Am I entitled to brand-name repair parts? What are my OEM rights?

Your insurer probably promises for your car to be in its pre-accident condition. However, this isn’t necessarily the case. Your insurance company doesn’t promise brand-name repair parts, causing problems.

OEM parts are manufactured by the maker of the vehicle (brand name parts). If your vehicle isn’t replaced with OEM parts, it is probably replaced with aftermarket parts, usually made by third-party vendors.

If you do require OEM repair parts, you will probably get what you want. However, if you will repair your car with OEM parts, your auto insurance company probably won’t pay 100 percent of the repair.

What happens if you are leasing a vehicle and have to return it in perfect condition? Insurance companies claim that non-OEM parts are just as safe as OEM parts. However, there were several class action lawsuits made against the safety of non-OEM parts.

Courtney Neville, a spokesperson for Progressive claims, “One way we can ensure lower prices is by writing estimates that reflect an accurate price to repair the vehicle, taking into account the various options that are available, such as new OEM parts, used/recycled OEM parts, reconditioned OEM parts and non-OEM parts. Non-OEM parts generally cost less and will repair the damaged property to its pre-loss condition while ensuring safe, quality repairs.”

Why are non-OEM parts cheaper than parts made by the manufacturer of the vehicle? There is a variety of reasons why this is so.

Public Citizen, a consumer-watchdog group founded by Ralph Nader, says, “Non-OEM parts can be sold at reduced rates because their manufacturers do not bear the cost of research, development, advertising, or special packaging… (and thus) the cost-savings made through the use of non-OEM parts runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars”.

Keep in minds that if you are leasing a car, always find out if you will be able to replace parts of the vehicle with non-OEM parts. You should always ask because there are some leasing companies that forbid you to replace the parts of the car with other parts that will make the car lose its value.

Will you insurance company pays the full OEM amount? There really is no specific answer. Call your insurance company and find out for yourself. Although non-OEM parts might be just as safe as the OEM parts, your leasing company might not allow it. Call and make sure.