Please help...96-98 bumper won't fit 97 Civic

[civickid97]

I semi-recently picked up a replica cwest front bumper off of ebay for $99(You get what you pay for?!?) from Procarparts.com (IMO, a bad company). A few weeks later when school got out, I took my car to the body shop (fyi: a respected aftermarket body shop in Tallahassee) to have the bumper put on. Later that day, the shop called me and told me that the bumper reinforcement would have to be removed to make the bumper fit (which I didn't think was worth the risk). My first idea was that the bumper was a 99-00 bumper, but the headlight area for the bumper isn't as slim as the 99-00. Is this a common happening on aftermarket bumpers? I mean, this would have been my third and the first two didn't have this problem. I'm just a little bit stumped on what I should do. Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

[casperGSR]

Personally I'd say sell it and get the real thing... it'll cost ya more money obviously but at least you'll know that it's the real thing and not some knock off... and yes I have heard of people having to remove their bumper reinforcement, I know of one person who did remove it but personally I wouldn't risk it, you get in an accident and you're screwed.

[teck]

you dont have to remove the reinforment bar u just have to cut off a couple of inches diagonally from the end thats the shop that put my front had to do that. but then again its your choice

[civickid97]

Originally posted by teck
you dont have to remove the reinforment bar u just have to cut off a couple of inches diagonally from the end thats the shop that put my front had to do that. but then again its your choice

Was it a replica bumper?

[teck]

nope

[emerge]

you have to remember that nothing aftermarket will fit perfectly. you're also using an off-brand replica. i bought my tail lights from a procarparts ebay auction. and just like you, i got what i paid for. my tail lights dont fit good at all and they leak horribly. procarparts isn't really good quality. you CAN get that bumper to fit, but what the body shop said they had to do is true and probably the only way it'll fit. i'd sell it....

[99civic03]

My friend has that bumper, the reason it wont fit is because it is made for the JDM Civic, which has a slightly different safety reinforcement. Your only options are really to remove the support, or sell the bumper.

[civickid97]

Originally posted by 99civic03
My friend has that bumper, the reason it wont fit is because it is made for the JDM Civic, which has a slightly different safety reinforcement. Your only options are really to remove the support, or sell the bumper.

Did your friend have to totally remove the support or just cut pieces of it off? Because just cutting pieces off doesn't seem that bad...I mean, there are Wings West kits that require partial removal of the bumper reinforcement.

[99civic03]

Nope, he had to remove the whole thing, he even tried cutting about 3 inches off the edges, still wouldnt fit, he had to take the whole thing off, his car was a 98 too.