Do you have to take refurbished parts after a claim or can you demand new parts for your new car even if the insurance adjustor made figures on refurbished parts?

Answer 1

Well, I have rarely seen 'refurbished' parts offered. However, I have frequently issued payments on an estimate that included AFTERMARKET parts. Occasionally, you will see refurbished parts offered when it is a vintage car/vintage model and new or aftermarket parts are not typically available. Also, refurbished parts are typically only used on non-vintage cars where there is no safety hazard posed and there is no obvious visible difference.

However, there is absolutely nothing wrong with aftermarket parts. More often than not, they are actually manufactured by the same automobile manufacturer, but they are contracted and receive a different 'name label'. It is not unusual for an automotive assembly line (or any manufacturing line for that matter) to stop the line, change to another product or model or version of whatever the product line is, and to ultimately see a different market price. This is nothing new.

There is no harm to a vehicle from receiving an aftermarket part. I once had a claimant who had been in a rental vehicle for 30 days, while the shop was waiting for a new drivers' seat, which had been on back-order. The shop manager, a material damage manager and I all agreed that a DIFFERENT seat, which the shop had in its inventory, could be SAFELY installed and used, while we were waiting for the backorder. The vehicle owner (not our insured; he was the claimant to whom we owed damages) threw a fit, but eventually we convinced him that safety and comfort were NOT at risk, and the cost savings in rental charges was significant, thereby reducing EVERYONE'S future insurance premiums......