Mention the word "aftermarket" in a crowd of collision repairers and you'll get a knee-jerk reaction - most likely negative. But, the fact is, aftermarket parts are never going to go away. On the other hand, without the support and understanding of the collision repair industry, the Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA) could go away.

The answer to whether or not CAPA's existence benefits the industry lies in whether or not it is good for collision repairers to be locked into only one source for an item. Right now, repairers have a number of choices for virtually everything they buy - paint, equipment, materials, even computer estimating programs. Most shops insist on choices so they can evaluate what's best for their companies. The only area where they essentially have no choice is in crash parts. More than 80 percent of the crash parts they use are available only from one source.

So what does this mean for the shop owner? He has to charge the customer $400 for a stamped metal Ford Taurus hood, whereas the Zenith TV/VCR he bought for an employee training program was only $259. Why the huge difference in what a shop has to charge for a simple hood vs. a complex, sophisticated TV/VCR with hundreds of parts and that performs many functions? It's simple: Ford has no competition for the hood and Zenith has to compete with more than 10 manufacturers for the TV/VCR. Not only is the shop forced to pass these high costs on to their customers, but high parts prices are putting more cars into the "totaled" category, and the shop never gets a chance to repair the car.

That's why collision repairers need competition. But it must be quality competition, which is where CAPA comes in. As a non-profit organization with a testing and inspection program that certifies the quality of crash parts, CAPA's goal is to promote quality and price competition in the crash parts industry. The idea is to reduce the cost of crash repairs to consumers without sacrificing quality. We establish standards for competitive parts to ensure their equivalence to car company parts. These standards are so strict that only 3 percent of crash parts used by shops carry the CAPA Quality Seal. Therein lies another problem: Most collision repairers make the big mistake of lumping all aftermarket parts together. In fact, when we asked a number of collision repair industry leaders to look at the quality of the CAPA-certified parts they were using, they mistakenly evaluated non-CAPA parts.

There is a big difference in the parts that meet CAPA standards and the parts that don't. To distinguish this difference, we are embarking on a national campaign to get collision repairers who want competition to look for the CAPA seal. Each CAPA-certified part comes with a special seal with anti-counterfeit measures, tamper-proof design and a unique individual number. What is particularly useful to the shop is that part of the seal can be removed and used as proof that a CAPA part was actually used. Additionally, CAPA has a tight tracking mechanism based on the seal numbers, so if a shop employee ever finds a certified part that apparently does not meet CAPA standards, they can contact us to track down the part's origin and address the problem.

Collision repairers I have spoken with agree that shops are not served well when they have only one supplier. The CAPA program, albeit small, offers shops and consumers the choice of a quality alternative to car company parts. Today's beleaguered collision repair industry needs more competitive choices, not less, if it is going to successfully move into the next millennium. If certain circumstances don't change, and CAPA goes away, then the shops will have no choice but to settle for questionable-quality aftermarket parts. Regardless, the one thing we do know is that aftermarket parts are not going away.

Jack Gillis is the executive director of CAPA.

RATE THIS ARTICLE What do you think of this article? Your input will help AutoInc. develop additional articles on this subject. Share your thoughts! Your name Your e-mail address

MOST ACCESSED ARTICLES Fuel Injection Service, Not Just Cleaning The Art of Extraction EGR Systems: Operation and Diagnosis Proactive Target Marketing:_Rethinking Your Business Strategy Engine Performance: HO2S Diagnostics MOST E-MAILED ARTICLES Developing Employee Potential How Critical Thinking Can Help Your Business How to Diagnose the Ford Glow Plug What to Look for When Shopping for the Right Shop Management Software Putting a Price Tag on Complaints

AutoInc. Web Site | ASA Web Site | Halftime for the 105th Congress | Proper Timing Tips to Get Under Your Belt | Assessing the Quality of Aftermarket Collision Repair Parts | Women Want Positive, Receptive Customer Service | Top 10 Automotive Repair Web Sites | Guest Editorial | Tech to Tech | Tech Tips | Shop Profile | Net Worth | Stat Corner | Chairman's Message