Why You Should Avoid Aftermarket Parts Requirements

My insurance company repaired my car using aftermarket parts. How can I ensure they don't do this in the future?

Into every automobile’s life the need for repairs must come sooner or later. How serious of a repair and how expensive that repair will be for you, the vehicle owner, is dependent on many factors. Whether or not you can manage the repairs yourself, if you have insurance to cover the repairs, and whether or not aftermarket parts will be used in the vehicle repair.

What are Aftermarket Parts?

Aftermarket vehicle parts are parts that are compatible with your car’s components, but were made usually by a manufacturer different than the maker of your car and are not designed very specifically for your vehicle. Most automobiles on the road today have interchangeable parts, but the parts that are sold with the car originally are, in some cases, specially tailored in minor ways that aftermarket parts will not be. The vast majority of the time any differences between a part made by the original manufacturer and an aftermarket part is negligible but not always, and as a result, most car manufacturers don’t take too kindly to repairs made with them.

Insurance Companies and Aftermarket Parts

If you have a non-manufacturer’s warranty on your vehicle, there’s a fairly good chance that the contract stipulates the use of aftermarket parts for any repair to the car if those parts are cheaper than what can be had from the original manufacturer (and they usually are). The problem with doing this is that most car manufacturers themselves stipulate that if you use aftermarket parts to repair your vehicle, you will void the warranty on the vehicle. This can mean even more expensive repairs later down the road that could have been handled by the manufacturer for free. One example of how this might occur is if you buy a new Toyota that has a 4 year warranty on it and a 10 year drive train warranty, and you have the vehicle repaired by Toyota as expected during that first 4 years as normal. Once the 4 years expire, however, you get into an auto accident and your insurance company recommends an auto shop to you that uses aftermarket parts. If they put those aftermarket parts in any part of the drive train or anywhere else in the car, Toyota may claim a case against you to refuse warranty service on that part of the car later on should you need it.

Handling Aftermarket Parts Requirements

It’s not commonly known, discussed or asked for, but you can when getting your car insurance ask the agent about any aftermarket parts requirements for your car. If they exist, you can request that it be removed from your policy and that repairs be made only with genuine (insert manufacturer here) parts should you file a claim. The end result is that your insurance prices may creep up just a hair, or they might not at all. In the long run, it is a worthwhile request to make however, and can save you costly warranty repairs in the future.