The bumpers stayed the same, but were more expensive to paint because they had to be stripped and re-finished.

I only bought 2 new parts to paint, and 2 new part (step pad and emblem) that were busted to begin with (step pad had broken clips which cause it to fit loose and the emblem was chipped and peeling). The cost of parts total were 400 / 450, leaving paint / labor at around 1200.

Had I bought a used upper valance or grille, it would have been a different color (couldn't find any true blue ones at the time), so the paint and labor cost would have been higher to refinish even if the part was cheaper (not to mention shipping and everything else). So in reality, did I really over spend? maybe, but it would probably only been a minimal difference, and to be honest, I prefer new parts anyways.

 

The lift and new tires look great, nice job.