I know all you hard core off roaders would just as soon remove them, but that's not gonna happen...

Last week I had some rust repair done on my '99 which required removal of one of the fender flares. (I've read that those can be a real bear to remove and install)

The rust/paint work looked great, but the seal on the flare didn't quite rest flush on the body as it did originally. I didn't think a whole lot of it, paid my bill and drove home.

After further inspection I found cracks in the under side of the flare at a couple different locations where the installation rivets attach. One crack is working its way toward the outer edge and I'm afraid will eventually work its way up the flare and that would be a real eyesore.

Has anyone worked with these? I can get a pre-painted flare from m'parts.com for ~$145 which I'm hoping the shop will pay for, or pay for a portion of. Can a mediocre home mechanic get one of these installed w/o wrecking anything or should I try to work it out entirely with the body shop?

installing new ones wouldn't be too bad but they're a little annoying, aside from the rivets there are also plastic clips and an adhesive strip. I couldn't take dealing with them because once one is off, it never sits back up right, unless you're a pro i guess. but i gave up and ditched the bitches.

If it wasnt there before, take it back and make them replace it. It would be even better if you had a before and after pic. Just incase you ever took a pic of your rust area, might show your flare too.