W.Va. Bill Would Close Opportunity to Use Recycled Parts

Feb. 14, 2018—A new West Virginia Senate bill would only allow new OEM parts on vehicles 3 years old or younger, closing off the opportunity for collision repairers to install recycled components when fixing cars at the behest of an insurer.

The bill comes less than four years after the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals held state law demanding “genuine crash parts sufficient to maintain the manufacturer’s warranty” (unless the owner consented in writing) only restricted aftermarket parts. The court declared that if the West Virginia Legislature desired to exclude salvage parts, it would have said so in the law.

Under Senate Bill 308, the Legislature would say so.

It revises the law to state “motor vehicle body shops must use genuine new original equipment parts sufficient to maintain the manufacturer’s new vehicle warranty for fit, finish, structural integrity, corrosion resistance, dent resistance, and crash performance.”