bryan240sx
New Member
- Joined
- Jun 12, 2008
- Messages
- 5
- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 0
- Location
- Corpus Christi, TX
- Vehicle Year
- 2008
- Make / Model
- Mazda
- Engine Size
- 4.0
- Transmission
- Automatic
I bought one of the $500 Westin Sportsman grille guards for my B4000 right after I got it. The guard looked well enough when I got it, but after less than 6 months on the front of my car, the paint started to flake off and it began to rust. I've never impacted a thing, had nothing mounted to the guard and have done nothing but drive on sand.
I won't debate Westin's warranty here, but it's my opinion that it's worthless.
The main issue I have is the quality of the product. It just plain sucks. The welds are shoddy, the black coating is thin, wholly inadequate and begins to fall off after just a few months of use with no impacts, scratches, etc. The environment alone takes the paint off. As someone who knows a thing or two about surface preparation and coatings, it's clear to me that they need to revisit their manufacturing processes and increase oversight over their Chinese contract manufacturers that produce this garbage.
I had mine sprayed with bedliner when Westin refused to honor the warranty. I wasn't pleased with the results. It's very hard to get bedliner to coat properly on tubular surfaces and no matter how hard we tried, we could not get it to look satisfactory (and I had a great dealer). It also added a lot of weight to the already overweight grille guard. It also made the spacing in the grilles over the headlights narrower and it honestly made it noticeably harder to see at night.
I'm removing the guard this evening and I'm going to sell it or throw it away. I cannot express how dissatisfied I am with this product and wanted to vent. I welcome your comments on the matter. If anyone knows of a non-Westin grille guard that will fit a 2008 Mazda B4000, please let me know.
I won't debate Westin's warranty here, but it's my opinion that it's worthless.
The main issue I have is the quality of the product. It just plain sucks. The welds are shoddy, the black coating is thin, wholly inadequate and begins to fall off after just a few months of use with no impacts, scratches, etc. The environment alone takes the paint off. As someone who knows a thing or two about surface preparation and coatings, it's clear to me that they need to revisit their manufacturing processes and increase oversight over their Chinese contract manufacturers that produce this garbage.
I had mine sprayed with bedliner when Westin refused to honor the warranty. I wasn't pleased with the results. It's very hard to get bedliner to coat properly on tubular surfaces and no matter how hard we tried, we could not get it to look satisfactory (and I had a great dealer). It also added a lot of weight to the already overweight grille guard. It also made the spacing in the grilles over the headlights narrower and it honestly made it noticeably harder to see at night.
I'm removing the guard this evening and I'm going to sell it or throw it away. I cannot express how dissatisfied I am with this product and wanted to vent. I welcome your comments on the matter. If anyone knows of a non-Westin grille guard that will fit a 2008 Mazda B4000, please let me know.