• Hi Guest!
    If you appreciate British Car Forum and our 25 years of supporting British car enthusiasts with technical and anicdotal information, collected from our thousands of great members, please support us with a low-cost subscription. You can become a supporting member for less than the dues of most car clubs.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

Seeking Bumper Source Recommendations

Share this page

R

RonR

Jedi Trainee
Country flag
Offline
Folks,

The rear bumper on my 1959 A-H 3000 was hit by someone, so I am in need of a new bumper.

I have looked at AH Spares, AHead 4 Healeys, Moss, and Autofarm.
The price difference varies a lot.

I am looking for a high quality bumper.

Who would you suggest I source the new bumper from?

Thanks.
Ron
 
I have two sets of original bumpers that are in pretty good shape but re-chroming them cost more than the AHspares new set. Also, I have found AHSPares stickers on chrome parts sold by MOSS. So perhaps their parts come from AHSpares.
 
RonR said:
Folks,

The rear bumper on my 1959 A-H 3000 was hit by someone, so I am in need of a new bumper.

I have looked at AH Spares, AHead 4 Healeys, Moss, and Autofarm.
The price difference varies a lot.

I am looking for a high quality bumper.

Who would you suggest I source the new bumper from?

Thanks.
Ron
Click to expand...
Was the damaged bumper original ?
The newer bumpers from some suppliers are like coke cans . If yours is original weigh it then compare that weight to a new one and that will help your decision .
Alternatively you can buy new polished stainless ones on E-bay . I had the on my 64 BJ8 looked great and will never rust .
 
When I restored my car 20 years ago, I bought a lot of parts from AH Spares. The bumper on my car is not original, and it could have come from AH Spares or Moss.
I am pretty sure the bumper I have, that was damage, is of the same quality as the original bumper. I still have the original bumper, so I could double check things like the thickness of the steel.
I will ask Moss the source of their bumpers. Moss may be less expensive than the tariffs and shipping fees associated with ordering directly form AH Spares.

I am still waiting on my insurance company. Hagerty is not the same company as it was a few years ago, under the original owner.

I may look into stainless steel. However, polished stainless steel (No. 8 finish) typically does not hold up over time, at least in architectural applications.

Thanks everyone.
Ron
 
"Hagerty is not the same company as it was a few years ago, under the original owner."

My impression as well. Their 'proof of insurance' paperwork even says 'Essentia,' not 'Hagerty.' I needed some documentation from them recently and asked about it but got a confusing answer; I think their rep was trying to say anything but "We're not Hagerty anymore." Maybe time for a thread on classic car insurance?
 
RonR said:
When I restored my car 20 years ago, I bought a lot of parts from AH Spares. The bumper on my car is not original, and it could have come from AH Spares or Moss.
I am pretty sure the bumper I have, that was damage, is of the same quality as the original bumper. I still have the original bumper, so I could double check things like the thickness of the steel.
I will ask Moss the source of their bumpers. Moss may be less expensive than the tariffs and shipping fees associated with ordering directly form AH Spares.

I am still waiting on my insurance company. Hagerty is not the same company as it was a few years ago, under the original owner.

I may look into stainless steel. However, polished stainless steel (No. 8 finish) typically does not hold up over time, at least in architectural applications.

Thanks everyone.
Ron
Click to expand...
A friend just bought a new bumper from Moss. He said they have two quality levels, at different prices. Moss admits the $350 one is not so good. He bought the $900 one and is pleased. His payout from Hagerty covered parts and labor. Since he replaced it himself, the payout was sufficient to cover the whole cost.
 
I think the difference is the chrome. The higher priced one is "triple chrome" and by the way, AHSPARES lists the same two bumpers.
 
Moss/AHSpares, same bumper, higher quality. The higher quality bumper has thicker steel, most likely OEM thickness.
I just replaced my rear bumper with the AHS one, before the tariff. Steel is thick and chrome is outstanding. Will assume the Moss is just as good. Comes down price.
 
Here is a question for the group. I have two sets of original bumpers. The price for chrome in California is very high. The quality of the chrome on the last 4 projects does not come up to the original chrome. I am now considering taking the current project chrome work out of state to Nevada. Is there a demand for original bumpers that have been re-chromed?
 
The Moss/AHS aftermarket steel seems as thick as OEM plus the chrome is excellent.
If I had the choice between OEM excellent re-chromed vs Moss/AHS, same price, I'd chose OEM.
 
Bob_Spidell said:
"Hagerty is not the same company as it was a few years ago, under the original owner."

My impression as well. Their 'proof of insurance' paperwork even says 'Essentia,' not 'Hagerty.' I needed some documentation from them recently and asked about it but got a confusing answer; I think their rep was trying to say anything but "We're not Hagerty anymore." Maybe time for a thread on classic car insurance?
Click to expand...

"Hagerty is not the same company as it was a few years ago, under the original owner."
swotanalysisexample.com

Who Owns Hagerty Company?

Learn who owns Hagerty and how its leadership shapes the future of insurance for classic and collector vehicles. Discover the company's ownership and management
swotanalysisexample.com swotanalysisexample.com
 
Pretty muddled corp. structure; Essentia is the underwriter (and the co. name on the proof-of-insurance doc):

"Essentia, under Markel ownership, will remain the underwriting company for Hagerty's collector car and boat business."

So, what exactly does Hagerty do, front office only? It's now a public company, at least partially accountable to 'shareholders;' and we know what that means:

"Milton Friedman believed a corporation's only responsibility is to increase its profits within the legal and ethical rules of the game, arguing that managers are agents of shareholders and should spend their money to achieve their goals."
 
Pretty old news:

OneBeacon Cuts Ties with Hagerty Agencies, Selling Essentia to Markel​

October 17, 2012

OneBeacon Insurance Group Ltd. is selling its Essentia Insurance Co. unit to Markel Corp., according to company announcements this morning.
Essentia focuses on the collector car and boat business that the company writes through Traverse City, Mich.-based Hagerty Insurance Agency and Hagerty Classic Marine Insurance Agency. OneBeacon said it will retain the loss reserves and unearned premium reserves associated with the business written prior to the sale of Essentia and run them off in the normal course.

OneBeacon said it anticipates recording a $23 million pretax gain on the sale ($15 million after tax) when the transaction is completed. The deal is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in January 2013.
Essentia, under Markel ownership, will remain the underwriting company for Hagerty’s collector car and boat business.
Hagerty has not been sold and continues to be a privately-owned family business. Hagerty offers insurance for classic cars, vintage boats, motorcycles and related automotive collectibles.
OneBeacon CEO Mike Miller said the OneBeacon has partnered with Hagerty for the past five years, but the two were unable to reach mutually acceptable terms to extend the relationship. “We believe the economics associated with the termination of the Hagerty agreement and the related sale of Essentia fairly compensate OneBeacon, marking the end to what has been a profitable venture,” Miller said.
Markel said Essentia will continue to underwrite insurance exclusively for Hagerty Insurance Agency and Hagerty Classic Marine Insurance Agency.
Markel said the transition is intended to be seamless for existing Hagerty customers and agents. Both groups will continue to receive the same specialized products, service offerings and claim handling. Insurance agents will continue to work with Hagerty as they traditionally have.
lg.php

“Our new relationship with Markel is a natural fit because we are both exclusively focused on specialty and niche insurance markets and are dedicated to providing the best protection to all types of collector vehicles,” said McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty Insurance.

OneBeacon Insurance Group Ltd. is a Bermuda-domiciled holding company. OneBeacon’s underwriting companies offer a range of specialty insurance products sold through independent agencies, regional and national brokers, wholesalers and managing general agencies.

Glen Allen, Va.-headquartered Markel underwrites specialty insurance products.
 
Thanks for this, Michael. I still don't understand the implications, except it seems Hagerty is mostly a 'front' for the actual underwriters (I do get how LLoyds, and others, backstop other insurance agencies). I get the Hagerty magazine--it's a $40/year add-on to the insurance, and pretty good--but don't recall any mention of these transactions in it (not that I'd care; the insurance biz is not of much interest to me besides having to have it).

As a side note, I am currently dealing with my property insurer over an umbrella policy; for some reason they suddenly want both dec pages (easy enough) and 3 years' worth of 'loss runs'--accident history, I think--on all 5 of my cars. Getting the 'loss runs' has been like pulling teeth, and all three agencies we use have been less than responsive. Note between my parents and me we've probably been with this agency for over 40 years and, AFAIK, never had a claim.
 
Back to bumpers.
I will go with the higher quality one from AH Soares or Moss, through a Moss dealer, of course (discounted price and less expensive shipping).

Back to Hagerty.
I get emails asking for more photographs, which I send. I get a phone call (usually a voice message) after I send in the photographs, asking me for the same photographs that the email requested. It is like the humans do not know about what their email requested, or that the request has been fulfilled.
I return the phone calls, nd have to leave a message every time. It is several days if not a week, before I get a return phone call..
 
Hagerty's corporate meanderings notwithstanding I found them to be extremely responsive last year when I needed to have my car delivered to a shop in PA which was located just under 1he 100 mile limit on free transport.
 
Michael Oritt said:
Hagerty's corporate meanderings notwithstanding I found them to be extremely responsive last year when I needed to have my car delivered to a shop in PA which was located just under 1he 100 mile limit on free transport.
Click to expand...

I have nothing but the highest praise for Hagerty. I had a claim last year. I used the Hagerty Drivers Club towing service to transport the car to the body shop of my choice, 60+ miles away, and they paid the body shop invoice quickly.

I've had Hagerty for over 20 years and have never had anything less than perfect service, and that includes another claim 15+ years ago, and several tows (on flatbed trucks).
 
Back
Top