Is there a way to know if all the replacement parts was genuine?

Two thoughts:

Make it clear you intend to see invoices from a Toyota dealer for parts. (I can think of no way to be sure the dealership does not defraud the body shop)

The only new part likely to be easily available in the aftermarket is the windshield.

 

Apologies to any Toyota employees in advance...
While original parts are one way to ensure a standard of quality, it's not the only way. Some dealers exercise a virtual monopoly on original parts and charge exorbitant prices for them. Reputable parts dealers and manufacturers exist, and often sell the same item as the dealers, sometimes manufactured in the same plants, for a much more reasonable price.

Everyone gets along much better with a bit of transparency.

 

If you're involved in an accident, you can choose any body shop to fix your car. The insurance company cannot dictate where you have to go. It's the job of the adjuster to work with the shop to get to an agreed upon price for the repair.

That being said, make certain you communicate you want only genuine Toyota parts to fix the car. I don't think any body shop would install inferior parts after you make that request (in writing on the estimate). There would be too much of a liability to cheat you out of a few bucks.

I had one of my cars repaired recently, the shop put in an OEM used headlight, the insurance company would not pay for a new headlight, but it was OEM and looked new.

 

In my experience, substandard auto parts are a relative rarity. In fact, I've found some third-party components superior to the OEM's. No one wants to get sued into the stone age, therefore any reputable supplier of auto parts should be a safe bet. If you've never heard of a supplier, or can't find warranty information on a manufacturer's website, or even a website at all, steer clear.

It's not fair to label all alternative automotive parts suppliers as knock-offs.

 

This is a lease car, why would you care if the repair part is OEM or aftermarket. This is not your car anyway.
The insurance pays for the repair, the money does not come from your pocket even the shop gets a bigger bite (profit) of the repair bill.

 

Some people just have to find things to worry about.

 

Passing the buck eventually makes everyone suffer.

 

There is why mechanics are good career, I have seem a few living in half million dollar homes.

 

In my ideal world, an honest mechanic makes a good living, not a great one.

 

Are you kidding me? Any skilled trade should be able to make good money, it's a business!

 

Good money = good living.

But a great living? Makes you wonder where it came from. My wallet?

 

Yes your wallet, if you are their customer. That's how a good business operates....it should be very profitable. Think of Walmart and Costco.....low prices with many repeat customers.

 

I wouldn't fret over the source for a plastic trim piece, as long as it looks good. FWIW, depending on your insurance particulars, the repairer can actually be forced to use salvage parts, for heavy suspension components, etc.

 

Just as an off-topic aside, in the San Francisco Bay Area, there is no such thing as $500,000 house. My late mother-in-law's 60-year-old three bedroom tract home will be going for something like $1.7M when we put it on the market.

 

If your insurer is recommending a particular shop, ask if between them they guarantee the repairs as long as you own the car. Or, in your case, they should guarantee that the car is acceptable to the lessor when it is returned at the end of the lease. You should not have to pay for anything connected with this accident at the end of the lease, as you would for dings, wheel damage, etc. Is this your own insurer, (your fault) or that of another party? If it is someone else's insurer, you can threaten to use your own coverage and have them settle with the other company. BTW, I believe it is common for insurers to require body shops to use and refinish used body parts and sometimes aftermarket parts if the specs match OEM parts. Again, the question is are they willing to back it up in writing. My Auto Club policy does.

 

I think the O.P. implied that it was the lessor that required any repairs to be done with OEM parts, as a contractual obligation. If so, all he needs to do it get an affidavit from the body shop that OEM parts were used. They can't expect more than that.

 

I didn't get that from what he wrote, however I put that in my post about satisfying the lessor, since he wouldn't be the recipient of lifetime guaranteed work. The sentence he put about "must be OEM" sounded like the repair shop was insisting on them, thus the higher estimate. Not totally clear on what his story is.........

 

You are right in the Bay Area, but come and look in Sacramento. The median home price is $270K.
So the mechanics in the Bay Area have to make even more money in order to make the mortgage payment.
My brother's home in Redwood City is now worth $3M+, he paid 750K in 97.

 

What a boring forum this would be, if no one ever strayed from the topic from time to time.