ARA takes issue with Subaru policy

The Manassas, Virginia-based Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) has issued a statement expressing “extreme concern” with two recent Subaru of America Inc. position statements regarding repair procedures.

In its position statement on the “Use of Aftermarket Substitute Parts on Subaru Vehicles,” Subaru “strongly recommends” the use of Subaru Genuine Parts in a Subaru Certified Collision Center, according to the ARA.

Additionally, Subaru says it “does not support the use of parts that have been removed, salvaged or recycled from an existing vehicle.” In what the ARA says is in violation of the federal Magnuson Moss Warranty law, Subaru states, “The use of any aftermarket or substitute structural, body, mechanical or electrical repair parts is not covered under the Subaru of America Inc. limited warranty [and] replacement parts limited warranty.”

The ARA says, “The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) expressly states that ‘simply using an aftermarket or recycled part does not void your warranty.’” The ARA cites an FTC Consumer Information memo titled “Auto Warranties and Routine Maintenance,” dated May 2015, for that statement.

Following that guidance, ARA says Subaru “is obligated to honor the warranties of vehicles that have been repaired using aftermarket or recycled parts.”

“Auto manufacturers have become more aggressive in their efforts to force recycled original equipment (ROE) and aftermarket parts out of the market,” comments ARA Executive Director Sandy Blalock. “The tactics stifle competition, greatly increasing costs to consumers, which in turn can also cause more repairable vehicles to be declared [as a] ‘total loss.’” 

It is a path the ARA has been down many times previously, having encountered similar recommendations from other automakers throughout the organization’s history. In a 2019 article published by Recycling Today, Automotive Recycling magazine Editor Caryn Smith writes, “OEM position statements do not acknowledge that recycled auto parts are genuine OEM parts.”

Smith states OEM repair guidelines typically “are sanctioning only the use of ‘new’ OEM auto parts in repairs and explicitly restricting the use of ‘recycled auto parts, which are lumped together with ‘aftermarket’ parts.”

Regarding the most recent Subaru memo, the ARA says it “would point out that Subaru original equipment recycled parts are the very same parts manufactured by Subaru, and have a long history of having been used in making vehicle repairs.”