Redvette_22

I purchased a "NEW" American made front bumper for my 72 Vette at Corvettes @ Carlisle this past August that I have a problem with. I bought it from a vendor who allegedly was a Paragon Corvette Reproductions. After attempting to install it, I found that the bracket on the passenger side, welded to the bumper did not line up with the hole in the body, or the "old" bumper taken off. The vendor was still setting up on Friday morning when I got there, and as he only had one bumper with him, and it was one the items I went for, I bought it right away. After trying to contact the vendor with no response, I called Paragon and talk about getting stone walled by them I was told they would do nothing because it has to go thru the seller only. I told them that the seller was not responding and I wanted to get my car back together but it made no difference, their response was that they would not help.

It appears that in order to get this bumper to fit I will have to enlarge the hole in the side of the car by at least 3/8" or more, to even get close to getting a bolt in. I really don't want to do that to the car, but I cannot think of any other option if Paragon or nobody else will help, has anybody else had this type of issue with fitment or Paragon parts?

OldCarBum

I would not modify your car in any way to fit a bumper that was not manufactured correctly. I would take every route to return the bumper, then as a last resort modify the bumper to fit your car. If that isn't possible, chalk it up to experience, hang that bumper on the wall of your garage as a reminder and purchase the correct bumper that will fit your car. We've all done it, it bites and most of us don't make that kind of mistake again. Good Luck.

ignatz

Also, do not attempt to force any bumper that is closer to right to fit by tightening the mounting bolts. The fiberglass loses, the bumper always wins.

kingkohlmn

Based on your information, I would side with Paragon. Was the vendor you purchased the bumper from a seller for Paragon or not? Are you 100% sure it is a Paragon product? Did you purchase the correct bumper for your year? I've dealt with Paragon for a lot of my parts and never a complaint.

Alan 71

Hi LB,
I'm pretty sure Paragon stamps all the front and rear bumpers they produce with a logo.
Have you checked yet to see if indeed it's a Paragon reproduction?
I think once you're sure who made you might be able to pursue satisfaction from Paragon harder.
Regards,
Alan

The13Bats

If i had to roll the dice i bet some cheesedick seller passed a craptasic import bumper off on you, i hear they suck,

If it really is a paragon part, with their brand stamp if they do that then doesnt much matter where you bought to me if it was being sold as new and as a oaragon part i would want paragon to tell me why their brand is on a pos product,

And if paragon is good with their stamp on a bs part, post about it on every vette forum,

So let's see how this plays out, if it has their stamp
I do hope it works out well for you,

bigredbrad

not to be a jerk, but are you 100% confident that you car was never in an accident? And I mean bought it new confident? Ive seen plenty of new parts that do not fit old corvettes because they got bumped in the nose somewhere along the way in the last 50 years.

Hope it all works out for you,

bigredbrad

Dirty Dalton

I placed a small order of engine compartment items with Paragon. One item met the design criteria perfectly (ie it fit) but not the operational criteria. Despite several back and forth communications, Paragon made no effort to correct the problem, even after admitting the potential for problems with the item (fuel line). They stated that they would put an advisory statement in their catalog/website. I’ve not bothered to look, and Paragon is now on my ‘When I can’t get it anywhere else, and I’m desperate’ supplier list.

Mr D.

Reproduction parts are a crap shoot. Hang this one on your wall and have your OEM bumper rechromed.

Gold Dragon

Unfortunate. Paragon has a decent reputation. Don't try to make it work. Exhaust all your options with Paragon before taking your business elsewhere.

crawfish333

I have had good luck ordering parts from Paragon. Some of it I ordered, and some my mechanic ordered, but it has been all good so far. Sorry you are having bad luck.

Bill Pilon

I have had my 60 Vette for 37 years, it is pretty much a nice weather driver which down here is about every day it don't rain.

Over the years I have bought a lot of parts, mostly good used original or NOS, I try to steer clear of reproduction parts because I have found them to be sub-par in fit and finish and poor quality at best.

I have bought some from Paragon and found them to be no better or worse than most of the others, they are not my go to place.

I find it humerous that there are folks who take off really good original parts and replace them with this reproduction "junk" instead of refurbishing or rechroming the original pieces, I don't know why they do it, but I'm glad they do.

Bill

car junkie

People that sell new parts at the swaps will sell parts that they know have problems. Better you get stuck than they. Hard to return and they know it. I got screwed by Crane this way, I'll take the responsibility because I should have seen the problem and did not, but he did lose my business and lost my respect forever.

Redvette_22

Here are some pictures showing he problem between the Right and Left outer brackets (you can clearly see they are not spaced the same). Also you can see the Paragon sticker on the bumper.

As far as the comments about re-chroming -vs- aftermarket....mine is NOT a show car, that being said, if you have unlimited funds then...yes...re-chrome, otherwise why should you "NOT"expect USA made products to fit properly, and save money. In all the re-chroming vendors I've tried, the cost of a USA bumper, either front or rear, is at least half the cost of re-chroming...even if they don't have to do extensive repair work..and as a side note, I had Keystone re-chrome a bumper off my 69 Vette and they screwed it up badly. I can understand the "issue" everybody has with the "offshore" parts, but this front bumper I bought was a USA made unit, and paid accordingly for it, for them to see it is in fact their product, and NOT offer ANY help at all, I cannot say I'll ever buy something from Paragon again.

OldCarBum

"I purchased a "NEW" American made front bumper for my 72 Vette at Corvettes @ Carlisle this past August that I have a problem with. I bought it from a vendor who allegedly was a Paragon Corvette Reproductions".

Here is what I have learned in the past five decades buying parts from "vendors" at shows and swap meets, and this is just my .02 cents.
Never do it! Never!
If I see something a vendor is selling at a show I will get the manufactures part number off the part or the part number from the vendor.
I'll go home, contact the manufacturer with the contact information on their web site, order the part and have it shipped to my home.
I may not get the "show special" but I can buy with confidence that they will stand behind their part if there is a defect.
I can't say I would be to quick to blame Paragon. You are calling them about a part you claim to be their part that you purchased from a third party at a swap meet or show who was claiming to be their vendor.
And I take it the vendor told you it was made in the USA too.
It really bites when someone takes advantage of another and sells them faulty parts. Unfortunately our hobby is full of these types.
Be cautious when purchasing.

Redvette_22

You can see by the photo above that it has the Paragon tag on it, and they said they DID have some problems with the C3 bumpers being defective (they actually built them in house) and yet they offered no help. That to me is totally unacceptable by the company standard. They (Paragon) could at least offer some assistance, after all they admit they built defective parts.

Bill Pilon

There has got to be a reason why you can buy a new reproduction bumper, or any other part for that matter, for half the price of having an original re-chromed. You only get what you pay for, and junk is junk, no matter what country it is made in, and I have found in the last several years about all the reproduction items I have purchased have been very poor quality and didn't fit correctly, I certainly prefer good used original parts over any reproduction parts regardless who made them.

Bill

63_corvette_split

People buy from a swap/ e-bay/ on, line from an individual . But expect a company to cover their mistake on a part that's 4/15 two years old. Sure at a great discount! Let put the responsibility were it belongs....
No Vendor should ....do you have any other purchase history with them?

Bill Pilon

[QUOTE=63_corvette_split;1595752170]People buy from a swap/ e-bay/ on, line from an individual . But expect a company to cover their mistake on a part that's 4/15 two years old. Sure at a great discount! Let put the responsibility were it belongs....
No Vendor should ....do you have any other purchase history with them?[/QUOTE.


If I have my name and reputation on an item that I or my company produced and it turned out to be defective I would bust my butt to make it right, I don't care who finally sold it to the customer, when you buy a new car the dealer doesn't provide the warranty, the manufacturer does.

Certainly a C3 bumper can't cost Paragon as much to produce as this has thread has cost them in damage to their reputation which is bad news and and bad news is not like fine wine it doesn't get better with age.

Bill

OldCarBum

[QUOTE=Bill Pilon;1595802559]I agree to a point and I understand the PO's frustration.
I'm sure if the PO purchased it directly from Paragon they would be willing to work with him or replace the poorly designed or poorly built bumper. That makes since.
But, the PO is calling Paragon about a bumper that is over two years old, purchased from a third party person at a show or swap meet. Paragon has no way of knowing if this bumper was installed on a vehicle, damaged or modified.
That would be like me buying a freezer from a guy on craigslist, taking it home, finding it doesn't work, then me calling GE to replace it or repair it under warranty. Not!!!