Consumer Benefits

The collision repair parts market represents an estimated $16 billion in the United States, with a wide variety of aftermarket parts available for nearly every car on the road. These parts are less expensive than car company parts, built to preserve the crashworthiness of the vehicle, and just as reliable.

When motorists have to face fixing their automobiles because of an accident, they can rest assured that they have a safe, reliable and more cost-effective alternative to car company parts. As Americans continue to feel the pinch from the struggling economy, slow job growth, declines in home values, and the foreclosure crisis, the economic benefits of aftermarket replacement parts are more important than ever. Consumers should know that:

• The aftermarket collision parts industry maintains the highest standards of quality and safety in the parts it provides.
• Aftermarket replacement parts ensure a healthy level of competition in the collision replacement parts industry, preventing large car companies from controlling a monopoly that would drive up parts prices and insurance premiums.
• The ability to choose aftermarket collision parts saves consumers up to $1.5 billion a year.
  • Aftermarket parts are on average 20-50 percent less expensive than equivalent OEM parts.
  • The existence of competition in the marketplace causes OEM parts to be more readily available at a lower cost than in the absence of competition.
• Without an aftermarket for automotive collision parts, the increased costs of crash parts would lead insurance companies to declare more damaged vehicles as “total wrecks,” leaving more consumers without a vehicle and upside down on their car loans.
• Many aftermarket parts come with lifetime warranties, warranties that are often better than the car companies.
• While car companies would have consumers believe that using aftermarket parts invalidates the original vehicle warranty, this simply isn’t the case.
• With car companies and dealerships shuttering operations and reorganizing, consumers may experience longer-than-average wait times for OEM parts. This will be compounded if car companies are allowed to secure a monopoly.