How do I know a repair shop is actually using genuine parts?
The short answer
Ask which parts grade the shop is fitting, and get that word in writing before any work starts. Genuine has no fixed meaning at an independent counter, but a grade name does, and it can be checked against the invoice and the warranty afterwards. iFixpert is an independent repair service, not an authorised service provider, so it names the grade of the part it fits rather than calling it genuine.
What genuine actually means
Outside a manufacturer's own service programme, genuine is a sales word rather than a specification, and nothing stops a shop using it about a part the manufacturer never made. A grade name behaves differently. It points at one part at one price, and a shop that has written it down can be held to it. A price quoted with no grade beside it cannot be compared with another shop's price either, because you do not know whether the two numbers are for the same part. iFixpert does not call any part it fits genuine. It names the grade instead: OEM, OLED or Compatible, which some shops call Copy.
Check the grade again after the repair
A grade named on the quote and missing from the invoice is a grade you were told about, not one you were sold. Ask for the word on the paperwork you keep, not only on the quote you were shown. The warranty is the second cross-check, because the term a shop will put in writing follows the part it actually fitted. A high grade claimed next to a thin written warranty is two claims that disagree. At iFixpert the term depends on the repair and the grade you chose, and the warranty policy sets out what it covers.
You cannot tell a grade by looking
A sealed box tells you the part is new and unused. It does not tell you who made the panel inside it, and the old part handed back to you tells you a swap happened, not what replaced it. Both are worth having, and neither is the check. The check is the written grade, the invoice that repeats it, and the warranty that has to survive it. iFixpert opens the new part in front of you and returns the old one, and still names the grade in writing, because only the written record can be read back months later.
Ask any shop these four things
- Are you authorised by the manufacturer for this repair, and can you show me that in writing?
- Which grade is this part, and what would the next grade up change about the price and the warranty?
- If the fitted part turns out to be a different grade than the one quoted, what happens then?
- Does the warranty cover parts and labour, and where do I take a claim?
Where to go next
People also ask
Last reviewed 2026-09-06