Expert: webfoot - 5/25/2006

Question
Hello,

I recently was involved in a car accident. My car is a 06 toyota corolla and has only 1K miles on it.

The insurance adjuster has put in after market parts for some and i dont want it as it is a brand new car

i spoke to him and he said my policy does not cover OEM parts.

How should i deal with this ?

Thanks for your time and advice


Sincerely,
Anusha  

Answer
Most insurance policies do have language that allows the use of aftermarket parts.  It varies from company to company and state to state.  Generally speaking, it would be unusual to use aftermarket parts on a car that new, but there are a few exceptions.   

There are many parts on every car that are not actually built by the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer).  These include the obvious things such as tires, batteries, wiper blades, fluids, brake pads. light bulbs etc.  The manufacturer may sell these products with their name on the box, but no OEM makes these products.  
There are two other big items that the OEM’s do not produce.  They are A/C condensers and radiators.  I've seen radiators in the same line of car manufactured by three different suppliers.  As long as the warranty on the product is in line with the factory warranty, there is no reason why they should not be installed.  

Some people confuse remanufactured or rebuilt components with aftermarket.  A reman part is an OEM part that has been made like new again.  The most common example in collision repair is a plastic bumper cover.  This is a "non wear" item.  In other words, as long as the finish is smooth and the part has been reconditioned properly, there is no difference between a brand new Toyota bumper cover and an remanufactured bumper cover.  They are the same part.  Plastic does not wear out, rust etc.  Most remanufactured parts actually start out as undamaged parts off of salvage vehicles.  If a car is hit in the rear, then the front bumper cover will be sold to a factory which will repair any minor flaws such as road pitting, sand down the finish, re-prime it and it can then be installed on another car.

If your insurance company is talking about installing actual aftermarket sheet metal components such as fenders, hood or aftermarket headlamps in a car that new, then you really need to dispute it.

It boils down to this. When the repair is completed, the vehicle should look and perform as well as it did before the loss.  It is the responsibility of the repair facility to stop the repair process and address a parts issue if something isn't right.  

If you can give me some more info, I'd be happy to address it further.