Beware of After Market Parts
Aftermarket Parts Inferior
By Sharon Silke Carty, USA TODAY DETROIT — A comparison of aftermarket replacement parts for critical safety components such as bumpers and vehicle supports found they often are inferior to parts made by automakers, Ford Motor reported Wednesday. Ford says consumers are often pressured by insurance companies to use cheaper aftermarket parts for insured repairs. The company said it will push for some sort of review and standardization of aftermarket parts, as well as for consumer warnings when the cheaper, non-standard pieces have been used to repair their vehicles. The automaker compared copy bumper beams, bumper isolators, bumper brackets, and radiator supports made for 2005 to 2009 Mustangs and 2004 to 2007 F-150 trucks and found some of the replacement parts were made from plastic instead of steel or magnesium. “These are structural parts of the vehicle, and that makes the concern elevated,” said Paul Massie, powertrain and collision product marketing manager for Ford. Air bag sensors are attached to many of these parts, and differences in materials could lead to air bags that respond too slowly or explode unnecessarily, he said. The automaker decided to take a look at the difference in quality after seeing a presentation by Toby Chess, a repair expert who has been traveling to various collision conferences to demonstrate the difference between aftermarket and automaker parts. He attempts to — and can’t — cut through a high-strength steel bumper beam, the bar that is behind the plastic bumper covers consumers see on the outside of their car. But he easily cuts through an aftermarket bumper beam. “We were surprised at the gap between original manufacturer equipment and aftermarket parts,” said Mike Warwood, parts marketing manager for Ford. “It’s bigger than we anticipated.” Consumers often don’t know now when aftermarket parts have been used on their vehicles, says Richard Steffen, district director for Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., who’s been looking at the issue for 10 years. “People need to know,” he says. “When it comes to safety-oriented parts, we believe they should be told they’ve got non-factory parts.” That doesn’t mean only automaker parts should be used for repairs, he says, but standards need to be set. Of course, it’s in Ford’s interest to promote their parts — they sell more than 24,000 replacement parts for car repairs. But the automaker says its primary concern is driver safety. David Snyder, vice president and associate general counsel of the American Insurance Association, says not all insurers ask customers to take aftermarket parts and those that do often offer long-term warranties on the parts. Said Snyder, “The principal motive is to have safe parts, but also to avoid monopoly pricing by the automakers and to offer lower repair costs to the consumer.”Give us a call to make an appointment 602-253-1630, or Request a FREE estimate.