AEV's are definitely $2K, as I mentioned It's $1K-$1.2K for the tubeless front, $1.2K-1.4K for the tubed. Then add the AEV skid plate, and the AEV Winch mount kit and you're at $2K just for the front bumper, not to mention you'll then need to invest in a winch since that's the main purpose.

They're a really nice bumper but seeing they were supplied as an OEM bumper on the Moab MW3 package, they should have never shipped out the door with this seam rust problem. I like this bumper but I'm pretty disappointed with AEV's quality control testing in light of this rust problem. $400 aftermarket Chinese bumpers are expected to rust, not $1400 OEM supplied bumpers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UZMwQKNZ8Q Probably due to their price and seam rust problem, this likely explains the reasons Jeep/Mopar didn't continue to offer packages with the AEV bumper and moved to the Hard Rock 10A bumpers.

 

If you dont mind the stock one , leave it till you damage it then evaluate whether or not you feel you have the cash to shell out on something that might look better and suit your need. Insurance may cover some of it. if someone damages it even or a accident. The cost is up to you on what your taste is. they make some that wont break the bank and some that are rather expensive. As you know, youl buy a bumper and then youl prob want another item , and it just keeps on goin till you say enough. Some people charge some pay cash , some buy used items, some leave it if it aint broke.

I tend to move slow and decide if its something i really want or need and if it is i go for it, if not i just live with it the way it is.

 

Here is what I did. I modified the stocker to look a bit different....I like it...

 

AEV bumpers are standard on 16 Back Country Edition Wranglers.

 

Another reason I like my setup....If I ran a metal bumper, it would look like my light bar. salt blast from the roads here is brutal. Plastic does not rust!

 

its all about preference . Thats why some just replace the stock bumper with oem if it gets damaged i guess. To me the aev looks prety much the same as one off a stock jeep. so to pay 2000 for something that looks pretty much the same as stock
one is senseless in my view but people do i guess

might just as well modify the stock one and mount a winch cut ends off or do what Kojack did
certainly light enough . As far as rust goes is there anything in America that dosent rust besides aluminum bumper ? Its chinese steel . Even if your bumper was rust free your jeep would be rusted with a non rusted bumper

 

Check out the bumpers on Amazon.

 

+1 on OR-Fab

I found my full width on Amazon.com for less than $650 shipped. It's been on for about a year, and holding up great.

 

All Steel rusts (except Stainless), there's no secrets there. The doors on your JK are made of steel as well. Cars are expected to last at least 10 years, and if your doors and other body panels were showing rust within those 10 years, you would be highly upset. That applies to bumpers as well. Steel can be treated with protective materials, coatings and manufacturing processes to protect against rust. ALL OEM parts have to go through corrosion resistance and life cycle testing which expose these types of problems. That's how car manufactures are able to offer bumper to bumper warranties and get a high level of confidence that the majority of the parts will not fail within that warranty period. If your front bumper starts to rust within the warranty period, then the customer is able to make a warranty claim for repair or replacement and that cost of repair/replacement is handled by FCA. Jeep sells over 250K Wranglers each year, if just 1/2 the Wrangler customers (125K) turned in a warranty claim for a rusted bumper problem and the cost of the fix plus labor ended up being just $100, then that's $12.5 Million out of FCA's pocket just in one year of Wrangler sales. So it's pretty important to automotive OEM's to ensure their bumpers aren't prone to rust problems. It's a good thing the AEV bumpers weren't standard on Wranglers since 100% of their bumpers when initially released on the Moab MW3 package were prone to the seam rust problem. From my understanding, as of recently that problem is now fixed.

I laugh to myself when I see people saying things like this on the AEV forums, "See this why AEV is a great company, no other aftermarket bumper manufacturer would provide this level of customer service, by doing further environmental testing and sending out repair kits for their bumpers for a rust problem."

Working in the OEM world for the past 15 years, I'm 99.9% certain AEV likely had their asses handed to them by FCA's warranty, quality and design groups for this problem and were pretty much forced to fix the problem as well as provide a kit that would fix the problem or take on the financial burden to replace 100% of the warranty returns. Obviously, providing a repair kit was a more cost effective solution for them.

 

is nothing to fix if you coated it with bedliner you just hit the surface where it rusted . Most practical way to go. I was refering to under belly rust on jeeps. Not doors.
if you like a 2000 dollar bumper to go hit shit with by all means go for it . I paid
like 800 for the poison spyder and if i hit something it will destroy the object i hit not my bumper . then a 7 dollar can of bedliner and its new again try that with the aev i dont think youl find the same result but hey everyone has their kick to me it looks rather stockish (mopar )

im referring to the hard rock 10 a bumper