Parts rules tighten, DoorDash delivers

GM has rewritten several of its repair position statements with much firmer language, replacing older recommendations with outright bans. The updates say that salvage, recycled, used, or non-GM parts are "strictly prohibited" for collision, structural, and safety-system repairs. The rules reach across ADAS parts like radars and cameras, airbag and restraint systems, bumper fascias on cars with driver-assist tech, and windshield glass.

This continues a steady move GM has made through 2026. Earlier language that called secondary-market ADAS parts "not recommended" became "not approved," and now reads "not approved and strictly prohibited." The company frames its stance around safety, arguing that many of its parts function as safety components that must be restored to pre-loss condition using approved parts and calibration steps.

Why it matters: This may signal where the whole industry is heading as more automakers lean on stronger language to define acceptable repairs. For collision shops, it could narrow the room to use aftermarket or recycled parts on GM safety systems, which affects both parts sourcing and how you document a repair. For some shops, it is worth considering how OEM parts requirements change your estimates, your margins, and your conversations with insurers.

DoorDash is expanding into auto parts, partnering with AutoParts.com to deliver more than 200,000 parts matched to a car's year, make, and model, with most orders arriving in under an hour. The notable part is where the parts come from. Not AutoZone, O'Reilly, or Advance Auto, but major independently owned parts retailers. The big chains already built their own fast-delivery networks, so they neither needed nor joined this deal.

Underneath the convenience story is a bet on do-it-yourself work. DoorDash cited a 2025 survey finding that about one in three consumers has shifted from professional to DIY oil changes, with oil and filter sales rising two years running. That trend tracks with rising shop labor rates and a shrinking number of physical parts counters, the same pressure behind recent parts-store closures and the Pep Boys sale.

Why it matters: This could reinforce the slow drift of simpler jobs, batteries, wipers, oil changes, away from shops and toward driveways. There is also a quieter angle worth weighing. A year-make-model match is not the same as matching the exact car, and a delivery driver is not a counter veteran who catches trim and engine mismatches. For some shops, this might mean more customers arriving with the wrong self-bought part, which can be a headache or an opening, depending on how you handle it.

O'Reilly reported second-quarter earnings of $0.86 per share, up 10.3% from a year ago, with revenue up 8.1% to $4.89 billion. Same-store sales rose 6%, an acceleration from 4.1% a year earlier, with growth across both the professional and do-it-yourself sides of the business. The company opened 51 stores in the quarter and ended June with 6,695 locations.

The standout is the professional channel. Sales to professional service providers rose 12.5% to $2.47 billion and now make up slightly more than half of quarterly revenue, outpacing DIY growth.

Why it matters: This may signal that shops are still spending steadily on parts even as consumers pull back on bigger discretionary work. When a major supplier's fastest growth comes from its professional customers, it suggests repair demand on the shop side remains healthy. For some shops, it is worth considering that strong parts-supplier results often reflect the same steady bay traffic you are seeing, and can be a useful read on where the market is heading.

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🎓 ASE held its 16th annual instructor training conference in Frisco, Texas, offering more than 20 hours of technical training, with a keynote on the technician shortage.

🚐 Mobile Auto Repair Pros expanded its on-site mechanic service across the Athens, Georgia area, bringing diagnostics and common repairs to homes and workplaces.

⚖️ Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker signed a pair of bills letting state regulators review and challenge home and auto insurance rate hikes they deem excessive, though insurers warn the rules could raise costs and reduce coverage options.