They are not that small of a company but that is not relevant.
Many aftermarket vendors list parts like a NSX bumper cover and valence as available as reconditioned parts.
"Reconditioned" bumpers are generally available only for vehicles with very large production numbers since a supply of repairable cores would need to be make them readily available.
These vendors list these NSX parts in their catalogs for "illustrative value" and in fact don't exist nor are they readily available, at least not in my experience.
The vendors are the ones that are supporting the notion of their existence so that the Insurance Adjusters use their database/catalog most often and hopefully increase their market share on the parts they DO have via their representation on a Insurance Appraisal.
If they are listed by a vendor, the appraiser is often required by their company to include them on his estimate.
I have raised this issue with vendors and insurance companies and shown that it does nothing but waste time just to make numbers look good.
A repair shop should have no trouble at all in resolving this to your satifaction. It really is a simple matter for any experienced professional.
The exception is one that can't resolve this.
The implication that repair shops
"are known for selling remanufactured parts and invoicing the insurance company for new parts" and that it is a "big racket" is a nasty generalization.
I don't care for such generalizations about my profession or for that matter when they are made about Lawyers, Doctors, Priests etc., or Bankers either. Such comments are inflammatory and unconstructive when someone is looking for advice.
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www.vincesautobodyworks.com
[This message has been edited by pbassjo (edited 29 January 2003).]