Costa Fabrications still in business?

[Beach80]

Does anyone know if Costa Fabrications is still in business? His website to order a bumper still exists.

Thanks for the help

 

[jfz80]

He is taking a break from front 80 bumper production. Did you try a call or email?

 

[Beach80]

He is taking a break from front 80 bumper production. Did you try a call or email?

I emailed him a couple days ago, haven't heard back. Haven't been able to find a number for him. His is the only bumper I like 100%

 

[george.arnold]

He responded in his thread in the vendor forum this year. He said he was going to be updating his website, but that he has definitely focused on other work the past 18 months. Not sure if this slow down will bring him back to the armor business or not. He is obviously very talented and seems like his work translates well to modern architecture.

 

[MoJ]

Costa = Factor 55?

 

[6894kevin]

Try hitting him up on Instagram

 

[NLXTACY]

Costa = Factor 55?

View attachment 2276687

Not the same guy. Rich Costa of Costa Fabrications is in New England.

costafabrications at gmail dot com

 

[JaketheSSnake]

He responded in his thread in the vendor forum this year. He said he was going to be updating his website, but that he has definitely focused on other work the past 18 months. Not sure if this slow down will bring him back to the armor business or not. He is obviously very talented and seems like his work translates well to modern architecture.

Pretty much this. After 2 years I had to ask for a refund on my bumper. Good guy, never had an issue with him and talked to him alot over those 2 years and he refunded me in full last fall. His bumpers are definitely worth the wait, but the architecture thing is the main problem. WAY more money in that over bumper building, and understandably, that's where his priorities lie. I really hope he can get back to building bumpers, at least occasionally.

 

[Beach80]

Pretty much this. After 2 years I had to ask for a refund on my bumper. Good guy, never had an issue with him and talked to him alot over those 2 years and he refunded me in full last fall. His bumpers are definitely worth the wait, but the architecture thing is the main problem. WAY more money in that over bumper building, and understandably, that's where his priorities lie. I really hope he can get back to building bumpers, at least occasionally.

That's a bummer, I really wanted that bumper. Oh well, the search goes on, thank you for the info.

 

[mingles]

Pretty much this. After 2 years I had to ask for a refund on my bumper. Good guy, never had an issue with him and talked to him alot over those 2 years and he refunded me in full last fall. His bumpers are definitely worth the wait, but the architecture thing is the main problem. WAY more money in that over bumper building, and understandably, that's where his priorities lie. I really hope he can get back to building bumpers, at least occasionally.

Same boat for me.

After 2+ years of waiting for my bumper, I finally asked for, and received, a full refund. No hard feelings as I was willing to wait for what I considered to be the best front bumper out there, but at some point I had to draw the line. In my experience Rich (Costa Fab.) is an absolutely standup guy that just got dealt some challenges in life that take some digging out from under. I could call him any time and he would ALWAYS pick up the phone and not give me any BS on what the status of my bumper was. Aside from not getting the bumper, he was/is a pleasure to deal with.

If he were to offer them again, with a realistic delivery timeframe, I'd reorder in a heartbeat.

 

[Broski]

Same boat for me. After 2+ years of waiting for my bumper, I finally asked for , and received, a full refund. No hard feelings as I was willing to wait for what I considered the best front bumper out there, but as some point I had to draw the line. In my experience Rich (Costa Fab.) is an absolutely standup guy that just got dealt some challenges in life that take some digging out from under. I could call him any time and he would ALWAYS pick up the phone and not give me any BS on what the status of my bumper was. Aside from not getting the bumper, he was/is a pleasure to deal with.

If he were to offer them again, with a realistic delivery timeframe, I'd reorder in a heartbeat.

I feel lucky to have gotten one of Rich's bumpers , I always felt that you got a lot of bang for the buck & there was way to much custom work in the bumper for it to profitable, It's a super stout bumper that has taking many hits that would have destroyed a lesser bumper. It was a pleasure to meet Rich when I was working out in Boston and see his shop & handy work. Super nice guy. Thanks Rich!!!

 

[mingles]

I feel lucky to have gotten one of Rich's bumpers , I always felt that you got a lot of bang for the buck & there was way to much custom work in the bumper for it to profitable, It's a super stout bumper that has taking many hits that would have destroyed a lesser bumper. It was a pleasure to meet Rich when I was working out in Boston and see his shop & handy work. Super nice guy. Thanks Rich!!!
View attachment 2276995

It was your experience that convinced me to order - LOL. I think @Lumpskie received the final bumper he produced. You guys have limited edition collectors items .

 

[lcwizard]

I feel lucky to have gotten one of Rich's bumpers , I always felt that you got a lot of bang for the buck & there was way to much custom work in the bumper for it to profitable, It's a super stout bumper that has taking many hits that would have destroyed a lesser bumper. It was a pleasure to meet Rich when I was working out in Boston and see his shop & handy work. Super nice guy. Thanks Rich!!!
View attachment 2276995

That's exactly the issue. Rich was trying to build a bumper that reflected his talents. Unless he wanted to settle for making 15,00 an hour for his time , bumpers would
need to sell for 3500.00. Unfortunately ARB has set a US price mark for fronts. The last ARB front I had here at my shop had a made in Thailand sticker on it. If you are going to build for the American market you need to streamline a part to compete with China, Thailand, Malaysia and the like. With material costs twice as high and labor ten times higher it's a tough
deal. Throw in overhead and it's wonder the US has any manufacturing at all. A man with Rich's talent can easily make 50 an hour in industry. Looking at his products, you could tell
he liked building the parts but in the end , he had a family and bills. I would assume he still does one of jobs to keep the imagination going. There are always those custom jobs that pay very well.

 

[Broski]

That's exactly the issue. Rich was trying to build a bumper that reflected his talents. Unless he wanted to settle for making 15,00 an hour for his time , bumpers would
need to sell for 3500.00. Unfortunately ARB has set a US price mark for fronts. The last ARB front I had here at my shop had a made in Thailand sticker on it. If you are going to build for the American market you need to streamline a part to compete with China, Thailand, Malaysia and the like. With material costs twice as high and labor ten times higher it's a tough
deal. Throw in overhead and it's wonder the US has any manufacturing at all. A man with Rich's talent can easily make 50 an hour in industry. Looking at his products, you could tell
he liked building the parts but in the end , he had a family and bills. I would assume he still does one of jobs to keep the imagination going. There are always those custom jobs that pay very well.

If you go to his web site you see the custom metal fabrication that He is doing, I'm sure his work commands well over a $100 an hour, The man has talent.

 

[lcwizard]

If you go to his web site you see the custom metal fabrication that He is doing, I'm sure his work commands well over a $100 an hour, The man has talent.

I've done architectural and in the right areas like Vail Colorado you get more like 2~300 an hour. Custom rails in a Phx neighborhood that go for 45~65.00 a ft
go for 150-175. Working for those with deep pockets has advantages. When i was building my current shop from 2000- 06 for Cruiser parts I spent one week per month up there.
I cleared as much in a week as I did doing Cruiser parts for three. Unfortunately I love working on cruisers. The Vail monies paid for machinery I couldn't otherwise afford