They also are likely to end up with a car that has lost a lot of value. In collusion with insurance companies, low-cost collision shops use knock-off or used parts.
“It’s a big problem,” Bob Collins, owner of Wreck Check Assessments told the Boston Globe. “It’s pretty widespread.” Collins says vehicles are often worth an average of about 10 percent less, or more vulnerable to failure, when shops install generic parts.
In many states regulations require insurance companies to tell customers what type of parts are being used in repairs. Often, the information is buried in stacks of paperwork.
In Massachusetts, a group representing repair shops, the Alliance of Automotive Service Providers, is considering asking regulators to stop insurers from requiring old or generic parts to fix cars that are still under warranty or that have less than 36,000 miles.
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