Lack of available parts in Canada

[55trucker]

Two months ago the front of my truck was *backed into* by a silly female who while fully engaged in texting was not paying attention to what she SHOULD have been doing ran a stop sign and when realizing what she'd done came to a stop in the middle of the intersection.

Now I wasn't there to witness firsthand what happened, my wife was driving to work, this woman instead of clearing the intersection by driving on thru when safe to do so decided to backup her SUV. Sounds relatively reasonable doesn't it?......well, she didn't look in her rearview mirrors to see if this was safe to do so.....

My wife had come to a stop AT the stop sign and was waiting for this individual to move on...not expecting what was about to happen she was talking to her passenger when SMACK..the SUV reverses
& was now into the front of my Ranger which bent the bumper, twisted the mounts, damaged the valance & one pad.

Now, bypassing all of the insurance haggle to get the truck repaired I have discovered that there are no front new replacement bumpers here in Canada at all for my truck. I went to two different Ford dealers who basically gave me the same response...sorry ...no bumper for the truck. The valance/upper pads & the mounting hardware are all available but not the bumper.

The ONLY location I have found a possible new replacement is Amazon (US) where three dealers have an aftermarket overseas bumper. But there is a catch....NONE of them will ship out of the lower 48 states.

I do realize that my truck IS 20 years old, but I wasn't expecting this sort of roadblock when it came to getting it repaired. The insurance adjuster has offered to just cut me a cheque for the repair & to look after it myself.

That sounds fine.....but.....I STILL need a new bumper.

I've finished venting....

 

[Doofy]

Did you try LMC Truck? They mail me stuff to Alaska all the time.

 

[55trucker]

Honestly...I'm not familiar with them...they did not appear in a google search for a new bumper...

 

[Doofy]

Just Google lmc truck 1998 Ranger bumpers. They carry them. About $130. Didn't look to see if they ship to Canada. They have very good "online catalogs" or you can order a catalog.

 

[Doofy]

Rock Auto and Amazon also have good prices on bumpers.

 

[adsm08]

I think LMC is actually a Canadian company that just has warehouses in the US to avoid international shipping rates. They should ship to Canada.

EDIT: No they are based out of Lexana KS, but operate Victoria British, which is why I thought they were Canadian, I thought they were in British Columbia.

 

[55trucker]

I must be suffering from a brainfart.....never considered Rockauto for body panels...(duh)

$550 including shipping Can for an OEM quality bumper. That sounds good. Thats right in line as to what I was quoted by the Ford bodyshop managers for a new bumper.

looked into LMC.......they do list a new replacement item, it's an offshore China piece @$130US, but the shipping is $270US to get it here vs $45 to anywhere in the lower 48 states.

Doof.....what were you being charge for shipping to Alaska?

lower 48 price or something more expensive.....


thx for the suggestions guys, feel as tho I'm a little closer to getting there


Steve

 

[Doofy]

Wowza! Your shipping is as bad as ours. Amazon Prime was a wonderful thing for several years but the service and items they will ship is going to crap.

Last summer I bought a gas wood chipper from Walmart and it shipped Fedex from New Jersey for $65. I just about had a stroke!

There just has to be a way to beat the outrageous shipping. ..maybe a road trip a cross the ol border. Good Luck!

 

[adsm08]

Doof might be on to something. We have a number of members in NY, some in the Buffalo-Rochester area. Might be worth it.

 

[Mark_88]

LMC shows they have them but couldn't check stock availability.

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/FR/full.aspx?Page=30

EDIT: I just spoke with the guy I used to buy parts for my Ranger in Uxbridge and they can get these for you. The price was a bit steep at $300 - 400 for just the Chrome unit. They do not come with the pad holes and looking at your truck picture you might need those unless the trim is glued on.

The company is now called Bumper to Bumper and if you want to discuss this with them they can be reached at 1-800-486-1233...ask for Ron at xt 223 or anyone there can look that up for you.

 

[55trucker]

The front bumper on the truck is unique to the 98-99 XLT's. These are the only two years where there are upper pads made use of and the bumper is stamped to allow the retainers of the pads to snap into place.

I remember Bumper to Bumper, haven't heard the name for at least 20 years now, thought they were swallowed up by LKQ (LKQ seems to be buying up everything in parts to have a monopoly control). I'll contact Ron there to see what he can provide in an OEM bumper.

If push comes to shove I'll make a trip to either Buffalo or Lewiston just to save on the shipping fee but since the insurance company is paying for this I just need to find a good new bumper.

 

[Mark_88]

They used to be called Impact Auto when I was dealing with them. I was going to suggest trying something just south of the border but then I realized not everybody has a Passport and you can't get in without one these days...at least that's what I heard.

If the insurance is covering it then money is no object...although a $25,000 bumper might be out of the question...

 

[Doofy]

Seems to me, the body shop or insurance company should be doing the legwork on this. I could be wrong since I haven't filed an insurance claim or been in a body shop since the early 70's.

 

[55trucker]

You're right, they should be,

but seeing as the shops won't go to the bother of ordering from across the border, orrrrrrr are not allowed to order from across the border hence their position of cutting me a cheque & letting me handle all of the work to repair the truck myself.

 

[Mark_88]

You're right, they should be,

but seeing as the shops won't go to the bother of ordering from across the border, orrrrrrr are not allowed to order from across the border hence their position of cutting me a cheque & letting me handle all of the work to repair the truck myself.

How did this turn out? Did you find a bumper or still looking?