OEM aftermarket clash over parts at NACE

OEMs and the aftermarket sector debate whether certification of aftermarket crash parts is the best policy for consumers and repairers.

A representative of an OEM and several representatives of the aftermarket debated whether certification of aftermarket crash parts is the best policy for consumers and repairers at a seminar at NACE recently.

Panel participants included Jim Smith of JSE Group (Diamond Standard); Karen Fierst of KerenOr Consultants; Paul Massie of Ford Motor Co.; Bob Anderson of Anderson’s Automotive Service; and Charlie Hogarty of the Auto Body Parts Association. The moderator of the panel discussion was Dan Stander of Jerry Stander’s Collision Works.

Anderson, who serves as chairman of the Certified Auto Body Parts Association’s (CAPA) board of directors, spoke from the perspective of a shop owner faced with daily parts challenges.

“As a ‘hands-on’ shop owner I know what it means to have to deal with a poor quality part,” Anderson said. “As former chair of the ASA, I heard from shops around the country and the top shops that they simply can’t afford to deal with problem parts.

“In the early days when I would hear about CAPA parts I had no idea that they were any different than non-certified parts. It wasn’t until I did my own research that I discovered the real standards behind the CAPA Quality Seal. Had I not taken the time to do that I would have continued to believe that all aftermarket parts are the same. Now I know that’s simply not true.

“My problem is that about 80 per cent of the aftermarket parts available to me are not CAPA certified. As a result it’s hard to find them. I’ve learned that the only way to tell if the part is a genuine CAPA part is to look for the yellow and blue seal.”

The group also discussed NSF International’s announcement earlier that week of a new aftermarket collision parts distributor certification program for traceability and recall. It was emphasised that NSF was a complement to CAPA and that the Society of Collision Repair Specialists participated in the standards writing process for sheet metal and plastic parts and lights. Those standards are ANSI-approved.

“This is a good thing if only because this has been talked about for 20 years and it’s finally happening,” Karen Fierst, a former consultant for the Taiwanese Auto Body Parts Association, said.

Eileen Sottile of the Quality Parts Coalition asked Paul Massie, powertrain and collision product marketing manager for Ford, why car makers insist that variances in aftermarket parts are unacceptable yet allow for a range of acceptable variances in their own parts – in reference to recent research by Diamond Standard.

“Car company replacement parts are often manufactured using different materials than the original production parts or even from the same replacement parts depending on the year the lot the manufacturer etc. and yet the car companies assume that all of their replacement parts regardless of the composition will perform adequately if not the same,” Sottile said.

Massie said Ford’s repair parts were designed to meet government and internal safety requirements that apply to original production parts.

“Ford’s surface and structural parts used to return the vehicle to pre-accident condition (i.e. sheet metal bumpers lighting mirrors structural parts etc.) are the same used for production vehicles,” he said. “We also provide extensive repair materials to body shops to help ensure key safety systems are repaired to original condition.”

Source: Bodyshop Business