One short pay out of three has a part swap on it. Here is what the automakers say about the swaps.
We looked at 312 short pays from collision shops using Reclaimr. On one out of three, the insurer swapped at least one part for an aftermarket, recycled or CAPA part. This guide shows what we found, what the automakers have published about those parts, how insurers respond, and what you can do about a swap.
Reclaimr research · Updated October 23, 2026 · 9 minute read
1 out of 3 short payshad a part the insurer swapped for aftermarket, recycled or CAPA
$400median disputed on the swapped parts, per short pay
1 out of 3 short pays involve a parts dispute
Across 312 rebuttals Reclaimr handled through September 30, 2026, 105 (about 1 out of 3) involved the insurer specifying an aftermarket, recycled or remanufactured part where the shop wrote the manufacturer’s. The median amount in dispute on those parts was $400 per short pay in this period.
Most of the swaps were to new aftermarket parts, with recycled parts close behind. A part carrying a certification mark such as CAPA was in dispute 21% of the time.
All time through September 30, 2026. Share of disputes naming each kind of part.
One dispute often covers several lines of different kinds, such as a recycled headlamp beside a CAPA fog lamp, so the bars add up to more than 100%. Disputes per kind: aftermarket 97, recycled 69, certified 36, reconditioned 5, remanufactured 2.
What the automakers say about non-OEM parts
Most carmakers have published a collision position statement on non-OEM parts. They do not all say the same thing, and the difference matters when you are arguing with an insurance company. Some prohibit the parts outright. Some say they do not approve them. Some only recommend their own. Quote the one that applies to the car in front of you, in its own words, with its own date.
“Recycled, salvaged, aftermarket, reconditioned components, body panels, structural members, bumper reinforcements, wheels, safety restraints, fasteners, cameras and sensors have not been validated by Ford Motor Company to meet Ford Motor Company engineering specifications, and their use may compromise repair integrity and jeopardize occupant safety. Such parts are not approved for use with Ford Motor Company’s repair procedures.”[2]Use of Genuine Ford Original Equipment Parts, October 1, 2025
Stellantis (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram)
Does not approve
“FCA US LLC does not approve of the use of aftermarket or third-party replacement parts. FCA US LLC does not approve of the use of recycled, salvaged, aftermarket or reconditioned parts.”[3]Use of Aftermarket Parts, December 1, 2025
Nissan
Does not approve
“The original parts used on a Nissan automobile are designed and built to provide optimum fit, function, safety, and structural integrity. For this reason, Nissan North America DOES NOT approve of the use of aftermarket, gray market, or imitation parts.”[4]Use of Non-OEM Parts on Nissan Vehicles (NPSB-16-594), June 20, 2016
“When collision repairs are necessary, American Honda recommends that any repairs be performed by an experienced professional using a Honda body repair manual and Honda Genuine original equipment replacement parts designated for use in the specific Honda vehicle being repaired, including all mechanical and electrical parts, body panels, and structural components.”[7]Use of Aftermarket / Alternative Parts on Honda Vehicles, March 18, 2008
Read the strength label, not just the headline. “Strictly prohibits” is a stronger sentence to put in front of an adjuster than “recommends against”, and a rebuttal that overstates a statement is easier to dismiss than one that quotes it exactly. Every statement above is public and published by the automaker, so the adjuster can open it too.
The automakers on cheaper parts
The part might be cheaper but automakers say it might end up costing more in the end. They go beyond just the part and point to fit, sensors and warranty as reasons the repair needs certain parts. Use the automakers’ own words when you’re writing your rebuttal.
Fit
Stellantis writes that its original parts are “designed and built to provide optimum fit, function, safety and structural integrity” and that aftermarket parts “may not be built to FCA US LLC’s exact design.” A part that does not drop in is hours you did not plan for.[3]
Sensors and safety systems
Ford lists “cameras and sensors” among the parts that have not been validated. GM warns that non-GM reconditioned parts can introduce “unknown variability in ADAS sensor mounting, calibration, and performance.” Toyota notes that sheet metal often called cosmetic “can help send impact energy to the SRS sensors.”[2][1][6]
Warranty
GM states that damage “arising from the installation or presence of non-GM parts” is “not covered under the GM New Vehicle Limited Warranty or GM service plans.” Ford, Honda, Nissan, Subaru and Stellantis publish the same exclusion in their own words.[1]
How insurers respond: the swap, not the denial
Insurers rarely refuse the part outright. On 173 part disputes, the insurer’s own stated position was a substitution in three out of four. The line stays on the estimate, but the part on it is a cheaper type. A silent swap is easy to miss, which is why it is worth reading every part line.
What the insurer said it did with the part
Swapped for a cheaper part type77%Reduced the price14%Denied the part6%Left it off, per their guidelines2%
The insurer’s stated position on each dispute.
Disputes: swapped 134, reduced 25, denied 10, left off 3.
Why do insurers specify non-OEM parts?
Because the policy and the estimating system allow it, and because parts are where repair cost is controlled. In 2025, aftermarket parts were 22.7% of all part replacement dollars on appraisals, against 63.5% for OEM parts, according to CCC’s latest Crash Course report.[8] That is a share of dollars, not of estimates.
It is also not unconditional. The standard many states’ rules are built on is the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ After Market Parts Model Regulation. Section 5, titled “Like Kind and Quality,” reads:
“An insurer shall not require the use of after market parts in the repair of an automobile unless the after market part is at least equal in kind and quality to the original part in terms of fit, quality and performance. Insurers specifying the use of after market parts shall consider the cost of any modifications that may become necessary when making the repair.”[9]
Two things in that short section do real work on an estimate. “Fit” is part of the standard, not an afterthought. And the cost of any modification the part makes necessary is something the insurer is told to consider. Section 6 of the same model also requires the insurer to disclose non-original parts in writing, and says “all after market parts installed on the vehicle shall be clearly identified on the estimate of the repair.”[9]
Know the limit before you lean on it. These rules define the part narrowly. The NAIC model covers “sheet metal or plastic parts that generally constitute the exterior of a motor vehicle, including inner and outer panels.” A headlamp assembly, a park sensor and its bracket, a wiring harness: mostly outside that definition. The automaker statements carry no such limit. They cover the whole vehicle, which is why they do the work on a sensor or a lamp where the regulation does not.
This section summarizes public law for education. Check your own state’s rule. It is not legal advice.
What can you do when the insurer swaps a part?
Read every part line on the insurer’s estimate. Look for LKQ, RCY, Non OEM, CAPA or A/M in the description and a different part number. Three out of four part disputes in our data were swaps like this, not denials.
Quote the automaker for that make, in its own words and with its date. Attach the statement or its link. “GM strictly prohibits” with the document attached beats “the manufacturer recommends” from memory.
Write the labor the swap brings. Inspection, prep, transfer of trim and hardware, fitment and, on a lamp, aiming are not in the published times for a used part (see below). Put each on its own line. CCC ONE flags a missing aim headlamps line when a headlamp is replaced or removed and installed.[17]
Document a wrong part. When your supplier says the part the insurer priced is wrong for the car, put the supplier’s note on the line. In two of the three cases below, the supplier’s note was part of the rebuttal.
Tie sensor-bearing parts to the repair procedure. Bumpers, brackets, grilles and moldings that carry park sensors, radar or cameras have their own rules in the procedure. FCA, for example: “Park Sensors and attachment brackets should not be repaired.”
Quote the procedure as the standard. SCRS, with AASP, ASA and 23 state and regional associations, recognize “published repair procedures, as provided by the Automobile Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM), as the official industry recognized repair standards for collision repair.”[13] I-CAR: the maker’s procedures “are service specifications, not recommendations.”[14] Neither takes a side on which parts to use (I-CAR calls part selection “a business decision that must be agreed upon by all parties”),[15] so pair the procedure with the automaker’s parts statement.
Check your state’s rule. On an exterior panel of a newer car, your state may limit what the insurer can specify, and the NAIC model asks for non-OEM parts to be identified on the estimate.
The estimating system says a used part takes longer. The MOTOR/CCC labor time premise reads: “OPERATION TIMES LISTED ARE BASED ON NEW UNDAMAGED PARTS INSTALLED ON NEW UNDAMAGED VEHICLES AS INDIVIDUAL OPERATIONS. TIME HAS NOT BEEN CONSIDERED FOR ALIGNMENT PULLS, DAMAGE RELATED ACCESS TIME, DAMAGED, USED, REMANUFACTURED OR AFTERMARKET PARTS.”[16] A non-OEM part is priced as if it installs like a new one. The Database Enhancement Gateway adds that an OEM panel and a recycled assembly are different operations.[18]
How Reclaimr helps
When the insurer swaps a part
Reclaimr lines up your estimate against theirs and flags every part line they swapped, reduced or denied, with both amounts and the gap.
For each one, it searches the automaker’s position statements and repair procedures for that make, model and year, alongside the estimating system’s guidance and DEG answers. It holds more than 400 manufacturer position statements and repair bulletins across more than 20 makes.
It writes the rebuttal line by line, with each source quoted. You review it, change what you want, and send it. Nothing goes to the insurer without you.
OEM rear bumper system parts · recycled and CAPA parts · $1,264.37
The insurance company’s substitution of recycled and CAPA rear bumper components, while omitting OEM bumper and sensor-related operations, conflicts with FCA repair requirements for a rear-impact repair on a vehicle equipped with rear park assist, backup camera, passive entry hardware, and bumper-mounted electronics.
FCA requires OEM-compliant rear bumper repairs on ADAS-equipped vehicles, including proper sensor handling, post-repair scanning, functional validation, and use of genuine Mopar replacement parts rather than aftermarket, recycled, salvaged, or reconditioned substitutes.
Supporting documentation
FCA repair procedure for this vehicle (page 36): “FCA US LLC does not approve of the use of aftermarket, third-party replacement parts, recycled, salvaged, aftermarket or reconditioned parts.”
Same procedure (page 35): “Park Sensors and attachment brackets should not be repaired.”
Insurance line descriptions: “Non OEM CAPA Bumper bracket” and “RCY bumper assy; painted +25%”
Shop line note: “BUMPER CALLED OUT ON EOR IS INCORRECT FOR VEHICLE NO QUOTE … $1300.00 cost for correct style bumperassy”
We respectfully request payment for the OEM rear bumper assembly and all related OEM rear bumper components, together with the denied park sensor handling operations, so this ADAS-equipped rear bumper system can be restored in compliance with FCA procedures.
Excerpt from the real Reclaimr rebuttal behind case 2 below, on a 2019 Ram 1500 Big Horn, as written. Shortened: the safety paragraph, the line references and four of the nine sources are left out.
Three real short pays
Case 1 · Recycled headlamp
2021 Porsche 911 Carrera S
The shop wrote
ReplRT Headlamp assy w/black trim$10,935.09
Insurer’s first estimate
ReplLKQ RT Headlamp assy$3,249.09
Swapped to recycled
Reclaimr wrote
“The insurance company’s LKQ substitution for the right headlamp conflicts with estimating premises and introduces additional, non-included operations and risks on a late-model Porsche.”
Cited: the MOTOR/CCC labor time premise (DEG Inquiry 13004) and CCC ONE guideline 116
Revised estimate
ReplRT Headlamp assy w/black trim$10,935.03
Switched to OEM
The Porsche lamp, at the shop’s price, on the insurer’s revised estimate. That one line moved $7,686.
Case 2 · Recycled and CAPA bumper parts
2019 Ram 1500 Big Horn
The shop wrote
ReplBumper primed w/dual exh$1,105.50
ReplBumper bracket$82.35
ReplStep pad w/o rear fog Class IV hitch$383.00
Insurer’s first estimate
ReplRCY bumper assy; painted +25%$638.50
ReplNon OEM CAPA Bumper bracket$76.70
ReplNon OEM CAPA Step pad w/o rear fog Class IV hitch$354.00
Swapped to recycled and CAPA
Reclaimr wrote
“Using recycled/CAPA bumper-system components on a rear-impact repair can affect park assist operation, sensor bracket integrity, bumper fit, passive-entry hardware routing, and post-repair system performance.”
Cited: the FCA repair procedure for this vehicle and the shop’s supplier note
Revised estimate
ReplBumper primed w/dual exh$1,105.50
ReplBumper bracket$82.35
ReplStep pad w/o rear fog Class IV hitch$383.00
Switched to OEM
Bumper, bracket, step pad and three valance panels on genuine Mopar part numbers, on the insurer’s revised estimate.
Case 3 · Recycled molding, wrong part
2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee High Altitude
The shop wrote
ReplRT Rocker molding w/body color code MRV$423.00
Insurer’s first estimate
ReplRCY RT Rocker molding w/body color code MRV +25%$175.00
Swapped to recycled
Reclaimr wrote
“The insurer approved recycled pricing for a black textured molding even though the vehicle requires a painted MRV body-color molding, making the allowance neither like kind nor quality.”
Cited: the Mopar repair procedure and the shop’s supplier note: “Part quoted is for a black texture molding not a PTM.”
Revised estimate
ReplRT Rocker molding w/body color code MRB$423.00
Switched to OEM
The Mopar molding, at the shop’s $423, on the insurer’s revised estimate.
Real cases from shops using Reclaimr. Shop, customer, claim and insurer details removed. Estimate lines and Reclaimr’s text are shown as written. Each case shows the insurer’s revised estimate, not the payment.
Questions shops ask
Can an insurer require aftermarket parts on a repair?
It depends on the policy and the state, so check your own state’s rule. The model many state rules are built on, the NAIC After Market Parts Model Regulation, says an insurer “shall not require the use of after market parts in the repair of an automobile unless the after market part is at least equal in kind and quality to the original part in terms of fit, quality and performance,” and that it “shall consider the cost of any modifications that may become necessary when making the repair.”[9] Some states restrict aftermarket parts on newer vehicles, including New Hampshire, West Virginia and Tennessee.[10][11][12] The automaker’s published statement applies whatever the policy says, which is why it belongs on the file. None of this is legal advice.
Which automakers prohibit aftermarket parts?
GM “strictly prohibits” salvage, recycled/used and non-Genuine aftermarket parts on its vehicles. Ford says recycled, salvaged, aftermarket and reconditioned parts “are not approved for use with Ford Motor Company’s repair procedures.” Stellantis (FCA US), Nissan and Subaru say they do not approve them. Toyota and Honda recommend their own genuine parts.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7] Quote the statement for the make on the estimate, in its own words.
Is a CAPA-certified part the same as an OEM part?
No. A certification mark comes from a third-party program, not from the company that built the car, and none of the automaker statements above makes an exception for a certified part. CAPA describes itself as “established in the public interest in 1987 to set up and oversee a testing program to assure the suitability and quality of automotive replacement parts.”[19] NSF announced it would “discontinue its Automotive Parts Certification program and affiliated automotive certification and registration programs, effective September 30, 2019”; parts made after that date are not NSF certified, though parts made on or before it stay certified for the life of the part.[20] In our data, 36 of 173 part disputes involved a part labeled CAPA, NSF or QRP.
What is the difference between aftermarket, recycled, LKQ, reconditioned and remanufactured?
Aftermarket means new, made by someone other than the carmaker. Recycled, used, LKQ and salvage all mean a part taken off another vehicle. Reconditioned means repaired, re-machined or refinished back toward usable condition. Remanufactured means rebuilt to the rebuilder’s standard. The automaker statements name them separately, so quote the clause that covers the exact type on the insurer’s estimate.
Does a recycled part add labor the estimate does not pay for?
The estimating system says so itself. Its published labor time premise states that operation times are based on new, undamaged parts installed on new, undamaged vehicles, and that removal and replacement of exchanged or used parts is not considered.[16] The Database Enhancement Gateway calls replacing an OEM panel and replacing a recycled assembly “apples and oranges” comparisons, and says to follow the recycled estimating guide for your system.[18] Inspection, prep, transfer of trim and hardware, fitment and aiming are the usual extras.
How often do insurers specify non-OEM parts?
In our data, one short pay out of three has at least one: 105 of the 312 rebuttals Reclaimr handled through September 30, 2026, with a median of $400 in dispute on those parts per short pay. Across the industry, aftermarket parts were 22.7% of part replacement dollars on appraisals in 2025.[8]
Sources and method
Reclaimr data: 312 short-pay cases with a Reclaimr rebuttal at collision shops using Reclaimr, all time through September 30, 2026, excluding test and internal accounts and counting each case’s current rebuttal once. A dispute is one line item (or group of lines) Reclaimr found between the shop’s estimate and the insurer’s. A part dispute counts when the insurer specified an aftermarket, non-OEM, CAPA, NSF or QRP certified, recycled, used, LKQ, salvage, reconditioned or remanufactured part, identified from the insurer’s side of the dispute and checked by hand on a random sample of 40 disputes (no false matches, one miss). Dollars are the shop amount minus the insurer amount on those lines, counting only lines where the shop was higher. Kinds of part overlap. “What the insurer said it did” is the insurer’s stated position on each dispute. The case studies compare the disputed line on the insurer’s estimate before the rebuttal with the same line on its next estimate; they show the revised estimate, not payment. Two of the three are from the same shop. Industry and legal figures are from the sources below.
General Motors, “Use of Genuine GM Original Equipment Parts” position statement (August 19, 2026). gmparts.com
Ford Motor Company, “Use of Genuine Ford Original Equipment Parts” position statement (October 1, 2025). fordcrashparts.com
FCA US LLC, “Use of Aftermarket Parts” position statement (December 1, 2025). moparrepairconnect.com
Nissan North America, “Use of Non-OEM Parts on Nissan Vehicles,” NPSB-16-594 (June 20, 2016). nissanusa.com
Subaru of America, “Use of Aftermarket Substitute Parts on Subaru Vehicles” (August 2021). copy at oem1stop.com
Toyota Collision Repair Information Bulletin 180, “Use of Non-OEM Parts on Toyota Vehicles” (revised December 2014). copy at oemrepairinfo.ca
American Honda, “Use of Aftermarket / Alternative Parts on Honda Vehicles” (March 18, 2008). techinfo.honda.com
“CCC report shows shift to DRP and AI appraisals,” Repairer Driven News, April 10, 2026, reporting CCC Intelligent Solutions’ Crash Course 2026 (2025 data). repairerdrivennews.com
National Association of Insurance Commissioners, After Market Parts Model Regulation, Model #891, Sections 2, 5 and 6 (April 2000 edition). naic.org
