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Genuine TRD Body Kit or A Replica... What To Buy?
By Isaac DeCoursey @ EverythingCelica.com

I would suggest if you are looking to buy the TRD body kit, that you get it directly from your local TRD Dealership...

1) It is genuine and the fitment is perfect
2) It is made from Urethane - Light weight high quality urethane
3) It Comes pre-painted to perfectly match your celica's body color

when you buy a non-OEM aftermarket body kit, you may need to modify it for it to fit perfectly. You will also need to have it color-matched, prepped and painted... and installed This roughly may all come to about the same price whether you buy TRD STYLE or GENUINE TRD. But with genuine TRD, it will have all three of the above listed qualities. With a non-OEM body kit, you may not get the same high standard and quality as if you had purchased from Toyota.


The action package is created to factory-spec and the fitment is perfect, needless to say. The entire body kit is polyurethane. But, buying the entire kit from Toyota would probably be around $1500. Also, keep in mind, that the Action package pieces do not come pre-painted unlike the TRD. So you would need to add another $500-$600 for paint.

TRD style body kits are fiberglass. My suggestion is to get a front Mechanical bumper (also known as "Action Package" front, they are the same) from Toyota, and finish off your kit with Wings West sides and Wings West rear add-on bumper-skirt. You would have a kit that looks very similar to the full genuine TRD body kit and they would all be polyurethane. And Wings West are a lot less expensive than the factory pieces. note: Wings West is polyurethane and comes unpainted.



The Genuine TRD Mechanical body kit has been discontinued only by name. It is now called the "Action Package" front. It is the exact same thing except it now comes with the Toyota Badge in the center grill. Previously, front bumper was badge-less. Other than this, it is the same piece.

How good is the fitment of body kits? The fitment of a body kit depends on the part and the car. Non OEM, aftermarket parts may require modifications including grinding, sanding, cutting, glassing, etc. Many people purchase body kits as a result of a car accident. If your car has ever been in any accident, regardless of how minor, this may effect the fitment of the part.



Further reading at...
https://celicahobby.com/forums/ubbt...ar-Celica-Body-Kits-and-some-photos.html

Its mostly about reputation and what that seller feels like selling the part for. In our case, we sell A LOT of body kits, so we are able to have lower prices than another company that only sells one body kit per week and chooses to charge a much higher rate for that single body kit.

Just because you pay a lot for a part, doesnt mean that it will be better than something you buy for less at some other place.

For example, look at electronics stores selling car stereos; do you think that a $500 Sony head unit from Crutch Field is that much better than the exact same Sony stereo purchased from your local Best Buy for just $300.

Most sellers get their body kits from the same exact place. i.e.; if you buy BuddyClub parts from SoCal, chances are that they were manufactured buy TCS. If you buy fiberglass parts and they arrive as either YELLOW or BABY BLUE colored Fiberglass, chances are that they were manufactured by VIS. Although there are at least 40 different retailers selling that same product for prices ranging from $150 to $300 - just for that single bumper