Continued from front cover…
will not stop in its efforts to compel the automobile
manufacturer community to eliminate decades old data
restrictions and provide professional automotive recy-
clers with access to the same part numbers that the
automakers provide to their dealer networks, the insur-
ance industry and the collision repair community.
General Motors (GM) is reporting to industry press that
the manufacturer is wading into new territory in the ef-
fort to find all of its recalled ignition switches. Accord-
ing to GM's Vice President of North American Cus-
tomer Care and Aftersales, GM has "used extraordi-
nary tactics that the company has never pursued be-
fore including contracting with third-party companies to
find switches from salvage yards."
Not long after GM issued these statements, ARA be-
came aware of notices being received by ARA mem-
bers from a third party contrac-
tor explaining that it had been
hired by GM to
"coordinate
the purchase and return of
certain used parts, which
are subject to a product
safety ignition switch recall, from salvage yards."
Information provided to the yards' parts sales manag-
ers not only included the make, model and year of the
vehicles subject to the recall but also detailed the spe-
cific part numbers, which the letter stated, "are pro-
vided so the manager can identify the parts being re-
called."
It comes as no surprise to ARA and its members of
course, that the manufacturer knows well the hurdles
that professional automotive recyclers must routinely
go through to correctly identify parts without specific
part numbers.
In the past several months, ARA has met with several
automakers to discuss the need for professional auto-
motive recyclers' access to parts numbers on a routine
basis to correctly identify OEM recycled parts. Only
with this information can recyclers determine the ap-
propriate path for OEM recycled parts in the parts sup-
ply chain.
ARA will continue to educate the industry about the
critical role professional automotive recyclers play in
the distribution of recycled OEM parts and how crucial
it is for recyclers to have part numbers when making
supply chain decisions.
Recyclers News Press
Page 16
GM Contracts with Third-Party Companies to
Buy Recalled Ignition Switches from
Automotive Recyclers
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) has unveiled a new, free, online
search tool consumers and dealers can
use to find out if a vehicle is directly im-
pacted by a recall. The new tool is avail-
able on:
and
all you need to do is enter the VIN.
