IMI Magazine

Crash repair parts

In body repair, parts account for around 43% of the invoice, so it's no surprise that insurers are keen to make savings. And with non-OE parts up to 50% cheaper than those supplied by vehicle manufacturers, many bodyshops are being driven down the non-OE route. 

Exceptions are manufacturer approved repairers who have no choice other than to use OEM parts to meet the requirements of their contracts. "We mainly do manufacturer approved work so naturally we fit manufacturer parts," said Julian Allen, managing director of Motorvation, based in Bridgend. "The only non-OE activity we tend to do now is for some contract work where we are trying to save the customer money to keep the car on the road.

"In my experience, non-OE is not a replica of the manufacturer part," added Allen. "You have got to sacrifice some quality, whether it is the pressing marks or that the shapes are slightly different. With panels, you can spend a bit of time grinding and filling things, but when it comes to plastic bumpers, if the mould is slightly wrong, they either fit or they don't."

Wider choice
In a bid to improve confidence in the fit and quality of non-OE parts, the Thatcham accident research centre introduced an accreditation scheme in 2001, and last September it joined forces with TUV Rheineland, an international testing organisation, to offer a wider choice of suppliers.

Most popular non-OE items are bumpers, lighting, mirrors, bonnets and wings for high volume vehicles because typically they are most likely to incur accident damage.

"We have contractual obligations with our working partners and they advise us where we need to use non-OE parts, be it on certain brands or vehicles of a certain age," said Tony Aquilina, group procurement manager of Seward Accident Repair Centres.

"It is also part specific, so where headlamps and mirrors are from the same production line for a vehicle manufacturer and just packaged in different boxes, our work partners can obviously see the opportunities to make savings," he explained. "It is also a pre-requisite by some partners to only fit OEM parts, and these must be purchased from an authorised franchised dealership, i.e. not an importer, so it's a case of managing the individual requirements of our work partners."

According to Neil Kirk, managing director of repair group Howard Basford, problems over quality and ease of fitment are rare if parts are sourced from reputable parts providers like Direct Automotive. "We only use non-OE where the customer is content for the product to be used," said Kirk, "and we remain committed to repair over replace where possible.

'Obsessed' by non-OE
"Non-OE penetration has not changed as a percentage of our parts mix in the last three years. Many vehicle manufacturers are obsessed by the penetration of non-OE when in reality it remains a very small part of the whole parts market."

Kirk's view is backed by independent research indicating that non-OE accounts for only 2% of the market and in reality there aren't a lot of alternative parts manufacturers. "There is a misconception that there are lots of different manufacturers out there of varying qualities; back street guys and the big ones, and that is not the case," said Kevin Shipton, managing director of SEL-Imperial, importer and distributor of aftermarket parts. "It is a very expensive business. To make a bonnet, the tooling alone costs around £200,000, so you are not going to find lots of little companies able to make that investment."

Because of this investment requirement, Shipton points out that the 'copy part' manufacturer is often producing parts for a vehicle manufacturer, and gets the tooling from the manufacturer. "It is all about production and the production process. One minute they (the copy part producer) might be producing an OEM bonnet and then an alternative one, but it is actually the same production procedure."

That claim, however, appears to be at odds with Ford, which has commissioned several independent tests to demonstrate the key differences between Ford Genuine parts and copy parts. Ford is not the only manufacturer to do comparison studies, but it recently made available its tests carried out in 2006 by MIRA (Motor Industry Research Association) on pedestrian protection and fit and finish. The pedestrian protection test compared Fiesta copy bonnets with the Ford bonnet. The tests looked at weight, gauge thickness measurement, geometric changes, tensile tests and pedestrian head impacts.

"The Ford genuine bonnet has been engineered as a safety critical component with pedestrian protection in mind," said Nick Halliday, Ford's manager of collision repair marketing. "It has significant high strength steel content, is thin gauge and lightweight, with a geometry designed to distribute bonnet stiffness to help prevent a pedestrian's head hitting hard components in the engine bay."

Stronger bond
In the comparison tests, the copy parts were found to be different in terms of material content and weight. In addition, in the original Ford manufacture, bonding is done prior to clinching of the inner and outer bonnet to provide a stronger bond. With the non-OE parts, bonding is done after clinching which Ford says can cause the bonded joints to separate and lose integral stiffness. It also increases the risk of a secondary impact with engine bay components.

Halliday said that the highest risk associated with head impact is over the coolant tank cap. Citing two parts suppliers - SSVG and Diedericks - he added: "With the SSVG part, the risk of death jumps from 24% to 32% and 41% for the Diedericks' bonnet. From the studies, MIRA does not consider that the non-genuine bonnets it tested have been developed or engineered with pedestrian safety in mind."

However, Kevin Shipton describes the tests as "a bit of a waste of time" because they were not comparing like with like. "The tests compared a Ford Fiesta 2005-2008 bonnet with an alternative Fiesta 2002-2005 bonnet," he said. "The pedestrian safety requirements were not a requirement in 2002 and the alternative 2005 bonnet would have been a slightly different design because the alternatives copy the genuine. However, the 2002 alternative bonnet passed current EEC standards, although it obviously didn't have the same pass rate as the 2005 Ford one."

Parts shortage
All this technical stuff, though, is arguably of secondary concern to repairers who report that recession has affected parts availability. "Two to three years ago, some manufacturers were running at about a 97% first time pick rate, so when we booked a customer's vehicle in we were confident of getting the parts," said Tony Aquilina of Seward. "With the temporary shut down of some factories earlier this year, there is now a shortage of parts. We now can no longer rely on being able to book vehicles and get parts in a two to three day lead time."

Added Neil Kirk of Howard Basford: "Dealers are generally holding less stock as the vehicle manufacturer has encouraged a National Distribution Centre (NDC) reliance and a 24 hour stock order. However, NDCs and local distribution centres do seem to be lean on the parts and it is common to need to await a part entering the country."

HEATHER GRANT