The Automotive Body Parts Association (ABPA) announced that it supports collision repair legislation recently introduced in West Virginia that would eliminate the requirement to use OEM crash parts on newer vehicles.
West Virginia Senate Bill 544 seeks to revise a current state law that requires collision repair shops to use OEM parts for a period of three years – the year a vehicle was made and the two succeeding years – unless the vehicle owner provides written consent to use aftermarket crash parts. SB 544 would eliminate that passage.
“The Automotive Body Parts Association favors freedom of choice in vehicle repairs, and this West Virginia bill will return that choice to the consumer,” ABPA Executive Director Edward Salamy said. “If enacted, this bill would put aftermarket parts on an equal footing with OEM parts, and would give owners in West Virginia the power to make their own decisions when it comes to repairing their vehicles.”
Salamy added: “We urge legislators in West Virginia to take steps to return consumer choice to their constituents.”
The bill also would change the language that body shops must use in their estimates when repairs include aftermarket crash parts.
It would eliminate this passage:
“This estimate has been prepared based on the use of aftermarket crash parts that are not manufactured by the original manufacturer of the vehicle or by a manufacturer authorized by the original manufacturer to use its name or trademark. The use of an aftermarket crash part may invalidate any remaining warranties of the original manufacturer on that crash part.”
And it would replace it with this passage:
“This estimate has been prepared based on the use of aftermarket crash parts supplied by a source other than the manufacturer of your motor vehicle. The aftermarket crash parts used in the preparation of this estimate are warranted by the manufacturer or distributor of these parts instead of the manufacturer of your vehicle.”
