September 14, 2010— Eileen Sottile, co-chairwoman of the Auto Body Parts Association Legislation and Regulation Committee, issued a statement in response to a recent Consumer Reports article recommending the sole use of OEM parts.
“As a publication that purports to provide a ‘reliable source of information consumers can depend on to help them distinguish hype from fact and good products from bad ones,’ Consumer Reports has sorely missed the mark with its piece, ‘Are low-cost replacement bumpers safe?’” said Sottile.
The Consumer Reports piece is partially based on Ford Motor Co.’s July 2010 tests, which concluded that aftermarket parts are not as safe as OEM parts.
“The Ford test results, while limited to only two aftermarket component sets, are important, because they credibly demonstrate that replacing the original automaker's safety related parts with cheap knockoffs may increase the risk of injury to vehicle occupants in a subsequent crash,” said Jeff Blyskal of Consumer Reports.
“Ford Motor Company’s hypothetical assertions supported only by computer simulations of a couple of parts merely represent one more play by the company to create a monopoly for its own replacement parts,” said Sottile. “The aftermarket collision parts industry maintains the highest standards of quality and safety in the parts we provide to the collision repair industry.”
To read more about Ford’s test results, go to consumerreports.org.
