Prior to the early 80's, the new car manufacturers enjoyed a virtual monopoly on the production and sale of replacement body parts; unencumbered by competition their pricing was extremely high, consumers and their auto insurers had no choice but to pay the monopolistic prices established by the manufacturer.

In the mid 80's, consumers were finally given an option when independent manufacturers began making auto body replacement parts. These new competitors priced their parts at a substantially lower cost than those
charged by automobile manufacturers for original equipment manufactured (OEM) parts in some cases, from 20% to 50% less. 

The auto manufacturing industry, which had controlled the collision replacement parts market since the days of the Model T, began waging a massive legal and public relations campaign to discourage the use of these "aftermarket parts." Contrary to the competitive American marketplace, the auto makers went on attack by proclaiming all competitive parts inferior and unsafe, and predicting that they would ultimately reduce the value of any vehicle they were used on. Meanwhile, the cost of a hood, a simple piece of sheet metal, remained much higher than that of a complex piece of electronics such as a VCR.

Today, in spite of increased public acceptance of competitive parts, the auto manufacturers continue to oppose their use. They spend millions of dollars each year on media campaigns in an attempt to shore up their shrinking control of the market by convincing the public that competitive parts are inferior.

The truth, however, is evidenced in the statistics showing increases in the number of certified parts, their usage in auto repair, and the subsequent reduction in price of OEM parts in response to the presence of healthy
competition. For example, an OEM fender for the Toyota Camry cost $253 in 1992, before a comparable part was in production. By 1996, when the aftermarket fender was available for $100, the price of the OEM Camry fender had dropped to $143.88 posing an interesting question: Would they reduce their price that much if they really believed that aftermarket parts were inferior?

Auto owners have seen price reductions as much as 40% or more, depending on the part and repair involved. In comparison, if a repair shop completely rebuilt a car entirely from OEM parts the cost would be nearly three times the original retail price. For example, an average Ford or GM car selling for $14,000 on the showroom floor would cost more than $40,000 if purchased by piece using OEM parts.

Aftermarket body parts offered by top quality manufacturers are a high quality alternative to the much higher priced OEM Parts, finally giving consumers a competitive choice.

In an independent crash test conducted in the United Kingdom on March 9, 1995, Thatchem, the Motor Insurance Repair Research Center, proved conclusively that aftermarket crash parts do not effect the safety or structural integrity of modern vehicles. Crash testing, the ultimate test of safety is difficult and prohibitively expensive to do for all the many possible combinations of replacement parts and original parts. Yet some controlled safety studies of aftermarket crash parts have been performed to ensure that a car will be as crashworthy after a repair as it was before. Established in 1969 by the British Insurance Industry, Thatchem has undertaken a wide range of automotive research. They conduct some 30-40 crash tests per year. Their crash facility has been operational for over twenty years, with regular updates to keep it in line with modern regulations. Thatchem is a responsible, well-known laboratory capable of conducting a study of aftermarket crash parts.

The most stringent and comprehensive vehicle safety standards in the world are those demanded by the United States. Consequently, Thatchem choose to use federal safety tests to prove that a vehicle's cosmetic panels make no significant contribution to its structural strength and safety.

The entire testing program was also witnessed by a senior engineer from the British Vehicle Certification Agency to insure absolute compliance with the test regulations. A modern 4-door passenger car was submitted as the test vehicle. Both front fenders and both outer panels from the front doors were removed completely and the vehicle was accelerated to a steady speed of 49.03 kph (approx. 35-mph) and impacted into a concrete barrier. The test results clearly illustrated just how safe modern cars are, even when outer body panels have been removed. Both front doors opened easily as did the rear doors. The aftermarket hood behaved well, folding at pre-designed points, thus preventing any rearward movement into the windshield and passenger compartment. Previous crash tests carried out on identical vehicles with OEM hoods resulted in slight damage to the windshield. The critical measurements for determining if the vehicle passed the safety tests were gathered from the test dummies. The measurements for head injury and leg injury were found to be considerably lower than the maximum value permitted for compliance of FMVSS - 208. The vehicle also passed FMVSS 204, 212, 219, 301. The senior engineer from the British Vehicle Certification agency certified that the test procedures had been followed correctly, thus proving conclusively that cosmetic body parts, whether OEM or aftermarket, play little or no part in the structural safety of modern cars.

Was established in 1987 to develop and oversee a testing and inspection program for certifying the quality of parts used for collision repairs.

Develop quality standards for the manufacture of competitive auto body parts.

Ensure that parts bearing the CAPA Quality Seal are in compliance with CAPA Quality Standards.

Provide independent laboratory participation in the program to ensure integrity and conformity to generally accepted guidelines for third-party certification programs.

Publicize the certification program to users, consumers, auto bodyshops, insurance companies, government agencies, collision repair estimators and distributors.

The program provides consumers, auto body shops, part distributors and insurance adjusters with an objective method for evaluating the quality ofcertified parts and their functional equivalency to similar parts made by car companies.

CAPA was founded to promote price and quality competition in the collision part industry, there by reducing the cost of crash repairs to consumers without sacrificing quality.

CAPA quality standards apply to various types of parts made from different materials. CAPA is constantly expanding the certification program to include more parts and new materials. Currently, two specifications set quality requirements for parts made of metal (CAPA 101) and plastic (CAPA 201). Each specification provides detailed testing and inspection procedures to ensure the quality of the parts covered by that specification. Where possible, all test procedures refer to nationally recognized tests such as those of ASTM and SAE.

To contact CAPA: 

These items are better known as salvage items or quality used items.
These components are generally in great condition.
LKQ parts are OEM parts that are used by every Insurance.
Generally not available to the public.
Why use LKQ?

Items normally associated with LKQ.

Better known as repaired vehicle components, here is a list of reconditioned or remanufactured items:

The basis of reconditioning is to repair an item that is damaged but is not beyond repair or does not have a missing piece. An example would be a bumper cover, if the cover is scratched or has a hole in the shell it can be reconditioned. If half of the cover is gone, there is no possible way to recondition it.

Generally, bumpers that are textured can not be reconditioned.