2. What about my seven year old car worth $8,000 before the accident? They repaired it with NON-OEM parts. Both the insurance adjuster and the collision repair guy stated that this restored my car as it was before the accident. I think that they should pay because I have read that those parts were not as good as ones that came with my car. They should have used only the OEM parts. What do you think?
Dr. Settlement's answer:
Before we get too much further, let's explain exactly what those initials mean. OEM stands for Original Manufacturer's Equipment. And thus, when referring to NON-OEM parts, one is referring to copycat parts, usually made overseas, without the permission or instruction of the original manufacturer.
First, it is hard to tell without knowing the mileage on your vehicle, what kind of wear your existing parts had, and also what kind of parts the shop replaced. In an eight year old car, it is common that many parts have not yet failed, but they are nearing their useful life. Plus, with a vehicle of that age, you cannot argue that the use of NON-OEM parts will void the manufacturer's warranty (as WOULD BE THE CASE with a newer car still under warranty).
So you may not have begun the repair process with a vehicle that deserved OEM parts because of its age before the accident. While it is true that there are a number of studies proving that the foreign made replacement parts are inferior to OEM parts, those studies compared "new" versus "new". There is little doubt that NEW foreign replacement parts will be superior to OEM parts on an eight year old vehicle.
In your case it is hard to say for sure, but let's just use examples of some common replacements. What if the collision repair shop had to install a new alternator, a new starter motor, a new thermostat, a new large snake belt, a new air conditioner compressor, etc.?
Usually, if the car is a lot newer than yours, we will insist on getting strictly OEM parts as replacements. But with the age of your vehicle and its average annual mileage, your parts were likely nearing or beyond their expected useful life. So you could not really expect the insurance company to improve your position by installing new OEM parts. In that case, they can come back and exact cash for improving your position; this is called "betterment".
Here is another example of betterment: consider the case of two worn tires that were ruined in an accident. Many times adjusters will insist on a betterment charge when they have to put brand new tires on a vehicle in place of worn tires with little remaining life.
But if you got NEW imitation parts, even though that would be a true improvement in most cases involving older vehicles such as yours, there would not be any betterment charge. The adjuster has no basis to charge you for betterment, inasmuch as he would not be able to prove it.
So, in the absence of more information, with a car over eight years old, it will be more difficult to prove diminished value. The older the vehicle and the less the pre-accident fair market value, the less the market is going to punish you for an accident that was repaired with NON-OEM parts. That is justice since many cars that age already have such replacement parts in use.
