Ford Continues War on Aftermarket Parts

After back in November 2010 American manufacturer Ford managed to draw a lot of critic from the Automotive Body Parts Association (ABPA), following a report in which it criticized the quality of the aftermarket parts, the auto maker is at it again, this time targeting “every single component in each and every Ford.”

More precisely, the car maker militates for the use of genuine parts for the vehicles, despite their higher overall cost. The main reasons customers should choose genuine are, according to Ford, quality, safety, availability and warranty.

"There are a lot of companies out there offering non-original replacement parts for our vehicles but the case for specifying Ford parts is overwhelming,” said John Cooper, operations director of Ford Customer Service Division.

“Our parts are designed to original Ford specifications and manufactured to the precise tolerances on the same production line as the factory-fitted originals. That means they deliver the same quality standard and have the same predictable high levels of performance."

According to Ford, the use of non-genuine parts can severely reduce the safety of the vehicle, although it doesn't provide any numbers to back that otherwise obvious claim.(Lacking any “qualitative or quantitative information” was exactly what ABPA accused Ford of when it released the previous report last year).

“We’re the only company that brands these parts with the Ford logo. After an accident, you wonder if your vehicle will ever look the same again,” emphasizes Cooper. “Well, as long as your repairer uses only our original parts, it will.”