dar352

ITC Rules in Ford's Favor: Risk Profile for Keystone and LKQ Negatively Affected

"Obviously, all American drivers have to be concerned with that safety factor, exposed when a hood flies over a windshield, or a fender falls loose at a rusted ungalvanized connection point. In that case, the vehicle owner would look straight to Ford for liability, for a part Ford neither manufactured, authorized, or touched. "

This is an unrealistic example and sounds like a scare tactic used by an unethical body shop. Ford produced the hood latch which is responsible for keeping said hood closed. The aftermarket companies don't and the customer is just as responsible for making sure their automobile is safe to drive as the manufacturer is.

"That said, if the part can be certified as produced under OEM identical conditions offshore, and that part is not mixed in with the bad stuff on the boat from China, then the product can be proven to be of like kind and quality, providing assurance for the body shop, insured vehicle owner, and insurance company. As this becomes an obvious issue for the distributors of these parts (who will also bear liability for the generic parts they sell), you'll see the need for a change of strategy at companies like Keystone and LKQ."

This already exists and is called a CAPA certified part. They meet or exceed oem specifications. the short and sweet on a capa certification says a body shop can use them if there is no oem replacement (new from the dealer or used from a recycler such as lkq) availible. Thats not to say shops or insurers dont use a lesser quality part in place of an oem or capa replacement. Part of the problem with the use of aftermarket parts is the markup shops are allowed on each type of part. now i can get into alot when it comes to markups but long story short the shops get a better markup on aftermarket and new oem parts than they do used oem parts therefor "pushing" aftermarket parts to keep thier estimate low while getting the best return on their money.

if the insurance companies and the manufacturers would get their heads together and make it easier and profitable for the shops to use quality recycled and new oem replacement parts for collision repair and mechanical repair it would do wonders for three very large industries. The automakers, insurance companies and the salvage industry.

Automakers
Toyota has proven that high resale value is key to moving new units off the lots. Cost of ownership is a big factor in the resale value of a vehicle. As stated above many automakers have padded their parts sales with huge markups which deters consumers from purchasing them when an aftermarket is availible for 1/4 the cost. why dont we look at making quality oem parts more affordable and keep some of the jobs in america

Insurance companies
creating a higher demand by making oem new and recycled parts more profitable to repair facilities will creat a higher demand for salvage vehicles purchased through auctions. the insurance companaies use auctions to resell total loss cars and trucks to salvage processors such as LKQ who resell parts to the repair industry. more demand means more vheicles sold for more money which will improve insurance rates by improving the cost to repair or replace a vehicle after a claim.

salvage industry
this is the original "green" industry. it has been around for years starting out with mom an pop yards and has been tranformed into a multi billion dollar a year industry. By Creating demand for quality oem parts not only creates thousands of jobs in america but keeps american cars on the road while reducing the cost of ownership. There are literally thousands of locally owned and operated facilities around the united states recycling oem parts.

one last note, if you have ever tried to replace a metal ford body panel with a recycled panel you know the aftermarket companies are not the only ones fighting corrosion or rust problems. This entire rant is only a fraction of how the automotive industry has been screwing itself for years. i hope that some of the industry execs will open their eyes and realize that with a little help one industry can push another to be great and increase everybodys bottom line.