Ed Smith said something about using the stolen car's own parts to repair the
cars. For the record, at my family's shop, we only installed new parts direct
from the appropriate dealership parts department unless it was obsolete, in
which case we went to the aftermarket, and if that didn't work, we had a handful
of reputable salvage yards we dealt with for our "good used parts".
Some shops aren't so honest, though, and, yes, I know of cases where someone got
their old parts back ("Odd, this fender is exactly the right color, and it
matches up perfectly without any massaging... oh, look, the VIN etched in it
matches the car!"). Reminds me of calling a local wheel supply house here in
Detroit when I was looking for a spare set of Probe GT alloys to mount race
tires, and the guy on the phone said "I don't have any right now, but if you
really want them, I can get 'em for you in a couple days."
I declined and promptly went out and reinstalled the wheel locks on the car...
Jim Crider
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