wetboy44

All,

I don't post much, but I'm having a dilemma and I need some perspective. While I was at church on Easter, someone ran into my 2009 G37x Sedan (my car was parked - I was not in it) and damaged my driver's side fender and bumper. Fortunately they had insurance (Nationwide) and they are paying for it. I took it to my dealership and they informed me that the replacement fender would not be Nissan/Infiniti, and there could be fitment issues. I contacted my own insurance company (Allstate) and they said that is standard op, and they do the same thing for claims on which they have to pay. The other option I was offered was that I could pay the difference between the aftermarket and OEM part. After some major heartburn, I decided to pay the extra $65 for the OEM fender. My lease is up in about 6 months, but was considering keeping the car until this happened. Have any of you ever been faced with this? Any and all feedback is appreciated - thanks!

BLamb

iTrader: (1)

I think Nationwide has an option you can select for "replace with all OEM parts", but like everything else they offer they charge you an extra amount per month to have this option.

Given it wasn't your fault, I would think you could demand OEM parts, but am not privy on the best method of doing that. At lease it was only $65, still sucks to pay out of pocket for someone else's mistake though.

elrey85

Working for an insurance company, it is common for insurance companies to use aftermarket parts if available in order to reduce costs. Sometimes they do give you the option to pay the difference if you want the OEM part instead. Also in some cases they charge depreciation/betterment on parts that qualify for it, for example tires. I do know that some insurance companies offer policies in which only OEM parts would be used in case of repairs needed. But of course they do charge an extra premium for that. They also have specific policies for/if when your car gets totaled and you still get a certain value for your vehicle. In the end its sad to say that insurance companies usually end up winning. I see these cases every day. But good luck in your decision.

Chekov

Yes, when my wife’s Lexus needed a replacement front bumper, it was written into the body shop’s estimate authorized by our insurance company (USAA) that the replacement would not be a Lexus bumper. The estimate included an extra, legalistic document stating why they do it this way (essentially to cut down on overall insurance costs but offering the same quality).

Black Betty

iTrader: (60)

LKQ. "Like kind and quality". It means that they reserve the right to use a less expensive (read: cheaper and inferior quality) comparable replacement part. Unfortunately this is standard practice because insurance companies are weasels. The only thing you can do is to raise hell and possibly get them to use an OEM part or pay the difference yourself. In this case it's only $65 so if it were me I'd just pay it. But it seems very unfair considering the premiums you pay.

I had this happen once to me long ago. I talked to the insurance company and reasoned that I had paid many thousands of dollars in premiums over the years that was pure profit for them because I hadn't ever filed a claim. The least they cold do in appreciation of a loyal customer who paid on time every month for years was to pay an extra $200 toward a claim that wasn't my fault (uninsured motorist). They'd still be thousands of dollars ahead on the deal. They paid it.

elrey85

Yes the only way insurance company will allow for an OEM part besides complaining, is if there is a fitment issue with the after market part or its just not cost effective. If the AM fender or bumper doesnt fit right and you or the shop complain about it, the insurance company will let it go. In some cases the AM part has to be shipped from a far distance and the shipping costs along with the down time of the vehicle are not cost effective in comparison with the OEM price; then they will let it go. Again insurance companies in the end still win . I am pretty sure also that legally they are suppose to let you know about this and it is found in the policy contract given when first the policy is purchased. Not everyone reads it including myself.

wetboy44

All, thank you for your great responses. Unfortunately, all of you were right. :-) I wanted the flexibility of potentially keeping my car (I'm not sure what I want to do when my lease is up), selling it or turning it in, so I wanted to make sure I treated her properly, regardless. I'm going to pay the $65 and the peace of mind. I'm just ticked that I have to pay for damages to my car that I didn't cause. Maybe the only way to ease the pain is to get an IPL or a convertible! :-)

Maxpilot

Check your lease contract. Mine requires that I use OEM parts if it is in accident. I would show that to Nationwide.

Also, I would file a Diminished Value claim with Nationwide... especially since they won't pay for OEM parts. The value of your car is less with 3rd party parts.

tejasg37x

Since it was the other person's fault and they are repairing YOUR car, they should not be using aftermarket parts. That's OK if they are repairing their customers car, but not yours. They are the one that paid for "discount" auto insurance instead of paying for premium insurance. YOU should not have to accept that on your car. In these cases you should use your own insurance company for leverage to get them to pay for the correct OEM parts. Unless you pay for discount (cheap insurance too). I realize in this case the amount was not that much, but in some instances it could be and it's the principle of the matter they should not being doing that to you.

This is one of those things that people don't understand when they pay for "cheap" insurance...you get what you pay for. Remember some of those threads about insurance cost and some people bragging about paying lower premiums? Those people will get cheaper parts when they need their car repaired.

wetboy44

Maxpilot, I didn't think about that. My car is financed through IFS, so that could be the case. The irritating part about this is that my insurance company said they would have done the same thing had I been the person that had hit someone else. I thought Allstate was one of the better insurances out there, but based on this info, they're no better than any other one. I will look at my contract and see what it says.

wetboy44

I'm going to bite the bullet and pay the difference, but for future reference, how do I file a diminished value claim?

GRG37

iTrader: (3)

I work with body shops and insurance companies every day, if you bitch enough they will replaced, especially if the other insurance is paying and your not at fault. I see this on a daily