Complaint Review: Geico - New Jersey

dear xclusive     Im a collision repair technician(bodyman).i get ripped off every day by the insurance industry,im paid to install and align auto parts but never paid to (make fit or modify to fit)that is so common with aftermarket parts.Aftermarket parts are NOT as good as oem. IM SORRY that you have been ripped off.With after market parts(made whole)is a lie.

When you purchase your insurance policy you are sent a copy of your family auto policy contract as well as your declaration page. Wether you choose to read your policy is up to you. Unfortunately if you said to a judge that "you did not have time" then that judge would say make time.

Your policy I would assume is in New Jersey but regardless it really doesnt make a diffence. Here is an excerpt straight from the policy in regards to the use of aftermarket parts,

"2. Will Not exceed the prevailing competative price to repair or replace the property at the time of the loss, or any of its parts, including parts from non-original equipment manufactuers, with other like kind and quality and will not include compensatons for any diminution of value that is claimed to result from the loss."

You purchased a policy from GEICO and accepted those terms. Terms stating that GEICO has the right to use like quality (aftermarket) parts and also that GEICO does not have to pay for parts that cost more than said competative parts assuming they are of like quality. You have every right to put an OEM part in your car. If that is the case then GEICO will give you (for example) $200 for a new aftermarket muffler of like quality and then you can purchase the $300 OEM muffler and pay the difference.

This is not a scam or rip-off or anything else you'd like to call it. This is GEICO adhereing to a legally binding contract that you purchased from them.

Mileage doesnt neccessarily effect the payout on a part. In some sense it does, but it doesnt at the same time. The adjuster looks at the part and factors in mileage and other things but the real factor that determines how much you get for a part is its pre-accident condition.

Actually, to the totally honest....if you had a rusty muffler then GEICO only has to indemnify you for the value of that rusty muffler at the time of the loss. Do they do this? No. They would generally cover an aftermarket muffler in good faith so that you can actually get a muffler to replace the old one without having to pay out of pocket. They could easily say that rusty muffler is only worth $40 and give you $40 and then the rest would be on you - but they dont.

And please...common sense has nothing to do with this. We all know insurance companies aren't always there for YOU. I say this is a human being, not an insurance rep. Common sense would say if your going to read anything that anyone sends you - an insurance policy is probably one of those things. Common sense would say you hear more stories about medical, auto, homeowners etc... insurance companies denying claims for unheard of reasons...so maybe I shoud read the policy....just to make sure.

That is what the ripoff is all about. They are required to return the car to pre-loss condition. The pre-loss condition of the car was that it had OEM parts. How can aftermarket parts do the same job do you mind explaning me that ?

I saw the difference in prices, a 200% difference in the price. I agree that OEM charges for brand name but still how can you match the quality when you make the same part which you less at a price that is 200% less. That doesnt not make sense at all from an engineering point of view.

Then they tell me that they do all this to keep the consumer premiums low. How come other insurances which I am just looking at now actually asking me for less premium and providing OEM parts for a car which is not more than 3 years old ?

And to tell you another thing, alot of states have actually started to to ban aftermarket parts to be used in newer vehcles.

Yeah I agree they might have put this clause in my insurance policy, a 60 page document which I did not have time to read and I got played by geico cuz common sense was the a brand new car should get OEM parts and not dupliacates.

And they told me that they will use OEM parts is not a favor that geico actually did to me, they are required by the law to do so. I am pretty sure if the law doesnt require them to mention that on an appraiser, they would actually hide it from you.

Read your insurance policy.  There is absolutely no provision for them to pay a premium for OEM parts when there are aftermarket parts available that do the same job.  If they had not told you they were aftermarket parts then you would not know the difference.