Imitation Parts

“A vehicle is required to pass a multitude of crash tests before the vehicle is sold to consumers,” says Paul Massie, Ford powertrain and collision product marketing manager. “In sharp contrast, aftermarket copy parts face no crash test requirements prior to distribution, and have not been proven to work effectively with the rest of the vehicle’s components. Copy parts should be subjected to the same government safety tests as the original parts so consumers can see the true costs that come with using many copy parts.”

In its blog, Consumer Reports recently ran stories about the testing, deficiencies, and dangers of using some of these imitation parts -- and advises consumers that use of non-genuine auto maker parts in repairing your vehicle can place your safety at risk.

Unlike the parts made by your vehicle's manufacturer, these imitation parts are not crashtested by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ("NHTSA") that oversees the federal motor vehicle safety standards for newly manufactured vehicles. In fact, they are not crashtested by any governmental entity, and typically not crashtested by any independent entity at all. That means that someone only thinks this part will perform as well as the one made by your auto's manufacturer, but doesn't really know if it will.

In 2001, the federal Government Accountability Office ("GAO") reviewed issues that had arisen about the use of these imitation parts in the repair of motor vehicles. In its report, the GAO concluded that NHTSA had almost no ability to recall imitation parts installed on consumers' vehicles if they were found to be defective. GAO also recommended that NHTSA include testing of these imitation parts in its program. NHTSA maintains that it has no obligation and no Congressional mandate to do so. In other words, NHTSA still doesn't test these parts to make certain they are safe, and no other government entity does either.

Tell us what you think about the use of imitation parts in collision repairs by clicking here to take a 10 question survey.

Some insurers aren't consistent about whether the use of imitation parts in your repair will affect the value of your vehicle. When they want you to have your vehicle repaired with imitation parts, they tell you that those parts will not have a negative impact on the value. But get in to another accident, and that same insurer may be using the fact that your vehicle was repaired with imitation parts to reduce a total loss value it might offer you.

In this situation, insurers enjoy the best of both worlds. They save money by convincing you to have your vehicle repaired with cheaper, imitation parts rather than parts authorized by your auto maker. Then, when you are involved in another accident, they save money by punishing you for allowing your vehicle to be repaired with imitation parts in a prior accident and reducing the amount of money you are offered if they declare the vehicle a total loss.

IMPROVING INFORMATION ONE VEHICLE AT A TIME

Imitation parts are typically new parts that have been made by someone other than your vehicle manufacturer.

What this means is that someone not authorized by your vehicle's manufacturer has tried to duplicate a part to be used in repairing your vehicle. The part is not produced by the auto maker, hasn't been made according to the designs, using the specifications mandated by the auto maker, on the same equipment, and are often not made from identical materials.

As a result of the fact that these imitation parts are not made using the design specifications created by the auto manufacturer or of the same materials, these parts often do not fit properly, may not wear as well, and can interfere with the performance of safety features, like airbags and their deployment.

In 2010, the collision repair industry became so concerned about insurers demanding the use of certain imitation structural parts in the repairs of vehicles like yours that the repairers began performing testing demonstrations at national collision industry meetings to alert fellow repairers of the potential dangers of using these parts.

Ford Motor Company then performed a series of tests confirming that the tested parts are not of "like, kind, and quality" as represented by the imitation parts makers and insurers and typically required by state law. (Click here to see Ford's 2010 video explaining safety features designed into every Ford vehicle and comparing the essentials of the genuine Ford replacement parts with the cheaper imitation parts. Click here to see Ford's 2011 video further demonstrating the differences in performance, use, and potential safety between genuine Ford replacement parts and the cheaper imitation parts)

Atlanta's Fox TV News Station also conducted an investigation regarding the viability of utilizing imitation crash parts in vehicle repairs. The reporter, Dana Fowle, was able to demonstrate that she could bend the metal imitation crash part with her bare hands, while being unable to make any change to the auto maker's part. Click here for the link.

I-Team: Aftermarket Parts: MyFoxATLANTA.com

AFTERMARKET PARTS NEWS:

NCOIL, the National Conference of Insurance Legislators, published its newsletter reporting the results of the Spring Conference held in Washington, D.C. in 2011. NCOIL reports that its fourth attempt to adopt a Model Act Regarding Motor Vehicle Crash Parts and Repair was defeated "due to lingering concerns over aftermarket part quality, safety, and cost impacts, among other things." The defeat of the aftermarket (imitation) parts model act due to concerns over part quality and safety represents a decade of public and governmental concerns over the use of these parts. In January of 2001, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published its report to Congress outlining concerns over the quality and safety of these parts and raising the specter of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) inability to recall these parts if defective.