WHY WE LOVE OEM
At Best Body Shop, February is the month of love.
And while most people are thinking about flowers and date nights, we are thinking about something else… safety. The collision industry is full of challenges. Insurance pressure. Parts debates. Financial stress. Hard conversations. We talk a lot about the do’s and don’ts, what to watch out for, and how to protect yourself after an accident.
But this month, we wanted to highlight something different. We wanted to highlight why we love OEM.
What OEM Really Means
OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer.
That means the parts and repair procedures designed by the same engineers who built your vehicle.
Not similar.
Not close enough.
Not recycled.
Original.
When your vehicle is engineered, every panel, weld, bracket, and sensor is designed to work together in a very specific way. Modern vehicles are built to manage energy transfer in a collision. They crumple in certain areas. They protect in others. They deploy airbags based on sensors that rely on proper structural integrity.
If we ignore the manufacturer’s repair procedures, we are guessing.
And guessing has no place in collision repair.
A Story We Will Never Forget
Several years ago, a husband and wife came to us after an accident. As we worked through the damage assessment, the insurance company pushed hard for aftermarket and salvage parts.
The pressure was real.
The financial burden felt heavy.
There was a moment where the husband did not know if he should cave or not. It was a true heart to heart conversation. I told him something simple.
I cannot make this decision for you. But I can give you the information so you can make the best decision for your family.
We walked through the manufacturer repair procedures. We explained how the vehicle manages energy in a crash. We talked about why proper parts and proper methods matter.
He made the decision.
He said, at the end of the day, I want my wife’s car safe. I want my family safe. I want it repaired correctly. If I have to pay out of pocket beyond what insurance covers, then so be it.
We repaired the vehicle following OEM procedures.
Later, insurance reimbursed the difference.
But that is not the part that stays with us.
The Phone Call at 6:30 in the Morning
About six months later, the phone rang early in the morning.
It was the same husband. He was crying.
His wife had been in another collision… in the exact same area that had been repaired.
She walked away.
The car performed exactly as it was designed to. The energy transferred the way it was engineered to. The structure did what it was supposed to do. She had seatbelt burns, which means the restraint system did its job.
He did not call to praise us. He called because he knew he had made the right decision in a pressurized moment. And he was grateful we were there to help guide him through it.
This Is Why We Love OEM
We love OEM because it removes guesswork.
We love OEM because it respects engineering.
We love OEM because it protects families.
When insurance companies push for cheaper alternatives, it can feel like a simple parts debate. But it is not just about parts. It is about performance in the next accident.
If we do not follow manufacturer procedures, we do not truly know how that vehicle will respond in a subsequent collision.
All we did in that repair was follow the guidelines written by the engineers who built the car.
And it mattered.
Our Commitment to You
At Best Body Shop, we are passionate about educating you on your rights as a consumer and the necessities of proper repair.
You deserve to know:
You have the right to choose your repair shop
You have the right to ask about OEM parts
You have the right to understand the repair procedures being used
This February, as we focus on the month of love, this is one of the greatest ways we can show it.
By standing firm.
By educating.
By repairing vehicles the way they were designed to be repaired.
Because when it comes to your family’s safety… close enough is not enough.
That is why we love OEM.