Are Aftermarket Parts Installed With Auto Manufacturer’s Approval?
Filed under: Aftermarket Parts, Auto Dealerships, Auto Manufacturers, Kentucky, Original Equipment (OEM), Recalls, State Specific Information, Toyota, Wheel Alignment
I have an older Toyota pickup that has served me well for more than a few years. As a good number of other Toyota pickup owners were, I was notified of a pending recall on some steering components and took her in for service. As the service department at the dealership went to work removing the defective parts, excessive wear was found on adjoining front suspension parts. I was told these parts had to be replaced because movement in these joints would prevent the wheels from aligning properly.
I wasn’t particularly surprised to hear the bad news because the bill always seems to grow a lot bigger before a job at the dealership is complete. At least that has been my experience. As a result, I don’t usually go back for service after buying a new vehicle unless the vehicle is under warranty or there are no other alternatives.
At first, I thought the dealership was conning me and arbitrarily adding parts to the invoice I didn’t need. I changed my mind, though, when the service manager volunteered to take me to the back where the truck sat on a lift and show me the needed parts that hadn’t yet been removed. Then came the shocker.
To get the job completed in the least amount of time, the service manager suggested I use off-brand parts rather than Toyota parts. While I’m content to use repair shops other than those in Toyota dealerships, I’ve never used anything other than Toyota parts, even on something as mundane as an oil filter.
As foolish as it sounds, the dealership didn’t have original equipment replacement parts in stock. To get the parts I needed would require special ordering them from the nearest Toyota distribution center and waiting at least 24 hours for their arrival. After the parts had been received, the truck would be worked back into the technician’s schedule for completion. This would add a couple of days of downtime and a couple of hundred dollars of additional costs to the repair.
Like most people probably would have done, I elected to accept parts that were located at a nearby NAPA store. I saved some money and got my truck back the same day. All seems well.
After thinking about it, it seems odd to me that Toyota or any other manufacturer would allow dealers to sell and install parts that they didn’t manufacture onto cars and trucks at their dealerships. So I ask (more for curiosity than anything else), Is this practice done with or without the approval of auto manufacturers?
William
Paris, KY
David Williams writes:
Hello William! Thanks for sharing your question about service parts procurement in auto dealerships.
Service departments in auto dealerships, regardless of the brand, walk a fine line to turn work on a tight schedule, make money, and keep customers coming back. They realize the inconvenience you experience when your vehicle is down, and they are usually sympathetic to the charges you must pay, even if it doesn’t seem that they are.
While I can’t tell you that aftermarket parts are used with the blessing of auto manufacturers, I can tell you that carmakers are very much aware that their dealers install them every day.
Why would auto manufacturers allow dealers to use other than original equipment parts?
First, carmakers find the practice difficult to stop. Auto dealerships are independent businesses. As such, they have a right to set policies and practices they deem appropriate on their own property, and operate without undue pressure or interference from higher ups.
Moreover, manufacturers realize that their dealers are frontline people. In an effort to accommodate customer’s schedules and budgets when unexpected repairs arise, they not only give dealers a little extra latitude by turning their heads to practices that would normally be considered taboo, but rather expect dealer personnel to do whatever it takes to make the experience at the dealership as painless and minimally intrusive as possible.
Manufacturers hold a vested interest in convincing you to come back to the dealership, just as dealers do, to buy your next new car. The best chance of making a favorable impression comes during times when your car is undergoing service.
Earlier this week I saw results of an informal poll on the amount of money dealer service departments spend on generic parts. Dealers were asked in a series of questions to define the role that aftermarket parts play in non-warranty and reconditioning work. 58%, the majority, admit to spending more than $5,000 per month on non-OEM parts; 21% confess spending more than $10,000 per month on non-OEM parts.
So, there you have it, William. I guess you might say dealers get a wink and a nod from manufacturers to make consumers happy when their cars are in for service. As I said before, generic parts are often installed with knowledge of manufacturers, though probably not with a formal blessing. Either way, there is no mistaking that aftermarket parts play a big role in the ability of auto dealers to repair cars on time and under budget.
When it comes to mechanical repairs, you’ll often find replacement parts by well-known companies at NAPA and other aftermarket retailers to be acceptable alternatives to original equipment parts. In some cases, these aftermarket mechanical parts are actually better than the original equipment parts made by auto manufacturers. The reason for this is that as potential weaknesses in OEM parts become evident, generic manufacturers refine the parts to make them stronger and less susceptible to breakage.
The same CANNOT be said of aftermarket body parts like fenders, bumpers and various other sheetmetal. Avoid these like the plague. In the end, you’ll take on problems with fit and finish you’ll wish you’d never encountered that will detract from the high-quality, safe repair you intended, making any monetary savings seem insignificant.
Thanks for your question!
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