Q1 How frequently have you fitted green parts in your
body shop in the last year?
62% - The
odd job
26% - Fairly often
12% - Never
Q2 Why don’t you
use more green parts?
43% - No
demand
31% - Poor
quality
29% - Poor
availability
22% - ANOTHER
REASON
1.
Customers are uncomfortable with the idea of used parts
2.
Not used in contract repairs, only when agreed with customer and
insurer
3.
Only on retail work, if
required
4.
Only when new parts obsolete
5.
To save a vehicle from total loss
6.
Payment issues (account)
7.
Too much aggravation
8.
Work provider will not allow
Q3 If you have fitted green parts in the last
year, what was the reason?
77% - It
saved a job from becoming a write-off
41% - It
was on a retail / self insured job
28% - Parts
were on back-order from main dealer
22% - Work
provider required it
9% - ANOTHER
REASON
1.
contract repairs on older vehicles
2.
Customer Request
3.
Its environmentally friendly
4.
Repairing older vehicle & new parts no longer available
5.
Used to control costs for Police on National scheme
Q4 - If you have fitted
green parts in the last year, how did you obtain them?
69% - Local
salvage supplier
53% - eBay
30% - ANOTHER
REASON
1. AVS
- green cycle
2. FAB
recycling
3. Parts
Gateway
4. Police
breakers (?)
5. 1st
choice Spares
6. Directed
supplier
7. Find
a part website
8. Internet
9. Search engines not eBay
10. Insurer
approved supplier
11. Work provider arranged/ ordered/ supplied/
stipulated
Q5 - Do any of your current insurance work providers
request the use of green parts on their repairs?
39% - Some
of them request the use of green parts in special circumstances eg saving a
write-off
38% - None
of them request the use of green parts
12% - Some
of them request the use of green parts in normal repairs
11% - None
of them request the use of green parts, but do permit the use of green parts
Q6 - Given a choice of parts to repair a vehicle, would
you fit green parts as a preference over aftermarket (non-OE) parts?
54% - I
occasionally do this depending on criteria of vehicle; age, mileage etc
37% - I
prefer to use aftermarket rather than green parts
9% - This
is already my body shops standard practice
Q7 - Would you
like the opportunity to have a ‘one stop shop’ single contact option available
when ordering your crash repair parts that would provide new OE or green OE or
non-OEA items?
46% - Yes, providing the service was quick and straight forward to use
and cost effective
43% - No, I prefer to use my existing supply chain options
11% - I
have no preference
Q8 - Would a
straight forward easy to understand national grading standard for green parts
help with your decision to use green parts in your body shop?
49% - yes
33% - possibly
18% - no
Q9 - Do you
have a comment on what the green parts industry need to do to gain greater
acceptance within the crash repair industry?
1. Accurately describe the parts being supplied - colour, any
damage, age, general condition.
2. Make sure the quality is consistent (not our experience)
3. Set a national quality standard and pricing strategy
4. Green parts need to look and fit like OE parts and be cared for
in the same way through the supply chain.
5. Customers do not want second hand parts fitted to their cars and
we need to make sure the customer’s needs are met.
6. Better availability
7. Better packing to ensure damage free delivery
8. Need to be competitively priced to give the body shop a
reasonable margin otherwise they won’t be used extensively.
9. The green parts industry needs to address
the public to gain acceptance.
10. Advertise the advantages of OE green parts over aftermarket - better
fit, original factory primer
11. Green parts need to have the same guarantee/return processes as
for OE
12. Green parts need to be ordered from one single supplier who
compiles the complete order and delivers within defined standards
13. Challenge the whole concept that "I've made an insurance claim so I want new"", with a
concerted approach re ‘green’ not second hand parts.
14. Convince Insurance companies and policy holders, provide a good
quality service to the repairer
15. Deliver parts of acceptable quality certified with paperwork
confirming pedigree. We currently have a job where the insurer instructed green
parts to save a total loss. One bonnet delivered damaged. One bonnet delivered
corroded. Both returned. Causes delays cycle time. Who guarantees these parts?
BS 10125 demands proof that green parts are of equal or less age than the
repaired vehicle.
16. Using green parts adds complications to a job.
17. Good images of the green part to be supplied
18. Green parts are great to save a car from being a total loss but
if we pay on ebay we have to pay ourselves and then claim back which is a
nightmare
19. Green parts should only be used at the vehicle owner’s request.
If you want more green parts to be used, you should appeal to the vehicle owner
and make it more attractive for them.
20. We need to receive the parts in the same time as when ordering
new – generally 24 hrs - that would be deal changer. But often 4/5 days later.
21. If I've got a customer sat in one of my c/cars then this could
be a factor in my decision in whether I go down the Green Parts route."
22. I think the use of green parts should be as a last resort only
and I do not believe it's a departure from of PAS125 and displays a breakers
yard repair service rather that of a modern professional bodyshop.
23. Make Green Parts part of the Underwriting philosophy
24. Insurers need to understand they can’t take all the profit out
of these types of initiative, I think that is why green parts have not really
taken off historically.
25. Insurers need to be in agreement and have suitably flexible
wording within their policies.
26. It's all well and good using green parts and aftermarket parts
to reduce repair costs and save write- offs, but how about giving repairers the
right times to complete the work to a quality standard and paying the correct labour
rate. The fitting of these kind of parts takes longer and then we have to try
and convince the customer that their vehicle has been repaired to the
pre-accident condition and warranty it , all for £25 an hour.
27. Cleaning the products before supply would help! And removing
damaged parts. So they don’t arrive looking like parts from a scrap yard
28. Offer free delivery
29. Parts need to sold by part number and you need to be able to
click on the parts and reserve them for 24 hours while you wait to see if
buying these parts save the vehicle.
30. Parts often come in damaged
31. Problem is number of options on some cars - parts change so
often on some models . If buying green sometimes it’s the wrong part supplied
32. Second hand parts (green) are like for like and I am cool on
using them. I hate non-OE parts and
never use non-OE panels. Lights radiators etc. are fine.
33. Green parts require some extra labour, so knowing the condition
is important for costing a job correctly
34. Its education that is needed on the part of the customer and
greed plays a part on the side of the insurer. Customers feel that they should always
get ‘new for old’ regardless, when in some cases it is better to fit a quality
green part. Insurers need to be mindful of the real cost, it takes time to
source good green parts and they sometimes come with carriage fees yet the
insurer expects us to supply the item for cost or include a minimal uplift, but
they forget we are saving them a lot of money each year doing this at our
expense of sourcing the part. The
insurer also does not sell the idea of green parts, I have never been told by
any insurer that they may use green parts - the selling pitch for them appears
to be "yes sir your car will be
repaired in a manufacture approved shop with new like for like parts and a loan
car if you need it." I have never heard of any policy being sold on
the strength of used green parts. Education
is the way forward.
35. The owner of the vehicle should be informed and his/her
permission given
36. The supplier would have to provide service levels of
Dealers/Delivery/Warranty issues with a fully supported program.
37. They need to change customers/consumer mind set on green parts
and get the insurers to put his into their policies.
38. We would use green parts as they are the original component
used, not a ‘mickey mouse’ part made in a factory in Tiawan
Q10 - If you
believe that you would never be interested in using green parts in your body shop,
could you please state your reasons
1. Green parts could have a lot bigger place in the market if
customers were aware of the benefit and insurers supported and advertised the
fact.
2. If we could source and get a correct good quality part then we'd
rather fit green than non-OE.
3. Insurance goes up year after year why should you have to do with
green parts only on old cars to save them
4. No reason not to use as long as customers fully accept
5. Policyholders would also have to be made aware of these
T&C's and Insurers tend of 'hide' these and it is difficult enough
confirming this if/when registering any complaint about fitting of non O/E
parts. Policy holders do not read their read their policy Document. This then
puts bodyshops in a very difficult
position having to deal with very annoyed customers
6. The majority customers would never chose this option if informed
correctly.
7. It is difficult enough
getting the correct parts from a dealer with all the model, year, and half
model year variants, so to even consider that a scrap yard would get it right
is a stretch of the imagination in my opinion.
8. Could you imagine a red bumper being supplied for a silver car,
painted silver and at a later date the customer has a stone chip or further
damage to the same component? The customer would go mad if he did not know. I
do not see it as the bodyshops responsibility to inform the customer at the
time of repair, but the insurers at the time of insurance purchase
9. Too much trouble in terms of quality, part variations and
inconsistent supply.
10. Would be happy to use good quality green parts - but ONLY with
customer knowledge and acceptance!
11. Would prefer not to use green parts as usually
involves additional complication and I believe customers should be entitled to
new parts unless their premiums are reduced, reflecting the use of cheaper used
parts
Terry Charlton (Charlton Recycled Autoparts) and Andy
Latham (SalvageWire) have been working on a road trip’ for UK auto
recyclers wanting to attend the annual ARA (the American Auto Recyclers
Association) convention in October. They
have put together the following itinerary. Both Terry and Andy are happy to
answer any questions that you may have, and both of them will be on the trip.
