The Chinese Special TRD Grille... on the cheap!

Hey, I have nothing to do with what Pelfrey did nor do I condone it - just know they are solid bumpers and they look bad ass.

I bought it at auction from Bay Area Metal Fab (talked to Jerry their owner multiple times). They bought all of Pelfreybilt's inventory and did a really cool thing for the community. He needed help clearing everything out of his warehouse and I got a good price on the bumper. Simple as that.

Also - the bumper came this week and is having LINE-X applied while we speak. I walked myself into a large credit card bill and a summer full of wheeling and camping :cheers:

Oh that's dope! Yeah I've been following all that. Was it a screaming deal?
 
Oh that's dope! Yeah I've been following all that. Was it a screaming deal?

I'd say so...$1650 for the TRD Pro version with shipping included from NorCal to Minneapolis (vs. $3k+ for the Hefyfab and a 20+ week lead time).

I opted for the raw aluminum because shipping a powder coated one 2,600 miles with an LTL carrier would've resulted in me having to re-do the paint.
[MENTION=147480]aelarson[/MENTION] turned me on to the LINE-X option and I knew I had to do it.
 
Got my grill in. My letters where in a torn open envelope on the bottom of the box. Many of the letters are scratched as a result. The upper grill's top two mounting points for the radiator cowl need to be drilled out because the push clips won't fit. My kit did not include extra 3m. I had to go buy a roll so I can reinstall some of the crookedly applied letters.

First seller on ebay carmodshome (same paypal account as cartrims) sent inaccurate shipping info telling me to wait 7 days for it to update as it was being shipped from china, only to find out it was on it's way back to warehouse in kentucky and not china. Apparently UPS made a mistake and returned it which I could have caught if I had the proper tracking to begin with. Instead of fixing it for 3 or 4 days went back and forth via email telling me I had to call UPS (even though I can't change a shippment I didn't directly pay for). I got fed up after the first email response and asked for a refund very clearly in each email response (which was ignored every time until I caps locked and added a bunch of exclamation points 3-4 days/responses later). I reordered with cartrims right after only to discover the paypal was the same account. I payed 7 extra the second time.

Overall experience was sub par. Took over a half a month from my first order on Feb 20th. Too bad tho because it's mostly a good product. I will only recommend it to people with a grain of salt. I guess they price it so low because they spend no money on logistics.


Glad you got it installed. - looks solid. Your letters should not have come preinstalled so I’m unclear on where the issue was here? (“so I can reinstall some of the crookedly applied letters.”). The price from CarTrim is the cheapest it’s been since I set it up with the manufacturer. It was previously only 10% off and no fee shipping - you’re saving $20 now.

I’m not going to defend the manufacturer but as I explained before after investing a lengthy amount of time, their eBay affiliate screwed up entirely on that side. My guy said he would send you something for free for the trouble - they tried to make it up.

If you contact them and tell them they screwed up on the letters, they will send you another set (probably from a distribution center in the US) at no charge. They’ve done this for others who had missing 3M tape or messed up letters. Out of all the grills I’ve helped through the group buy, you’re one of about five who ran into this issue. The other 100+ have been smooth.

I’m glad you finally got it all squared away.


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Ordered last sunday. Showed up today. Not bad. Everything looks to be there. Might install tomorrow.



Glad to hear that. Plenty of YouTube videos to help with the install if you have any questions or need more info. [emoji1430]


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Got it all pulled apart today and ill finish tomorrow. Took way longer than it should have because I didnt watch plenty of youtube vids and removing that upper grill is a biotch if you are trying to wing it lol. not too hard after watching some vids.

I also screwed up the plastidip on my rear valence because I didnt watch plenty of youtube vids and tore it when unmasking. After watching vids, the front came out good. Might peel the rear and do over tomorrow if its warm.

Also having some minor issues getting the LEDs to work. They light up fine off the battery but not when I plugged them into the fuze box. Probably a minor issue but I ran out of daylight so ill figure it out manana.
 
I don’t know. I’m disappointed in mine. I know it’s waaaay cheaper then oem but between the massive gaps I’ve got and the fact it doesn’t seemed curved enough (one side always wants to pull away even with stronger tape) if I had it to do over I’d just skip it altogether. YMMV
 
I don’t know. I’m disappointed in mine. I know it’s waaaay cheaper then oem but between the massive gaps I’ve got and the fact it doesn’t seemed curved enough (one side always wants to pull away even with stronger tape) if I had it to do over I’d just skip it altogether. YMMV



Any pics of your gap? I have a super white and while there is a gap on both sides, I don’t find it terrible by any means (personal opinion, obviously). As far as the curve, did you heat the tape before installing? That makes it stick better.

If you take it off, you can probably sell it for what you paid. Lots of people don’t want to wait the 7-10 days to get their grill from China. That’s always an option too.


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I test fit that garnish 10 times and had it perfectly centered....then I pulled the tapes and messed it up lol. Tiny bit off but I dont think I want to pry it off. I can live with it for now.
 

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It not so much the gaps (I'd prefer a little better fit) its that it seems like it isnt shaped correctly. Maybe they can sort it out in the next batch? Anyway it is far more reasonable then the oem
 

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I finished up installing mine today. I would say its 80% of the quality of the OEM one but only 20% of the cost. I was able to get the gap fairly even on both sides but it is larger than the OEM one for sure. Am I happy? Yes, the look is good and I saved enough to buy some RCI armor for the rig.
 
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I tried to order last night through cartrimhome link but could not get it to accept my CC. Anyone else have an issue ordering with CC? I did get a fraud warning text from my bank.
 
I tried to order last night through cartrimhome link but could not get it to accept my CC. Anyone else have an issue ordering with CC? I did get a fraud warning text from my bank.

Use PayPal just in case. Couple people waited forever for them and got refunds but product still showed up
 
So I ordered from Cartrimhome on 3/1 and my tracking number still says Processed Through Facility in Guangzhou, China on 3/3. No update in 10 days. Was hoping this would arrive quickly since I'm likely to buy a second one for my 4Runner (the one I ordered was for my wife's).
 

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