Why Use Aftermarket Parts?

Car owners in need of collision repairs do not have to settle for low quality replacement parts. There are high quality, tested and certified "aftermarket" parts available. Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA) is a non-profit organization established in 1987 to develop and oversee a testing and inspection program for certifying the quality of parts used for collision repairs. CAPA was founded to promote price and quality competition in the collision parts industry, thereby reducing the cost of crash repairs to consumers without sacrificing quality. Manufacturers and distributors of competitive replacement parts are so confident in the quality of their parts many are now offering limited lifetime warranties. Most reputable distributors, body shops and insurance companies recognize that the competitive nature of the industry mandates a concerted effort focused on quickly and cost effectively refurbishing the consumer's car to pre-accident condition. Therefore, these "players" have absolutely nothing to gain from using sub-standard parts.

Healthy competition in any business ultimately benefits the consumer; in this instance the car owner. The average Ford or General Motors car selling for $14,000 would cost over $40,000 if purchased piece-by-piece using Original Equipment (OE) parts. In 1992, an OE fender for a Toyota Camry cost $253. By 1996 that same fender had dropped to $143.88 primarily because the aftermarket fender was selling for around $60.00. (There is a reason that Henry Ford once said something to the effect that he would give new cars away if he could be assured of having all of the replacement parts business.) Overall, auto owners have seen collision parts prices reduced by as much as 40% since competitively priced aftermarket parts have become readily available.


(source from National Association of Independent Insurers)
Fictions and Facts about aftermarket parts

Fiction: Aftermarket parts are inferior in quality to OEM.
Fact: CAPA sets stringent standards for aftermarket parts. CAPA's testing process includes an industry-recognized 500-hour salt spray test to indicate rust resistance. CAPA also tests metal composition, welds, screws, resistance to chipping and scratching, and administers other tests recognized by the Society of Automotive Engineers and the American Society of Testing Materials.

Fiction: Aftermaket parts are unsafe
Fact: Whether they are aftermarket or OEM, crash parts do not affect the safety of a vehicle. That is why there are no federal safety standards for any crash parts, except headlamps and the hinges on hoods (to prevent the hood from going through the windshield in a crash).
Over the years, crash tests performed by the critics of aftermarket parts have shown that these parts perform no differently than OEM parts. CAPA-certified fenders and hoods have been proven safe under the most stringent tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which used procedures established by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, and Allstate's tech-Cor in wheeling, III. Body shop owners, insurance company representatives, and members of the media witnessed one of the most recent and controversial, conducted in 1997. Experts determined that the aftermarket parts performed as well or better than an OEM parts, particularly the hood, which is the only aftermarket part related to safety concerns (all others are cosmetic).

Fiction: Competitive collision repair parts can invalidate OEM warranties on other parts or on the vehicle itself.
Fact: When a crash part has to be replaced, any original warranty on that part lapses. The warranty on the rest of the vehicle is unaffected. After the replacement part is installed, the new warranty takes over. Warranties on aftermarket parts are as good as OEM warranties. Furthermore, federal law prohibits manufacturer from basing warranties upon the exclusive use of OEM parts.

Fiction: Competitive collision repair parts diminish the value of a car.
Fact: Cars that are competently repaired to pre-accident condition should have no diminution of value. However, because the state of the car before the accident is subject to interpretation, repairs should restore it to pre-accident, no "like new" condition.

Fiction: CAPA parts are made overseas and cause Americans to lose jobs.
Fact: Although both aftermarket and OEM parts are manufactured overseas, many of CAPA's certified parts are made in North America. Ironically, auto manufacturers outsource the production of OEM parts - in some cases to the same companies that produce competitive parts. Collision products made domestically include steel and aluminum bumpers, urethane bumpers, reinforcement bars, radiators, condensers, lights, grilles and fenders. The aftermarket parts industry currently represents nearly 30,000 U.S. jobs, including importers, distributors, manufacturers, recyclers, and shippers