Does my insurance company have to use new parts to repair my car?

The insurance company is obligated to restore your vehicle to the same condition it was in before the accident. Because your car was probably not new, the mechanic may use refurbished or reconditioned parts. Sometimes this requires the use of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts and sometimes after-market parts can be used. After-market parts are parts made by a manufacturer other than the original manufacturer. If your vehicle is being repaired with newer parts, your company doesn’t have to pay for this “betterment.” For example, if your vehicle’s transmission is five years old and is damaged due to a covered loss, your insurer would only have to replace it with a five-year-old transmission. If a five-year-old transmission can’t be found, the repair shop could use a new transmission but you’d have to pay the difference between the value of a five-year-old transmission and a new transmission.