FiberGlass Shell Comparison.                 Bel-Air Shells   9871 Garden Grove Blvd.  Garden Grove. CA 92844 (714) 534-1373 I will give you my best opinion as to why some shells are $2000.00 or more. Then some other shells are $800.00. 1st. I will talk about what a camper-shell or tonneau-cover warranty is. Almost all Camper-Shells & Tonneau-Covers carry a limited lifetime warranty on the structure and painted finish. They carry a one or two year warranty on the hardware. The warranty does not cover broken glass for any reason. The warranty does not cover damage which the manufacture (considers) abuse, such as off road driving. Warranties are not transferable. (Warranties) only apply to the original purchaser. This is why a used shell is worth around $400-wholesale. BrandName or Generic the warranty is no longer valid. My conclusion on warranties. They have been almost the same since the 1980's. That is because what they mostly cover is a part of the shell that hardly ever fails. Warranties are great but don't decide to buy just because you think your 100% covered. Replacement parts for some brands of Camper-Shells are quite expensive. 2nd. I will talk about what materials go into a camper-shell or tonneau-cover. The main ingredient for a camper-shell is: Reinforced Fiberglass. In most cases it is hand applied with a chopper-gun. The sides are apx 1/8+ of an inch. The roof is reinforced with honeycomb to apx 3/4 of an inch. Then the shell is painted. The process is similar to all brands. A base coat then clear coat. The shell windows and rear door are made in most cases by the same 3rd party manufacture. All shells and tonneau-covers resemble each other more than you might think. So why are some shells more than twice the cost than others?          Also see the chart at very bottom.. My somewhat educated opinion is. Some manufactures are lean (their overhead is kept to a minimum). While others seem to have a lot of fat (meaning that they spend a lot of money to promote and pay for things that have nothing to do with the production of a shell or tonneau-cover). 3rd and last. I will talk about some of the costs you can expect after your purchase. Year after Year we seem to do a lot of rear door replacements on Shells. Garage-Door Damage. Usually no more than 1 or 2 being covered under warranty. I have seen some Camper-Shell Rear-Doors selling for: $590.00 + tax and labor. Some even cost more. Think about it. Have you ever seen a shell on the road that is missing its rear door? This is what I think when I see that. The owner must have sticker shock when he found out the replacement cost. The side windows are another subject. They cost over $370.00 each on some name brands. Bel-Air Shells is able to buy factory direct from the manufactures they do business with. This can save up-to 50% on most replacement or repair parts you might need in the future. The reason I am writing this page is to help you in making an educated purchase. Not only will you save money by shopping all brands. (including my own) You will save lots of money in the future with repair, replacement or maintenance items needed for your camper-shell or tonneau-cover. The below chart is an estimate of manufactures costs when building your shell.. The more overhead they have the more expensive your shell is.. Specific overhead item below. Snugtop. Century. Vista. Bel-Air. Raw materials for the fiberglass structure. X X X X They have to purchase doors & windows from a 3rd party. X X X X Costs related to the paint and clearcoat finish. X X X X Labor costs for skilled employees. X X X X Advertizing in multiple newspapers & magazines. X X X X Expensive sales reps & their vehicles. X X X X Delevery trucks and insurance for. X X X X Give rebates to dealers for running their own adds in local papers. X X X X Aproximate years in business. 50 40 38 36 Page created on 2-10-2007