Kentwood, MI – The Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA), an independent non-profit standard-setting and certification organization for automotive crash parts, announces that it has certified more than 128 million aftermarket parts since 1990. Representative samples of the parts were tested and certified to CAPA’s standards by a third party, independent test laboratory.

“For over 30 years, CAPA’s priority has always been to ensure that high quality, certified aftermarket parts are an option for insurers, repairers, and ultimately consumers,” said Clark Plucinski, CAPA chairman. “Without these high quality alternatives to OEM parts, it is likely that more vehicles would be considered ‘totaled’ simply because they would be too expensive to repair using only OEM parts, and that’s not good for consumers or the collision repair industry.

“We are proud to continue to work with the dedicated manufacturers who chose to obtain CAPA certification for their parts. This is especially true for manufacturers whose products fall under newer CAPA standards for which the market may not be fully developed. These are the manufacturers looking forward and anticipating the future needs of the industry,” Plucinski continued.

CAPA currently has 14 standards for the certification of aftermarket parts:

• CAPA 101 Metal Parts: Fenders, hoods – cosmetic parts on the exterior of the vehicle
• CAPA 201 Plastic Parts: Bumper fascia, grilles – cosmetic parts on the exterior of the vehicle
• CAPA 202 Nonwoven Fabric: Parts Hood liners, fender liners
• CAPA 301 Lighting Parts: Headlamps, taillamps, turn signal lamps – exterior vehicle lighting
• CAPA 401 Attachment Parts: Bumper brackets, mounting brackets, hinges
• CAPA 402 Front Support Parts: Radiator supports, upper and lower tie bars
• CAPA 501 Bumper Parts: Bumpers, reinforcement bars, energy absorbers
• CAPA 601 Radiators: Radiators
• CAPA 602 Air Conditioning Condensers: AC condensers
• CAPA 701 Exterior Mirrors: Passenger & driver side mirror assemblies, mirror glass, housings
• CAPA 702 Exterior Cameras: Rearview and sideview cameras
• CAPA 703 Sensors: Ultrasonic part distance control sensors
• CAPA 801 Automotive Glass: Windshields
• CAPA 901 Replica Wheels: Replica wheels

Automotive aftermarket (AM) parts are those sold for use after the vehicle enters the marketplace. There are a variety of types of aftermarket parts including those sold by the car companies under their own brand, independently manufactured parts, recycled, and remanufactured parts. Not all aftermarket parts are certified – car company branded parts are not independently certified, and only a few manufacturers take the steps to have their parts CAPA Certified.

CAPA Certified parts can be identified with a yellow, two-part seal with a unique number and bar code, and are verified to have the same fit, finish, and performance of the car company service part.

About CAPA

The Certified Automotive Parts Association, founded in 1987, is the nation’s only independent, non‐profit certification organization for automotive crash parts whose sole purpose is to ensure that both consumers and the industry have the means to identify high‐quality parts via the CAPA Quality Seal. CAPA is an ANSI‐accredited standards developer for competitive crash repair parts. For more information see CAPAcertified.org.