Ford ends lighting, bumper core return programmes at request of auto body shops and dealers

Repairerdrivennews.com reported that - in a response to requests from auto dealers and repair shops - Ford announced that the company would terminate its lighting and bumper core return programmes beginning 1 June.

“This change will enable dealers and repairers to be more cost competitive and efficient in serving customers,” Ford said in a statement.

Core programme: Eco-friendly, profitable, and hindering third-party reman
Ford in 2012 touted the programme as having “kept 120 million pounds of damaged vehicle parts from landfills since 2003, effectively ending the days when the crack of a headlamp or crunch of a bumper would render useless such components.”

“Most parts that come back to us through the program still have a lot of life left,” Ford recycling and remanufacturing manager Kim Goering said in a statement in 2012. “That makes a strong business case to do whatever we can to extend the life of these components. Even more important, however, is that Ford strongly believes it’s just the right thing to do from an environmental perspective.”

Repairers welcome Ford’s move
Repairers contacted Monday described the programme as an administrative hurdle and its end welcome for their shop.

“When I told my folks in the office, a sigh of relief and overwhelming joy came over the place,” Englewood, Colo.-based Nylund’s Collision Center owner Robert Grieve wrote in an email. “The down side is the reman side of things but that does not really concern me that much. IMO, the benefits outweigh the down side.”

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