Custom Mesh Grille Project

[Rickycardo]

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[customcargrills]

Hey Matt! Thanks for chiming in here. I think the price for the full replacement is definitely competitively priced. It's great that you offer the options for those who either can't/don't want to tackle a DIY project.

One idea to maybe lighten the cost a bit for both parties may be doing a Core charge on the OEM grilles? Maybe charge them full price until you receive the OEM Grilles and inspect them, then refund the money? Just an idea.

Thanks Matt!:cheers:

Cores are a good thought, but I do have issues with them. The main problem is that they are often nicked or scratched up a little, even on low mileage vehicles.

I'd taken 3 cores on 3 different C7 Vette grills that had "500 miles" on them and they were in no way in a condition that I would ever be able to sell to a new customer and the effort to fix them is more than what they're worth. With the Vette's, it's now just strictly a new only option (not even DIY is available due to the nature of the mesh installation).

With an Audi piece we make, we do offer a discount for sending in your factory parts and then we modify them and ship back the parts that were sent in. That's worked ok for some customers who don't mind being without their parts for 3-4 weeks.

The tricky part with cores from my end is evaluating the condition of an existing part and dealing with sub-optimal core returns. If Bob sends in his pieces and he thinks they are in great condition but to me they are in poor condition, well... what do you do at that point? Would it be acceptable for me to use Bob's pieces for the next customer if I feel the parts are something I personally would not put on my car? For me, the answer is no.

IF these OEM parts were being painted, cores might be semi-viable. On this specific part, it's not painted and once it's scratched then it's likely not going to be something I would want to pass on to the next customer. I'm a car guy myself, and I know how particular people are who are buying these items are.

In conclusion, I'm open to the idea of customers sending in their pieces, then having me mod them and then shipping back their exact set. There'd be less than $100 savings (when you factor in the shipping costs to get the parts to me), and turnaround time might become a problem for some people. I'm highly skeptical on just taking cores after the sale, it's burned us in the past. Given the relative low value of the brand new oem pieces, it just doesn't seem worth it to deal with.

 

[Rickycardo]

Hey Matt @customcargrills Any thoughts on adding new patterns of mesh for grills in the future?

 

[customcargrills]

Hey Matt @customcargrills Any thoughts on adding new patterns of mesh for grills in the future?

As for pieces to stock, I like to try and keep it simple and only do 2-3 styles. Custom orders are of course possible.

Which mesh(es) were you thinking of going with?

 

[Rickycardo]

Not sure. I was just going through the McNichols catalog at work and daydreaming

 

[CompO5.sl0w]

Cores are a good thought, but I do have issues with them. The main problem is that they are often nicked or scratched up a little, even on low mileage vehicles.

I'd taken 3 cores on 3 different C7 Vette grills that had "500 miles" on them and they were in no way in a condition that I would ever be able to sell to a new customer and the effort to fix them is more than what they're worth. With the Vette's, it's now just strictly a new only option (not even DIY is available due to the nature of the mesh installation).

With an Audi piece we make, we do offer a discount for sending in your factory parts and then we modify them and ship back the parts that were sent in. That's worked ok for some customers who don't mind being without their parts for 3-4 weeks.

The tricky part with cores from my end is evaluating the condition of an existing part and dealing with sub-optimal core returns. If Bob sends in his pieces and he thinks they are in great condition but to me they are in poor condition, well... what do you do at that point? Would it be acceptable for me to use Bob's pieces for the next customer if I feel the parts are something I personally would not put on my car? For me, the answer is no.

IF these OEM parts were being painted, cores might be semi-viable. On this specific part, it's not painted and once it's scratched then it's likely not going to be something I would want to pass on to the next customer. I'm a car guy myself, and I know how particular people are who are buying these items are.

In conclusion, I'm open to the idea of customers sending in their pieces, then having me mod them and then shipping back their exact set. There'd be less than $100 savings (when you factor in the shipping costs to get the parts to me), and turnaround time might become a problem for some people. I'm highly skeptical on just taking cores after the sale, it's burned us in the past. Given the relative low value of the brand new oem pieces, it just doesn't seem worth it to deal with.

I completely understand that. One of the reasons I hate working with the public. I especially can't stand the people that lie to your face like, "It was in pristine condition when I sent it out!" Yeah, seems to be more headache that what it's really worth. I think the grilles are definitely competitively priced to begin with anyway.

Again, thanks for chiming in here man!:cheers:

 

[Rickycardo]

As for pieces to stock, I like to try and keep it simple and only do 2-3 styles. Custom orders are of course possible.

Which mesh(es) were you thinking of going with?

I'd like to find a mesh very similar to what you have but with a little more diamond shape and less square shape. And in a high gloss black.

 

[Utlonghorns416]

Nice work, looks great!

 

[myjaja]

Thanks for this thread. I did my own because of it.

 

[SK GT]

I want to do the SWAT one. Looks to be just time consuming. Are there any how to guides on dremeling the stock grills?

 

[Centurion07]

Thanks for this thread. I did my own because of it.

Sorry, but you're not allowed to put a tribar on your mesh grill. ;)

 

[Centurion07]

I want to do the SWAT one. Looks to be just time consuming. Are there any how to guides on dremeling the stock grills?

There's a vid on YT (possibly on CCG's site too) that shows it but when you take the grill off it will be obvious what you need to cut.

 

[myjaja]

Sorry, but you're not allowed to put a tribar on your mesh grill. ;)

Haha, mine is a bit different though. ;)

For anyone that does this, removing the grilles off the clips is the worst out of the whole install.

 

[CompO5.sl0w]

Haha, mine is a bit different though. ;)

For anyone that does this, removing the grilles off the clips is the worst out of the whole install.

Looks good man! :cheers: Agreed. Wasn't difficult but just a PITA to get it out.

 

[Quiksilver15]

[MENTION=18483]CompO5.sl0w[/MENTION] so one sheet (12*48) was able to do 2 sets of grilles? I recall reading something about this, but can't find it.

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