I'm looking at a very small manufacturer/e-commerce site that has designed, created and sells brake caliber covers for cars. There are a few other companies making and selling these and it looks like several patents exist. According to the seller, no one can patent the 'cover' part and that the patents are for the unique method of attaching these covers to the brake caliper. As I read the patents, that distinction is not clear to me.

This is a very small, start up company with a low asking price where the DD budget is practically nil. However, I don't feel comfortable proceeding without some 3rd party opinion to either validate or discredit the seller's comments. Does anyone have experience with this sort of thing or can recommend someone who does?