After an accident, know whether you’re getting aftermarket parts

Nov 13, 2023

Scott and Jill Stopay don't believe Nationwide is on their side.

A Nationwide-insured driver ran into their nearly brand-new leased Toyota Scion in February. They said Nationwide wouldn't pay to replace the damaged front bumper cover with a Toyota part. It authorized a generic part made by an independent manufacturer, also known as an aftermarket part.

The Stopays, of Lynn Township, wanted a Toyota part.

"The car, in our eyes, should be restored to the point it was before the accident," Scott Stopay said.

He told me he pleaded unsuccessfully with Nationwide, as a supervisor assured him the aftermarket part was fine.

"For you, it's fine," Stopay said. "It's not fine for me because it's not like it was before the accident."

Whether aftermarket parts are equivalent to vehicle manufacturer parts has been the subject of extensive debate and litigation nationwide. Critics say the generic parts don't always fit or wear the same, can devalue vehicles and can be unsafe. Supporters say there are safe parts and it's no different than using other generic products, which keep costs down.

It's something you should be aware of and ask about if you have an accident.

Nationwide wouldn't discuss the Stopays’ claim with me due to its privacy policy, but said in a statement that it authorizes "quality replacement parts from a variety of sources that support high-quality repairs for customers’ vehicles."

Defective alternative parts are guaranteed for as long as the customer owns or leases the vehicle, Nationwide said, noting owners can choose other parts and pay the difference.

Nationwide told me it complies with the law when settling claims. Pennsylvania allows the use of aftermarket parts to repair collision damage, as long as consumers are notified and the parts return the vehicle to its pre-damaged condition, according to the state Insurance Department.

Critics say generic parts don't restore a vehicle to pre-damaged condition.

Vince Smith, owner of Biery's Port Bodyworks in Catasauqua, which repaired the Stopays’ car, considers aftermarket parts to be inferior. He likened it to an insurer replacing a stolen Rolex with an imitation Rolex.

"It looks the same," Smith said. "But it's not the same."

He believes generic parts are appropriate in some situations, such as when insurance isn't involved and a vehicle owner is paying to fix an older car.

If your insurer is paying and you’ve agreed to a policy that requires aftermarket parts, you don't have a choice, Smith said. But if another driver's insurance is paying due to an accident the other driver caused, which is what happened to the Stopays, Smith believes it's unfair to be forced to accept aftermarket parts.

"If they want to do that for their customer, that's one thing," Scott Stopay said.

He and his wife opted to have Smith repair their damaged bumper cover instead of installing a new aftermarket one.

There's usually not much vehicle owners can do when an aftermarket part is forced on them by an insurer, said Erica Eversman, an Ohio attorney who founded the Automotive Education & Policy Institute to teach consumers about insurance claims and collision repairs.

She said vehicle owners can complain to the insurer or state Insurance Department, or consider legal action. Most of the major legal decisions regarding aftermarket parts, though, have favored insurers.

She believes that by using generic parts, insurers have lost sight of their duty to restore a damaged vehicle.

"Their job is to pay properly for the cost of repair," Eversman said. "It's not to try to strong-arm somebody into accepting less."

Jack Gillis, executive director of the Certified Automotive Parts Association, which certifies aftermarket parts, told me consumers often happily use generic products when they’re paying, but demand name-brand ones when insurance is paying.

"In a crash repair, there is a sense of entitlement," Gillis said.

The association tests parts to see if they are equivalent to manufacturer parts, including crash-testing structural bumper parts. About 25 percent of aftermarket parts are certified, he said.

"The use of high-quality alternative parts can help contain both crash repair costs as well as insurance premiums," Gillis told me. "It's just like going to your doctor and deciding to use generic prescription drugs."

While the impact of generic parts on a car's appearance and value are important, what really matters is whether they are safe. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety crash-tested aftermarket bumpers in 2010 and found their performance can vary.

An aftermarket bumper meeting the Certified Automotive Parts Association's standards performed as well as a Dodge bumper. The institute said that shows aftermarket parts can be produced without compromising safety.

The institute also crash-tested two other generic bumpers that weren't built to the standard. They didn't perform the same as a manufacturer's bumper.

"That's not a good thing from a safety standpoint," Adrian Lund, the institute's president, wrote in the report. "Aftermarket bumpers need to perform exactly the same as original bumpers in a crash. Even small changes in design can skew air bag sensors and alter vehicle damage patterns."

Lund said in the report that "consumers are right to be cautious … because it's clear that structural aftermarket parts must be exactly copied to be sure they’ll work properly in a crash."

But the institute says vehicle owners shouldn't worry about non-structural generic parts such as fenders and bumper covers. Citing previous tests, it said those parts "are irrelevant to crash safety."

Smith questions that. He said newer vehicles have become more sophisticated with all parts working together and if one piece doesn't fit or react the same as the manufacturer's part, he fears that could throw off an air bag system.

Ask your body shop and the insurer what parts will be used if your car needs crash repairs. You’ll have to decide whether you’re comfortable with an aftermarket part, and whether you want that part to be certified.

Review your insurance policy to see if it mandates aftermarket parts. If that's a concern, ask if policies are offered that provide manufacturer parts, though you should expect to pay more. If your vehicle is leased, check your agreement to see if it prohibits using aftermarket parts to make repairs.

The Watchdog is published Thursdays and Sundays. Contact me at [email protected], 610-841-2364 or The Morning Call, 101 N. Sixth St., Allentown, PA, 18101. I’m on Twitter @mcwatchdog and Facebook at Morning Call Watchdog.

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