Bodykit (4.8) from E-bay arrived. Some pics

[Qcustoms]

Yes we need pics

[wogboy_9000]

Long awaited pics. Sorry for the delay.










Okay, so here they are. Overall verdict, good from afar, but if you're quite fussy, you won't be happy with the overall outcome. Especially considering how much time you've spent on it.

You'll notice the back spoiler is great. Fits well, went on easily. The front, not so much. You can see in one of the photos the gap between the black plastic and the spoiler where it doesn't fit properly. This was pressed hard up against the plastic, but over the last few months has pulled away. I'll just have to fill the gap with black silicone.

You'll also notice, that on the driver's side (RHD) there's a bump in the fibreglass. This is from too much manipulation trying to get it to fit perfectly onto the car (which is impossible as you can see).

Overall, as you can see from the pics taken a couple meters away, it looks great and really improves the look of the car. Would I do it again? Probably not.

Flares still to come

[bcredliner]

I agree it looks great from a short distance away. I like the look and the color of your X5. I would say it is worth it. Before using black silicone I would ask a body shop what they would do. Your problem is not unusual to them.

[SMOKEY53]

I reckon its passable, only because the alternative is a full 4.8is front bar replacement from a wrecker, and they are just rare as hens teeth in Australia - and even if you did find one, the cost would be heavy - I reckon $1500 unpainted.

Unfortunately I don't think the story is going to get any better with the flares. I just can't see how they could be fitted neatly....look forward to seeing your progress though.

[m5james]

I don't know how or when it happened but I found a nice scratch on my tailgate today that is all the way down to bare metal and beyond something I could fix myself. Considering I'd have to get a shop to sand, spray and blend it, I just gave myself another reason to get this kit. My question is what are the differences between the two kits in the links below other than a $75 price? Both are for a pre-facelift.

BMW E53 x5 4 8style Bodykit for All E53 Models Front Bumper Rear Bumper Arches | eBay

BMW E53 x5 4 6IS Body Kit | eBay

I'm also curious is someone w/ Photoshop skills can make me a monochromatic in estoril blue as I'm debating having all the black smoothed and painted, which will not be cheap. I've found facelifted E53's and X5M's with it done in pics, so they're my motivation.

Estoril E53 X5 4.6is Part Out

https://www.flickr.com/photos/83728243@N04/14057383741/

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...like-best.html

[wogboy_9000]

If you look at the front spoiler pics, the 4.6is and 4.8is are differernt.
The 4.8is looks a lot better. I will warn you though, there's a fair bit of work involved to get these on. They are pretty poor quality.

[m5james]

Oops, don't ask me how I missed facelift vs pre-facelift. Ironically the pre-facelift is more expensive :-/ I've got a pre-facelift so hopefully my fitment will be better since it doesn't have to follow the curves where you've got fitment issues.

[m5james]

Update to my last post - ends up the cheaper seller makes his prefacelift kit to look much like the facelift kit, but then I worry about fitment issues much like in post #105. I've said the same thing to the seller and linked him to this thread, so we'll see what he says.
seller and linked him to this thread, so we'll see what he says.

[m5james]

So in trying to determine which kit to get, why there is an $81 price difference between the two, both are from Latvia, so I've asked each seller about the other and they can't get their stories straight. To be honest, I prefer the pre-facelift on the prefacelift bumper, then just like post #105, I don't wanna risk anymore than needed by having mold issues. I just don't wanna pay $81 more for less fiberglass



AIKTuning - BMW E53 x5 4 8style Bodykit for All E53 Models Front Bumper Rear Bumper Arches | eBay
Me: The pictures in your ad show a bumper kit for the "facelift" X5 that came after 2003, yet the X5 from 1999-2002 have a different bumper and headlights called "pre-facelift". Do you have pics of the kit for the pre-facelift model?
Them: I know what are you talking about, The bumpers are quite the same on both models so we adjusted our mold to fit great on all x5 e53 This set fits all e53 models years and engines, Please find pictures from our customer in KZ attached, prefacelift with facelift addons
Me: (they sent me pics of a facelift kit installed onto a prefacelift) You should really post those pics on your ad to clear up any confusion. They look nice from a distance in the pics you posted, but I'm concerned about close-up fitment like in post #105 - (sent them a link to this thread)
Them: Hello, Thank you for the link, The parts you talk about are not from us, there is a seller bodykit.lv on ebay - those are from him, Please if you can make a post there to let people know that we are a different company and i asure you that quality is much better, kind regards


Car-Styling-UK - BMW E53 x5 4 6IS Body Kit | eBay
Me: Trying to figure out why your kit is $81 more than this one. I see they only have pics of facelifted X5's but they assure me that have pre-facelift kits as well. BMW E53 x5 4 8style Bodykit for All E53 Models Front Bumper Rear Bumper Arches | eBay
Them: Good day, This guys located 30 min out of our city. They buy all parts in our shop, then they make copy of it and selling it here...So the quality is not good. Why they selling for cheaper price! Have a nice day!

[D Unit]

Anyone else buy this kit and have this problem too?