OEM or Aftermarket Parts?

[Golddoor]

I was involved in an Accident and which was my fault and I have a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder with less than 10,000 miles and my insurance carrier wont pay for OEM parts. They said they only will pay for aftermarket parts. Can they do that?

 

[Golddoor]

Dont every one respond at once?

 

[Crabcake Johnny]

Yes, and it happend to me with State Farm. My car had just over 15,000 miles on it and they would not authorize factory parts - only aftermarket. The body shop said it would never line up right (front end damage) and they were right - never did. Greatly lowered the value of that car and I didn't have a leg to stand on since it was in the policy.

 

[johnrocks]

I have never sold P&C but in April 1996 I purchased a beautiful new black Pontiac Trans Am. It had all the bells and whistles; t-tops,Bose Stereo,leather, everything but the blonde bimbo in the passenger seat.
Before I paid my first note I had a minor fender bender,nothing major but it did pucture the radiator so I had to call a tow truck to get her and take her to the dealership. As they were taking her they had to stop at a traffic light. A car "plowed into my black beauty so hard that it made the other end go up and hit the boom of the wrecker. It looked like an accordian on steroids. I was heartbroken. To make matters worse the driver of the other car did not have insurance. Having not much experience with any kind of insurance I took I believe their second or third offer. They would not total, it liked about 5k from being totaled. I had to use aftermarket parts. Every time it rained it leaked after that and it rattled like it had fangs. This totally killed my desire for this car even though I was paying a new car note I was driving a turd bucket. All I can say is now I would have got me an attorney and at least went a few more rounds with them. Anyway hope you have better closure than I did.

 

[elektricki]

You have the right to choose who repairs your car. If you work with a shop that only uses OEM parts the shop will make sure the insurance company complies with them. (If they're a good shop.)

See WWW.IAMASPAMINGIDIOT.COM to see what I'm talking about. A lady with twin baby girls had the same exact thing happen to her!

 

[Golddoor]

Thanks for the heads up! I always thought they had to put on OEM? Shows what I know about Auto Insurance. Man reading that stuff on that site makes me even hate insurance companies even more. I hope they get mine right!

 

[ToddC]

I was involved in an Accident and which was my fault and I have a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder with less than 10,000 miles and my insurance carrier wont pay for OEM parts. They said they only will pay for aftermarket parts. Can they do that?

Can they, as other have mentioned, probably yes. Some policies state that they will return the vehicle to it's pre-accident condition. Several insurance companies were sued over this (USAA, Nationwide, State Farm, etc) as they were using after market parts. The complaint was that this could not equal the same vehicle as there has to be a difference between OEM and after market parts (keep in mind that Like, Kind and Quality (LKQ) parts _can_ be the same as OEM parts). Many other policies don't have this exact wording and instead state that "repairs" will be made. Your policy wording will be the bases as to whether or not OEM parts will be used. But something that is also considered _is_ the age of the vehicle. Many 2006 aftermarket parts won't be available for your vehicle. In addition, many insurance companies will use OEM parts on such a new vehicle.

Keep in mind that body shops make around 20% pure profit off parts. There is _far_ less profit in aftermarket parts then OEM. Again, this markup is _pure_ profit. Also, once aftermarket prices came on the scene, OEM prices drop like a _rock_. My friend was forced to buy replacement windshield wipers from the dealership (no aftermarket yet). he could not buy just the blade... he had to buy the entire assembly. Also, each one cost him around $30! Have you priced a set of wiper blades in an auto parts store lately? I'm just pointing out that w/o aftermarket parts, we'd _all_ be paying through the nose for OEM parts. Perhaps if manufactures and dealers were no so quick to gouge us with high prices, insurance companies would be more willing to use their parts. Just offering another view on the subject.

As usual, elektricki does not have a clue what he's talking about. Obviously a repair center cannot dictate how an insurance handles their business. He also loves to use the George Bush defense (equates something we _have_ to love, like mothers and babies, with something totally unrelated, like using OEM parts).