I know that this thread is about doing it yourself, so I hate to be the dork that asks this dumb question, but I'm dying to know:
Is changing out the front panel, grill and coupling a job that the dealership can do?
*Sigh*
I hate to pay an exorbant amount of money to have the VW dealership do a job that seems very simple, but I've got a '99 which would require taking the whole front bumper off.. and, well, I just don't have the patience or the heart to do it myself. I also have any friends who are knowledgeable enough to do this for me.
At the same time, my front panel is cracked at the bottom (thanks to the previous owner hitting debris on the road that flew off a vehicle ahead of her). The P.O. kept the piece together with silver duct tape (which seemed to be fine) but in the six months I've owned Sparkle, the duct tape isn't doing it anymore. Today, I got home and realized that I had drove all over and the duct tape didn't keep the cracked panel piece from popping loose and flapping around everywhere. On top of that, the driver's side of the front panel appears to be popping out a little on the side. It's not looking good.
If I can just drop off Sparkle and pick her up a couple hours later all taken care of, it'd be much easier than having to pull her apart and face the inevitable losing of parts and misplacing screws and effing up the "putting her back together" part.
So sorry I'm not worthy enough to do it myself!
(But this was a fun thread to read.
)