Hey guys hopefully you can help me out. My parked 08 s2k was clipped on the front driver side last week by an old lady trying to parallel park in front of me. It was bb, pristine and bought less than a year ago. I was pissed. Luckily there was a witness and I got all the info I needed. I talked to an insurance agent and took the car to a recommended auto body shop. Today the shop calls me and say they have to replace the front bumper and fender liner. I ask what kind of parts they will use and the guy tells me "refurbished non-oem parts". I'm like wtf, and he tells me to call back in an hour to talk to the guy in charge of working on my car. I was too busy to call back today but will tomorrow. Here's where I don't know what to do. Should I talk to the auto shop or my insurance to use only factory parts? What should I tell them? How will I know if they use oem parts if its not obvious? Now I'm scared they're going to pull a fast one on me and use shit parts. Any input or advice is appreciated, thanks.

 

Try using one of the online oem parts sites for pricing/purchasing. The pricing they are using is most likely stealership numbers. The insurance company always wants to keep the cost down which blows sometimes

 

The bumper will have to be OEM. It might be refurbished, but it will be OEM.

 

FluKy15,

Thank you I will do that.


realblag,

Should I tell them to use a new one? What disadvantages come with a refurbished bumper compared to new, other than it being used.

 

The bumper doesn't have to be OEM. They could get some refurbished replica bumper and call it a day. I'm sure if a company is cheap enough they would.

OR if you wanted an amuse front bumper or spoon or something, now is your chance.

 

Your insurance policy will state whether they can use non-OEM parts for repairs. Mine (Liberty Mutual) will give me a discount off the deductible if non-OEM parts are used. I OK'd a non-OEM radiator for my wife's '09 CR-V, but stayed with the OEM hood. Got a discount of ~$100-ish, could have saved another ~$200-ish had I OK'd the OEM hood. That's real cash in my pocket, but I didn't want a poor-fitting hood.

If you have one of the discount auto policies that allow replacement with non-OEM, you can likely pay the incremental cost of using OEM. You might even get them (or the shop) to deduct the fender/bumper from your cost, and provide them with OEM ones you bought cheaper online (such as from Majestic Honda). Finally, you can always use small claims court to try to recover incremental costs directly from the driver. A hassle, but part of life. Good luck...

 

When I got my car repaired, I went inside the shop where they were doing the repairs and I asked this exact question. The employee there told me that some insurance companies use and quote new OEM parts only while others are okay with refurbished OEM or none OEM parts. He then proceeded to show me the difference between OEM and refurbished parts. I'm guessing the definition of refurbished is ambiguous, but the shop I went to showed me some parts that were salvaged from a junkyard/used parts distributor while some were bondo'd and welded back together and made to look like new after the paint was applied. Keeping this in mind, I'd say it's pretty much luck if you get a bumper that has been bondo'd back together or simply taken from another car of similar condition as yours but involved in a rear end collision where the front was unharmed. If at all possible, I would do my best to insist on new OEM or perhaps brand new authentic aftermarket. You pay insurance so that if the time ever comes that your property is damaged, it is restored back to its original condition. Although your car definitely was not new, a refurbished bumper to me is far from the condition of what yours was.

 

Unfortunately, if your car is beyond two or three yrs old the ins. carrier will only pay for non-oem, refurbished or quality aftermarket. Obviously this is depending on your state regulations. Here in Big TX, USAA told me that they would quote my repair base on non oem, refurbished or quality parts and that if I wanted to pay the difference between non oem and oem that I was more than welcome to pay the difference. I had my Acura CL-s 6spd supercharged involved in front end collision that cost $6350 to repair base on OEM estimate from the body shop. The insurance sent their adjuster to see my car and they came back with an estimate of $5479. USAA sent me a check for the amt minus the deductible and called it the day. I pay the difference got the major stuff oem and some quality replacement parts. I was pissed initially but once I read the policy real careful I was suprised to how they right the language in their favor. Its just a big mafia and you have to deal with it. Good Luck with the repair.