HI folks, Are genuine toyota parts important for repair or not, and how to best deal with the diminished value question, and the value of my time for dealing with all of this. I just bought a 2008 Toyota Camry Hybrid with 15,000 miles on it in MINT condition about 10 days ago. last Saturday night someone backed into it at a parking lot in town. damage to right front hood, bumper, headlights, quarter panel. I’m just sick and was last involved in any kind of an accident in 1978 so also inexperienced. Nationwide insurance co is other drivers ins and who I’m dealing with now. Body shop owner said nationwide would only provide after market parts, not genuine toyota parts. also have diminished value since now have a bad carfax report. and I’m generally sick about this, stressed, and unable to make a decision. any advice appreciated. thanks, Lynnie
Aftermarket parts are the norm and most are as good a quality as the originals. Many are actually made by the manufacturer’s vendor and are excatly the same as original parts. For a 2008, boneyard parts from another 2008 would also be acceptable.
The insurance company’s obligation is to make you “whole”. To do so, aftermarket or used parts are the norm.
Diminished value is a tougher nut to crack. State laws vary on this, and proving diminished value can be difficult.
I would not assume that this accident will show up on Carfax…Normal depreciation will erase the value of your vehicle quicker than any damage report. Cars are not investments. They are disposable consumer products.
Aftermarket parts or even used parts are perfectly suitable.
The only decision to make is if you want the work done or not. Even though the other guys insurance is paying for this…check with your insurance company. They may be able to help.
Aftermarket parts are pretty much the norm these days. It will have little influence on the value of the vehicle.
Just get it fixed at the bodyshop of YOUR CHOICE…then move on.
Driving any car involves the risk of an accident. There is no compensation for the diminshed value of the car. All you can do is have the car fixed by a reputable body shop. Did you pick the body shop, or was the shop chosen by Nationwide Ins.?
A good body shop should fix the car so you can’t tell it was ever damaged. The better the quality of the paint and painter the better the color match and the longer the job will retain its good appearance. As for the choice of body parts used; if you want only “Toyota” brand parts you might have to pay something extra for the repair out of your pocket. IMO the source of the parts is less of an issue, than the quality of the shop and those who work on and paint the car.
Yes, it is stressful. But this is part of the stuff of life. Get it fixed and try to forget it happened and drive on.
The sticky issue is that with aftermarket parts you really never know what you’re getting as to quality. Some are not made up to the same standard that an original Toyota part might be. This means in the way the metal was treated to prevent premature rusting and so on.
This can be especially true if someone is using some bootleg Chinese body parts.
What I would want to know is the name of the company that manufactures those body parts before agreeing to it. A quality aftermarket part I don’t have a problem with.
Any disagreement over parts or diminished value can lead to legal pushing and shoving. Tell the insurance company you’re having headaches and a stiff neck and they could change their mind. 
Aftermarket parts are what you get at most bodyshops. Your concerns are noted but you live in the real world here and you are stressing about nothing in my opinion. Just relax and be thankful it was not an accident that ended the life of you or someone else.
Thanks everyone for your replies. I am thankful that no one was hurt. The body shop owner said the after market parts would be from Keystone. I thought he told me yesterday something like ‘performance plus’ or such but when I called him earlier today he said keystone. yesterday I know he did not say Keystone though, however I cannot remember exactly what he did say.
Keystone is a big company, and one that many people deal with. Uncle asked a good question, was this shop picked by you or the insurance company?? Legally you can bring the car anywhere you like, and the good shops warranty there own work so you dont need the insurance co telling you the work is covered.
YES 100% a bad CarFax will deminish a cars value $1000’s of dollars on a trade in. This is doublely true on a late model car due to “certification” standards. With that all said, are you going to keep the car forever or trade it back in, within a few years?? If you are going to keep it dont worry about it, as the older the car gets the less the bad carfax matters. Quite frankly the older the car less people even ask for one. HOWEVER if you are going to trade it in any time in the next few years you will have to deal with this issue, and it will cost you money. Sorry to be so blunt, but if you have worked retail as long as I have you have lost deals due to bad carfaxs, and becasue of this many dealers will not carry cars with bad carfaxs period. However like others have said, proving deminished value is very hard to do, and I do not know of any one who has one this battle.
Nationwide has a certification program (NWCPP) for parts installed under a claim by them. They have to be of OEM quality.
If you are worried about diminished value, you probably shouldn’t worry about the quality of the parts installed. If you are worried about the quality of the parts installed, you probably shouldn’t worry about diminished value. It seems odd to me for one to be worried about both these things simultaneously. Generally, someone concerned about diminished value intends to get rid of the car soon, so quality of parts is generally not a concern as long as it looks good. Someone who plans on keeping a car forever is generally not concerned about what the car is worth or whether or not there is a blemish on the Carfax report (if Carfax even ever finds out about this; the only way they can know is if the shop doing the work or insurance company involved reports it to them), they worry about the longevity of the repair. Decide what you plan to do with this car in the next couple or few years. If you have no plans on getting rid of this car anytime soon, don’t worry about diminished value and focus on using a shop known for excellent workmanship and using quality parts, factory or otherwise. If you were planning on getting rid of this car soon, don’t worry about where the parts are coming from. It will make no difference on the value of your car when you go to sell it or trade it in, as long as it looks good.
Thanks folks for your replies. the body shop is a local body shop that does a lot of business. How do I determine the quality of their work? I may look on Angie’s list or something in a minute to see if it is listed there.
I don’t know how long I will keep the car. I just bought it! However I usually tend to keep cars for awhile, but, having said that, sometimes something will catch my eye and I’ll be trading again unexpectedly. I generally do my research before dealing with dealers and I know that if a car has a bad carfax I just pass it up. Not worth the hassle. I probably wouldn’t trade for the next couple of years even if something caught my eye, don’t have money for that kind of thing too frequently.
And maybe it is an emotional attempt at denial of the loss to my car. I want it back exactly like it was before it was damaged. Childish feeling perhaps but there you have it. (even though I’m 50 something I never said I was grown up! )
And what kind of warranty do folks usually get from a body shop. What if the paint fades or something in the next few years? I don’t think the paint would fade soon, it would take awhile. I didn’t even know body shops warranted anything, news to me.
I get a written warranty from my trusted body shop each time I have insurance work done. Ask the body shop and ask Nationwide. It doesn’t hurt to ask beforehand.
Some body shops offer a lifetime warranty on their workmanship, which would include the paint. I had to have a fender replaced on an F-150 years ago. The truck was only a couple years old, and I had never dealt with a body shop before, either. My insurance recommended Collision Revision due to the lifetime warranty (they fix any issues for as long as you own the car). I was happy with the work, but stunned by the price (not that I had to pay for it) at $2,200. These days, I would just try to find a similar vehicle in the same color in a U-Pull salvage yard, get what I need, take it home, and do it myself.
On another note, this “blemish on the Carfax report” shouldn’t diminish the value of the car much, in all reality. As you describe it, nothing happened to the car that could harm it in any way but cosmetically. If there is structural damage, then the car loses quite a bit of value.
The problem with diminished value is determining the age of the car at the time the value is assessed. That is not necessarily the value of the car 10 days ago ( or right now, just without the damage). If you keep it for 10 years, should you be reimbursed for the difference in value to day or the change in value 10 years from now? What if you sell in between? The easy answer is no soup for you. But you might talk to your insurer if you haven’t already. They should help you figure out what is reasonable and legal in your state.
Take a few pictures of the car NOW, showing the damage BEFORE repairs are done. Then take some “AFTER” photos from the same angles. These pictures might come in handy later on…
Most automotive paint companys (including the biggest 2 PPG & Dupont) carry a lifetime warranty on paint as long as the shop meets certain conditions. Ask the shop manager if his shop has it.
It is not the b/shops choice to use new aftermarket, it is what the insr comp dictates. Some aftermarket is fine but other parts are not worth the metal they are stamped from.
example, a fender might be fine but the next fender we use might have the mount holes drilled in the wrong locations. Radiator supports are a joke. When the estimate from an insur comp uses afterm I order that and an OEM. We fit up the aft and sure enough, it’s junk. Nothing fits, the hood wont close properly, etc. We then install the OEM with no time lost and create a supplement for a price difference. It’s not wrong to repair a vehicle properly.
Carfax is a marketing tool and nothing more. Sometimes a $60 repair shows up and a $6000 does not. I also heard that if there was a police report then there will be a carfax ( for what it’s worth).
Carfax gets it’s info from police reports and insurance claims, mostly. If you are on a wreck but no police are called and you pay for the repair out if pocket. There will be no mark on the carfax. It also depends on the state you are in as some don’t report to carfax. It can also take 90+ days for carfax to catch up.