More on aftermarket parts

I read an interesting story this morning from Chron.com. It talks about aftermarket parts. A Portland, OR family found out about the cost of repairing their Honda car. The Honda dealer wanted over $5,000 and they found two other shops with two other estimates. The adjuster wrote a fourth estimate with a fourth price.

One of the differences: the adjuster wanted to use aftermarket parts and the shops did not. There is some concern that aftermarket parts do not fit as well, are not as reliable and cause more problems. CAPA, the trade group for aftermarket parts, disagrees.

My thought is that there is a time and place for aftermarket parts. If I had a car that would be considered a total loss if new, factory parts are put on the car, but it could be repairable and not considered a total loss with aftermarket parts, I would use aftermarket parts in a minute. But, if the insurance company wants to force them down my throat so that they can save money, then that is not acceptable.

You pay insurance for yoru car to be fixed and put back in the condition it was in prior to the accident. Your car did not have aftermarket parts before the accident and it should not have them after. Make them use factory parts to fix your car.