I ordered the Ironman Premium bumper for my 200, and the experience has been nothing but frustrating. More importantly, it is costing me a lot more money than I expected based on the advertised compatibility with the 200. I regret purchasing from Ironman and would advise anyone considering their bumper to consider instead one of the truly premium options from other vendors who participate in these forums. Of course, experiences vary. Some folks here may report differently. I can only report my own experience and opinions.
There are 4 separate issues I've been dealing with at the shop over the past couple of days:
The second issue was that the one camera-sized hole is deeply recessed in an area of the bumper in a way that causes the top, right, and left surfaces of the recessed areas to show up on the screen, greatly reducing the useability of the image. The shop and I again brainstormed solutions and came up with a custom bracket idea that will again require more hours of shop time--also at my cost, of course.
The third issue is that after the shop installed the upgraded LED lights that I ordered, they discovered that was one was dead on arrival. Wiring in the lights is not a no-big-deal, 5-minute affair the way one person at Ironman suggested; the shop had spent some time soldering and wrapping the wires to do the job well. I'm in New York City, and one of the few reputable options for doing bumper installs on a Land Cruiser is a shop a couple hours away that specializes in Land Cruiser repairs, modifications, and customizations. I booked a multiday slot there (for the bumper install plus some other work), drove out, and got a hotel nearby. I called Ironman from my hotel and explained this situation. I asked them simply to overnight a working LED light to the shop so that I could drive home with two working fogs. This brings us to the fourth issue: Ironman did not apologize and showed no sympathy at all for my situation. Instead, they cited some obscure passage from the warranty and said they couldn't overnight the light to me. I explained that getting to the shop was a difficult affair, that the shop had already burned time installing the bad light, and that if I went back to the shop or to another shop in the NYC area just to re-install lights it would be a significantly greater cost than an overnight charge, not to mention lost time for me. Too bad for me was essentially their response. While I would expect this low level of service from some overseas call center, it doesn't measure up to the type of service I've experienced from other vendors here. For example, I had an issue with a suspension part while it was being installed at the same shop a couple months ago, and when I called Mike at Exit Offroad about it, he immediately apologized and overnighted a replacement part. Thanks to Mike's good service, a minor issue was resolved without unnecessary pain, and I was able to drive home with my items installed. Both Exit Offroad and Ironman had issues, just as all manufacturers and vendors do from time to time; it's statistics. But Exit Offroad took responsibility and fixed the issue right away while I was at the shop; whereas Ironman cited a too-bad-for-you passage from the warranty to explain why my money and time would not justify a small overnight shipping charge on their end. Would I buy from Exit Offroad again? Yes. Would I buy from Ironman? Hell, no.
At the end of it all, I'm looking at a solid day and a half of additional shop time to modify the bumper, create brackets, and install a dead light "upgrade." Thankfully, it's not ALL bad. It's a handsome and stout bumper, and it has mounting locations for some of my gear. These are the reasons I bought it. So I expect to get everything to work out in the end---just after a lot more expense, time, and disappointment than I was expecting.
There are 4 separate issues I've been dealing with at the shop over the past couple of days:
- Bumper design issue causing contact or near contact with headlight lens
- Bumper camera mount issue
- Upgraded foglight dead on arrival
- Unapologetic, poor customer service
The second issue was that the one camera-sized hole is deeply recessed in an area of the bumper in a way that causes the top, right, and left surfaces of the recessed areas to show up on the screen, greatly reducing the useability of the image. The shop and I again brainstormed solutions and came up with a custom bracket idea that will again require more hours of shop time--also at my cost, of course.
The third issue is that after the shop installed the upgraded LED lights that I ordered, they discovered that was one was dead on arrival. Wiring in the lights is not a no-big-deal, 5-minute affair the way one person at Ironman suggested; the shop had spent some time soldering and wrapping the wires to do the job well. I'm in New York City, and one of the few reputable options for doing bumper installs on a Land Cruiser is a shop a couple hours away that specializes in Land Cruiser repairs, modifications, and customizations. I booked a multiday slot there (for the bumper install plus some other work), drove out, and got a hotel nearby. I called Ironman from my hotel and explained this situation. I asked them simply to overnight a working LED light to the shop so that I could drive home with two working fogs. This brings us to the fourth issue: Ironman did not apologize and showed no sympathy at all for my situation. Instead, they cited some obscure passage from the warranty and said they couldn't overnight the light to me. I explained that getting to the shop was a difficult affair, that the shop had already burned time installing the bad light, and that if I went back to the shop or to another shop in the NYC area just to re-install lights it would be a significantly greater cost than an overnight charge, not to mention lost time for me. Too bad for me was essentially their response. While I would expect this low level of service from some overseas call center, it doesn't measure up to the type of service I've experienced from other vendors here. For example, I had an issue with a suspension part while it was being installed at the same shop a couple months ago, and when I called Mike at Exit Offroad about it, he immediately apologized and overnighted a replacement part. Thanks to Mike's good service, a minor issue was resolved without unnecessary pain, and I was able to drive home with my items installed. Both Exit Offroad and Ironman had issues, just as all manufacturers and vendors do from time to time; it's statistics. But Exit Offroad took responsibility and fixed the issue right away while I was at the shop; whereas Ironman cited a too-bad-for-you passage from the warranty to explain why my money and time would not justify a small overnight shipping charge on their end. Would I buy from Exit Offroad again? Yes. Would I buy from Ironman? Hell, no.
At the end of it all, I'm looking at a solid day and a half of additional shop time to modify the bumper, create brackets, and install a dead light "upgrade." Thankfully, it's not ALL bad. It's a handsome and stout bumper, and it has mounting locations for some of my gear. These are the reasons I bought it. So I expect to get everything to work out in the end---just after a lot more expense, time, and disappointment than I was expecting.
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