Insurers are authorising the use of second hand ‘Green’ parts for customer’s repairs

[tsedge]

In 2020 we waited 3 - 4 weeks for a handbrake actuator motor and a rear brake calliper, both unavailable in the U.K.
The car was unusable of course.
Both had to be shipped direct from China.
Total price of both parts, £160.00.
I am not convinced the situation has improved greatly TBH.
I was speaking to the parts department at my local dealer only 6 months ago and he said :-
“See that row of cars over there ( six ) we are waiting for £8,000 worth of parts to fix that lot”.

Was that waiting for new CCUs? There were big delays at that time.

 

[Lovemyev]

Was that waiting for new CCUs? There were big delays at that time.

No Tom - Nothing that important really, just a rear brake calliper and a handbrake motor actuator ?.
The charge control unit enables the car to move forward and the later helps make the car stop .
Any parts that fall into the “Back Order” category usually means the parts are coming on the slow boat from China ??.
If it’s a trim piece or something that does not effect the running / charging / stopping of the car, then a longer wait times is no massive deal, more of a inconvenience for the dealer and the customer.
Two weeks ago, a close relative of mine was involved in accident.
The rear of his two year old Gen2 ZS EV with only 10,000 miles on the clock, was hit while he was standing in stationary traffic.
The van that hit him, was travelling in 20 Mph in Wales ( of course ).
He had his foot on the foot brake, waiting to move on.
The van pushed his car forward, into the rear of the next car in front of him ( Volvo ).
Therefore he has damage front and back on his ZS EV.
The Insurance company recovered the car one week latter on the Friday.
Monday morning at 9.00am he received a call to say the car is a total loss.
The insurance assessor said that part of decision to write off the car, had been based on the fact that there would be long wait times on body panels etc.
Which would probably mean we will end up writing off the car in the long run anyway !.
We find it better to shift the car early and get our money back, he said.
It now leaves my relative finding a similar car that he is likely have to spend £8 to £10,000 finding another car.
Cheers van driver ?.
My relative was shocked at the level of damage caused to his car at such a low impact speed.
No air bags were activated in the ZS.
I don’t think he will be replacing it with another MG TBH

 

[Slipstream]

We have just had our MG4 repaired, the garage stated they were not allowed to use second hand parts.
Personally I'm not bothered.

Can I ask did it take long to obtain the parts. Or did the dealer have them in stock ?

 

[andi]

Parts that held job up was a washer bottle and washer pump.
I understood all other items were in uk.

Held job up be 10 days

 

[Slipstream]

Parts that held job up was a washer bottle and washer pump.
I understood all other items were in uk.

Held job up be 10 days

Thank you not too bad then.

 

[Cocijo]

I wonder if there are any insurers that do not use ‘Green’ or used parts to repair cars? I personally would consider these above others even paying more premium, if I had a car that I didn’t want repaired using this method.

 

[andi]

Having worked in the body repair industry, I would be happy to have used parts on my vehicle. Mainly because they have been painted at the factory, so the colour match is better.
Also new panels can be from other suppliers, not factory, and they don't always fit as well to the vehicle being repaired.

 

[T1 Terry]

Over here in Australia, if you use a second hand part, it must have the vin history as well to ensure it is not a part from a written off vehicle that is on the register, if it is, and it is a part that could be construed to be a safety item, you can not use that part to replace a faulty part.
A rear bumper, that useless anti intrusion bar under the bumper, all the bumper support brackets, tailgate and rear camera and parking sensors, all must have the vin from the vehicle it was originally fitted to and proof that this area of the donor vehicle was not involved in what ever caused the vehicle to be written off. These are the parts required for my repairable write off MG4 51, I have an MG4 64 parked right behind it with all the parts I need ...... I'm jumping through hoops at the moment to get these parts approved to carry out the repair.
For crash repair workshop, how would you justify the hrs spent clearing a second hand part being added on top of the part's price, when a new part doesn't have all that B/S to go through .....

One repair shop told me it was actually easier, cheaper and faster, for them to have a part personally put on the plane and someone at this end, pick it up and deliver to the shop than try to get the part that was on a write off parked in their yard, approved for use by the transport dept here in South Australia.

I'm seriously thinking about taking the car interstate to get the repairable write-off cleared so it can be re-registered ..... no wonder they are scrapping vehicles that would have been repaired back when I was in the trade, this bureaucratic stupidity is making insurance rates climb at a rate never seen before here in Australia

Rant over ..... for now

T1 Terry

 

[andi]

I'm glad we don't have your system in the UK
The majority of the late model breakers would go out of business.

 

[T1 Terry]

It is happening over here, a lot of them have become parts importers for earlier model cars that enthusiasts pay silly money for genuine parts, people that have bought grey imports and now have to pay the big dollars to keep it running. The others strip out doors and lights and engines, drivelines etc, and fill shelves with them, all part of a nationwide "hotline" network so they can find a buyer to move the stuff.

Not a lot of buyers for late model EV's at the moment, but earlier model hybrids like the Prius are selling at salvage for money they couldn't attract when they were still health road going vehicles.
I know a few people who have grabbed all the EV of certain models at salvage auctions, hoping to corner the market on second hand body parts ..... not sure they are doing as well as they had hoped, but it is early days yet, so maybe things will turn around ......
I mean, who would have thought a '74 VW Kombi I bought for under $2,000 in '98 would be attracting $50,000 offers now ...... it isn't like it's been restored or anything or have low kms on the clock ..... they have just become desirable memorabilia for cashed up retirees :lol:

T1 Terry

 

[jackois]

I spotted an article by the car insurance company “Esure” yesterday, it reported that as a result of the introduction of the 30 to 20 Mph limit in Wales, it had played a part in reducing insurance premiums ?.
Has anybody witnessed this reduction ?.
I don’t know anybody who is paying less this year than last year myself ?.

Strangely enough, mine shot up last year and has returned to the previous price this year... wondering how...

 

[MG Clive]

Using second hand parts is the way I would 'Do It Myself', so I'd be happy for somebody else to do the same with my own car. For me, as long as the end result is the same, it doesn't matter how it got there.