Figure 1: Replacement Automobile Crash Parts by Source,
December 2000

Source: Center for Auto Safety.

Some aftermarket crash parts are certified as to their quality. In 1987, the insurance industry funded the nonprofit Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA), whose objective is to ensure the quality of aftermarket crash parts. To determine the quality of these parts, the association examines a manufacturer’s plant, equipment, manufacturing processes, and resulting products. If the association finds the aftermarket crash parts to be equivalent in appearance, fit, material composition, and mechanical properties to new OEM parts, it certifies the parts as functionally equivalent to OEM parts. In addition, it periodically purchases parts in the open market and checks them to ensure they meet the association’s standards. According to the association, in 1999, about 35 percent of all aftermarket crash parts were certified. This represents about 5 percent of the total aftermarket crash parts market—which would include OEM, aftermarket, and recycled parts combined.

More recently, in 2000, Global Validators, an automotive quality consultant, started a new certification process directed at improving the quality of aftermarket crash parts. The Manufacturers’ Qualification and Validation Program, similar to the CAPA program, is a set of guidelines that outline policies and quality management practices designed to ensure that aftermarket crash parts are equal in form, fit, function, performance,