Looking for a chrome shop

[Rick_L]

Surprised that he hasn't posted here, but Madmooks posted on trifive.com that he's now offering chroming on non-Nomad-specific parts, like bumpers. No firm prices, but hinting at not being outrageous. Maybe he hasn't gotten any business from people mentioning this site.

But as you guys know, his Nomad specific stuff has a good rep.

[chevynut]

Yeah Mike e-mailed me the pics of the bumper he had done by his plater, and the price was decent for a 5-piece bumper at $850. I was always told a one-piece bumper is cheaper than a 3-piece but I haven't received his estimate. He said the cores were nice. Here's a couple pics of that bumper....

[MadMooks]

sorry I overlooked this thread. chevynut and I spoke about a week ago about his bumper. our chrome is expensive, but there are no surprises. when you send it to me, basically you have you the comfort of knowing that i look over the piece well. if i don't think its good, i wont ship it out. im putting my name on this stuff and i want people to be happy.

the guy who received the 5 piece bumper was blown away by it. he said it was the best bumper hes ever done. ill be honest, when i saw the bumper i was like WOW. i had to grab my dad and show him. he was kind of scratching his head looking at his bumpers and wondering if he needs to have them done lol. its pretty nice stuff. are there flaws? sure, of course. there always is, especially with potmetal. im picky, but im also realistic. flawless doesn't exist in the world of classic cars.

a 56 nomad went for 250-275k on BJ last month. i think Rick was talking about it on the other forum. i saw this same ride at Sema back in 2010. we didn't do the liftgate chrome, and you wouldn't believe what it looked like. it had no business being on that car. done very poorly.

[chevynut]

Well guys, I have to say that I'm done screwing around with Ogden Chrome. They're a joke and their "free shipping" really isn't.

As I previously posted on this thread I was considering using Ogden Chrome for my bumpers and perhaps other chrome parts. I had talked to them at Goodguys a couple of times in the past, and they quoted $475 for a one-piece 56 bumper. By earlier this year that had gone up to $575 which was still cheap imo. When I talked to the manager there he told me that was for street chrome, not "show chrome" and that show chrome was 25% higher making it $718 (including any straightening required). Supposedly they also ship both ways for "free"...at least that's what they advertise.

Anyhow, as I explained earlier in this thread I sent pics of my front bumper to Ogden and they said it would be $900-1500 for show chrome. I asked why it's any different than a 1-piece OEM bumper and they said it was "the welds" I made. It didn't matter that the welds were not pitted or anything, just that it was welded and he claimed they "always have to fix welds". It also didn't matter that my bumper didn't need any straightening whatsoever. I offered months ago to have them pick it up and look at it and give me a firm quote, but got tired of the manager's BS and gave up on them. He never would explain why my bumper would cost more than the OEM one.

So earlier in September I was at Goodguys Colorado and came across the Ogden booth again. I stopped and talked to a sales guy (Randy) and explained the past discussions I had with them, and how I didn't understand why my bumper was any different than an OEM 1-piece. I told him I had been talking to a hispanic guy at Ogden and didn't remember his name. He pointed at "Jose" behind the counter and I said I didn't think that was his name. So he asked if I had the bumper with me to look at and I said I didn't, but my place was on his way back to SLC. We agreed to talk the next day so he could see the bumper and I gave him my number. He said he could give me a firm quote but "Jose" would have to approve it.

I met Randy at I-25 just a couple miles from my house the next day (I had to call him). I took both bumpers for him to see and when he picked up the front bumper and looked at it he said "so you only welded on the backside?" noting my welded brackets. He said that was good because it wouldn't cause a problem. I said that it was a 3-piece bumper I'd welded together and he said "WOW!" and that he couldn't even tell it was welded. I said that's what I tried to tell the other guy before and thought it was a good sign, and expected the weld issue to be resolved. He said he wanted to take the bumper and would get back with me on a firm quote on it so I agreed. My wife was concerned about it because they didn't give me a claim ticket or anything...I said I wasn't too worried about that.

I looked up my past e-mails when I got home and realized the guy was Jose that I'd been dealing with. I figured that was okay since he would get to see the bumper first-hand and it might change his attitude about it.

At this point I was still expecting them to come back with something slightly higher than the $718 show chrome price for my bumper. Several days later, on 9/18 (while checking messages in NM), I got a text saying they were quoting $1100 for the bumper plus a 5% 'environmental fee". The $1100 was higher than the low end of the range of $900-1000 they quoted earlier even with welds this guy couldn't see. I figured if it was $718-$900 I'd go with it. But the $1100 just pissed me off, and it was obvious that Jose was continuing his silly games. I replied and again asked why it was so high, and why it was any different than the OEM bumper. No reply from Randy. So I told them to send it back and that it was obvious that Jose got involved and is still playing games with me. As of today, 10 days later, I still haven't seen it or any messages from them. I sent them a message this morning asking what their plan was for returning the bumper.

I also had asked Jose what they charged for interior trim. His quote was anywhere from $100-120 a piece which I felt was ridiculous. I was also told they don't do any volume pricing because it takes just as much time to do each piece whether it's one or 20. Huh? They obviously don't understand what "volume pricing" is.

As far as I'm concerned I'm done with these guys at Ogden Chrome. My bumpers are going to Madmooks. It's going to cost me to ship them both ways but the overall cost will be compararable to Ogden, and I'm confident in the quality Mike delivers. He's doing my liftgate now.

[WagonCrazy]

He's doing my liftgate now.

If your liftgate turns out looking anything like my Madmoorks chromeplated liftgate looks, you're gonna be HHHHH AAAAA PPPP PPPP YYYYY.

I'll be interested in what Mike comes up with for cost on your bumpers. I have a one piece front and rear that need rechroming too...

[chevynut]

Paul, call Ogden and ask them what they'll do your one-piece OEM bumpers for. They actually have them listed in a book that they look up, that's where I got the $475 the first time I asked a few years ago. Then let them pay to ship them and give you a firm quote. I wonder if they'll stick to their original quote.

I heard back from Ogden today and Randy said it's $1100 instead of $718 because mine is "custom and takes more material and hand work". BS. I ground and blocked the crap out of my bumper several times and it's really straight and flat. I can perhaps see a little more blocking work with a welded bumper, but not much more than a repaired bent one. So a little more would make sense but not 53% more. Just playin' games, imo, and I don't trust them at this point.

The main issue with 1-piece bumpers is shipping them since they're so long. I'm not sure how I'm going to get mine to Mike.

Mike says my liftgate should be finished in a few weeks.

[MP&C]

The price is $1100 because they have your bumper..

[WagonCrazy]

Get that bumper back from them ASAP.
The one piece is a bit long, but not so heavy that you couldn't box it up and ship it.
Shipping from CO to CA is probably $100 each way...

[markm]

Ever since our local bumper shop closed, I have found bumper business people to be crooks.

[chevynut]

Ogden told me the bumper's being shipped back to me today. Wish I had the guts to ask them to ship to Madmooks. LOL!

I told Randy I was pissed that he wasted my time after explaining the situation to him at Goodguys. He could have just told me that what Jose said before was likely to stand. Then I would have told them to forget it.

[chevynut]

I was working in the shop today and noticed something leaning up against my cabinet by the door. Come to find out my bumper is back and the delivery guy put it in the shop while I wasn't looking, I guess. I may have been in the house at the time.

Anyhow it's back...it's all wrapped up with some sort of special paper and bubble pack. I don't think I'm even going to unpack it, just ship to Madmooks. My liftgate is DONE!!

[chevynut]

Here's a few pics of my liftgate after rechroming by Madmooks. Looks pretty good to me!!! Can't wait to see it in person. As soon as it's back here I'm sending my front bumper to have it chromed, and maybe some of my interior trim.

[WagonCrazy]

Nothing excites like the eye candy of a superior chroming job!

[Madspeed]

Well lets kick this dead horse

I called Ogden Chrome and its even higher now. 1800 for street. Holly crap. I was expecting lie 500. and thinking that was nuts. Im not building a show car just a clean stupid fast daily. Should I just buy real deal bobs or? Who chromes that isnt taking vacations from every part they do? I get it, Why do ork for the lil guy when you got tv show money thats endless. lol I dont want to deplete my IRA to get my chrome work done. suggestions?
Thanks

[BamaNomad]

Madspeed: What are you needing to chrome? bumpers should be easier than potmetal, and easier to find a decent shop for chroming bumpers...
and WHERE are you located? I can recommend a good shop in west-central Tennessee... It's much better to find one close enough to deliver/pick up the parts... and get to talk to the owner/operator of the shop...