The Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA) is a non-profit organization, which oversees an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved testing and inspection program that certifies the quality of parts used for auto body repairs. CAPA's goal is to promote price and quality competition in the crash parts industry and thereby reduce the cost of crash repairs to consumers without sacrificing quality. CAPA is not a manufacturing, marketing or sales organization. CAPA simply established standards for competitive (non-car company) cosmetic replacement parts in order to ensure their functional equivalency to car company parts. The program provides consumers, collision repairers, part distributors, and insurance adjusters with an objective method of evaluating the functional equivalency of certified parts to similar parts made by the car companies.

CAPA was set up in 1988 as a coalition of consumer advocates, insurance companies, repairers and distributors who wanted to encourage competition in the crash-parts industry in order to assure quality and control consumers' costs. Until the 1970s, only the car companies made crash parts and costs were higher because of their monopoly. CAPA certifies the metal and plastic cosmetic parts that are most commonly damaged in crashes, such as fenders, hoods, door panels, quarter panels, deck lids, pickup beds and sides, bumper covers, side moldings and grilles.

CAPA's policies are set by a 14-member Board of Directors representing auto body shops, consumer groups, insurance companies and part distributors. CAPA has an independent validator who conducts the testing, inspection and compliance aspects of the program. Only competitive auto body parts that meet or exceed CAPA Quality Standards for fit, materials and corrosion resistance are allowed to display the CAPA Quality Seal and are listed in a directory, which is widely available in the crash parts industry. CAPA has a Technical Committee made up of experts in the collision repair and auto body part industries whose role is to review and approve new and existing CAPA standards.

The concept of certification is well accepted. The fact is that most industry professionals or the average consumer cannot look at a product and make an informed judgment as to its quality or performance. Thousands of products are certified to exacting standards that protect consumers. One of the most accepted uses of certification is for electrical products. In the early 1900's the insurance industry set up Underwriters Laboratory (UL) for the purpose of certifying the safety of electrical products after several fires were attributed to poor quality. Although well intentioned in the beginning as a volunteer program, the success of UL did not really come about until UL certification was required by state and local codes and later federal law at no cost to the states. The CAPA certification program is modeled after UL, but there is one significant difference. Certification of aftermarket crash parts is not required. Compliance with part certification is strictly voluntary.

Encouraging the use of an independent, third-party, ANSI-approved standards developer or developers would offer consumers the protection they need against poor quality replacement parts, free collision repairers from having to use ill-fitting parts, help insurers know that the parts being placed on their estimates are good quality, and provide the car companies with legitimate competition.

Special Reports /

Promoting Price and Quality Competition in the Crash Parts Industry

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