces due to fitment issues?

The fender from rock auto is super cheap... so cheap it makes me think twice about ordering.

"I bought my passenger fender from eBay. came with a crease by the wheel well. I got another one free of charge. same thing, another crease. they had a bad stock of fenders I think."

"Aftermarket ones are made to match OEM but aren't galvanized."

Those are two good reasons. I'm taking a gamble with known risks due to lack of patience and time dealing with salvage yards and potential classified ad issues. Plus, $100 shipped is hard to argue with.

[lookaught]

Are OEM fenders actually galvanized or just painted/dipped in something that is a rust inhibitor.

I am really tempted to order "Replacement" brand aftermarket fenders for my car. The original fenders started rusting about 6 years ago and now just look awful... whatever coating they applied at the factory didn't work very well in my opinion. The "Replacement" are $100 shipped for the pair... hard to beat especially since I'm going to wrap the car and don't plan to paint them. The nearest junkyards to me are 4+ hours away and even then you are buying a used part that might not be in the condition it's advertised.

$192 shipped to Wyoming for a USP lower and two fenders. Hard to beat even if they aren't perfect... my car is 14 years old with 160,000 miles and is far from perfect as it sits.

THoughts on these?

http://www.discountbodyparts.com/det...PA017501P.html

http://www.discountbodyparts.com/det...20123-PLK.html

[jpulll]

the rock auto one I picked up was a great fit. I'm sure these will be fine as well. that's a great price btw for both fenders!

[walky_talky20]

Are OEM fenders actually galvanized or just painted/dipped in something that is a rust inhibitor.

The original fenders started rusting about 6 years ago and now just look awful... whatever coating they applied at the factory didn't work very well in my opinion.

I share this opinion. The B6 fenders do not hold up like the B5 fenders did. Audi did something different on the material or prep or something. Also, roof gutters. When I was at the factory in Ingolstadt in 2014, they made a huge deal about how they were bonding the roofs at the gutter seam on the new A3's. They had an exclusive new process.

[lookaught]

Well I ordered these "Replacement" fenders and USP lower bumper. Will post pics when they arrive.

The site also offers a $280 B6 S4 complete bumper, and the bumper support for another $20ish. So $330 shipped for an S4 knock off bumper. Seems like a great deal for those who like that look

[claudiovagkraft]

The OEM fenders are galvanised , aftermarket aren't, and that would be my biggest concern. Everyone I know that bought aftermarket saw them rusting a year later. Not sure if it's the body shop's fault but this is what I've heard time and again. Only thing I'd suggest is make sure both sides of the fender are painted so nothing is left exposed. I've heard some shops cut that corner.

[FromS60toB61.8t]

The OEM fenders are galvanised , aftermarket aren't, and that would be my biggest concern. Everyone I know that bought aftermarket saw them rusting a year later. Not sure if it's the body shop's fault but this is what I've heard time and again. Only thing I'd suggest is make sure both sides of the fender are painted so nothing is left exposed. I've heard some shops cut that corner.

piggie backing on this, make sure the whole thing is painted, not just the outside. Clear doesnt matter if its on the inside as long as its painted.

Ordered an ebay front fender 3 years ago for $50 and looks exactly like OEM. Fits the same too. Its definitely a much thinner piece of metal (or just more pliable), but it will get the job done. No signs of rust and i live in New england.

[lookaught]

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll probably just rattle can it inside and out and then put it on before I wrap it.

I live in the high plains of Wyoming, it's practically a desert here so I'm not too concerned with corrosion. The rust happened after 11 years in Pennsylvania and Vermont. I just want a smooth clean metal surface for the vinyl to stick to.

[seanf86]

I bought the CAPA certified fenders from rockauto for both my B6s, the painter I use says that they use the CAPA certified ones I bought all the time for insurance claims and they fit well and stand up pretty good.

[ElectroVeeDub]

Fitment issues with aftermarket body parts are mostly a myth. There's little to no difference from OEM body parts for something as simple as a fender.

I was an accounts manager for a nationwide aftermarket auto-body parts supplier, and the parts we had were exact replica's to OEM, because the manufacturer in Taiwan scanned OEM parts with a laser which allowed a precise duplicate.

As somebody else here mentioned however, the parts may not be zinc coated.

[diagnosticator]

I tend to disagree ^^. The fitment accuracy of Aftermarket body parts depends on the accuracy and quality of the material used to make the stamping dies. Stamping dies wear as parts are stamped, as the number of stampings of a part increase, die wear causes the final shape to become out of specification compared to the design requirement. Aftermarket manufacturers typically use less expensive die material and the wear allowed to occur on the dies is not as tightly monitored or controlled. Replacing stamping dies in a production press is very expensive, and has a major influence on the per part cost of production. Consequently, parts made at the beginning of a production run will fit better than parts made near the end of a production run. OE body panels usually are made from thicker gauge stronger steel alloy sheet metal formed using greater die precision compared to aftermarket body parts, and are manufactured using higher stamping force presses, and harder more expensive die material, with better accuracy of body panel forming over the whole production run.
Top quality auto manufacturers like Audi, perform all stamping press die fabrication and sheet metal forming operations in house, and are very fussy about exact stamping die manufacture and how much wear is allowed to occur before die replacement. The higher cost of OEM body panels reflects the higher cost of manufacture for OE body parts. Audi performs laser scanning of finished body panels to monitor quality after forming, compared to laser scanning the reference source body panel shape used to manufacture the stamping dies before parts are produced aftermarket as you explained.

[Gin+]

I haven't gotten around to putting mine on yet but I ended up getting one from eBay and the other from rockauto. Fairly certain they are from the same manufacturer and both appear in good shape.

I "plan" to hit them with 2 part epoxy primer before panting.