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Letter to the Editor

This article originally appeared in the May 2010 Issue of INSIGHT

Don’t Threaten Open Discussion

by Karen Kilbane

Our feature this month looks at the many arguments surrounding the non-OEM parts usage issue. Aptly titled “An Industry in Disarray,” the confusion, complaints, and quality control probles are exposed for all to see.

We all are aware of how heated the non-OEM parts debate can be, but the flashpoint certainly came at the CIC meeting in Atlanta in April. See page 12 for the story of the presentation that was not presented. Tempers flared when industry consultant Toby Chess was unable to speak about tests done to compare OEM and non-OEM parts for fear of a threatened lawsuit.

CIC is supposed to be THE industry forum for open dialogue about Collision Repair Industry concerns, differing views, and new ideas. INSIGHT strongly agrees with the CIC Parts Committee Chairperson, John Bosin, who called the lawsuit threat “reprehensible.”

SCRS has documented the society’s position on Supplemental Restraint Systems (SRS), meaning mainly airbags (See page 3). As of now, SCRS does not recommend the use of salvaged, remanufactured, or aftermarket alternatives in place of SRS components.

I-CAR has made many changes to try to be a more useful and flexible educational tool for collision repairers in the past year or so, and it seems that I-CAR has succeeded in being more responsive to its customers.

Our annual TrendLine to determine collision repair facilities’ satisfaction with I-CAR (See page 18.) has come through with the highest overall level of shop satisfaction to date. On a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being Poor and 5 being Excellent, overall satisfaction rose from 2.47 in 2002 to a record 3.64 in 2010. More technicians and shop managers are taking I-CAR classes, too.

With its annual meeting just around the corner, I-CAR has a right to be pleased.

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