Hey guys I think that I am posting in the right spot for my situation. Well long story short I have a replica Mugen hardtop which is currently at the body shop. They just called me up and I went down to take some pictures of the huge spider cracks on the top of the hood in the gel coat right under the primer. What i am wondering is is this normal for aftermarket parts and will it affect the paint as much as the shop is telling me. Also with these pictures do i have a valid case to return the Item and get some kind of refund because it is damaged. the first pics are of the drivers side top and there is one pic of the top of the window seal. Sorry if the pics are too big. Thanks David

 

Nobody???

 

why would you buy an aftermarket one?

i dont mean to be a dick but if you want something big like a hardtop, spend the money to get a quality one, non-OEM pieces are questionable unless there are a lot of people on here who can swear by it

 

i understand your point but all i"m asking is if anybody that has done work with aftermarket pieces has had these types of cracks, and if they can be properly painted over. I'm not asking for opinions on what to buy just would like to know if these problems are normal for an aftermarket piece.

 

If you bought it new from a shop, I'd bring it back and get my money back. Looks like the quality is not good. If you bought it used, good luck.

 

I believe cracks like those appear if someone drops it? Otherwise how else would these magically appear?

 

That is definately not normal.

 

looks like somebody sat on it or dropped something on it... either way tell the shop to buy you a new one.

 

I have a replica mugen and i can tell you that thats not normal. any time you buy after market body parts, you take a big risk if its good or bad. you might be able to paint over this. shoot it first with a thick epoxy primer. this should help with the cracks as far as filling them. as long as your not flexing the top a great deal, the cracks may not show back up after you paint it. good luck.

 

Yea I didn't think it was normal. The manager of the company that i bought it from seems to always be out off the office when I call. The shop that I have it at said the only good option was an extra thick primer that they sometimes use. As for flexing, the top will be permanent for the most part. I purchased because my top has been cut two time and untill I get a house the hardtop will be on it. Thanks for the input, I'm gonna try and raise hell with the place of purchae tomorrow and send them these pics.