The Chicago Tribune recently reported a phenomena that provoked another “What the…?” reaction for us. If you’ve never heard about “clip jobs,” you’re not alone. Say that you’ve been in a bad car crash. You expect your insurance company to pay to either have your car repaired to its pre-crash condition or to declare the car a total loss and pay you the car’s value.

But what if, in their not-so-infinite wisdom, the insurance company decides that the best course of action (or, rather, the cheapest course of action) is to take the part of your car that is still in good shape, find another car of the same make and model with the missing part intact, and put the two pieces together. That’s a clip job.

According to the Tribune, no one really knows how many clip jobs are out there, but State Farm just took a position against them, and the American Insurance Association doesn’t have a position one way or another.

There’s little doubt that a clip job can have dire consequences, in no small part because cars are designed for different systems to work in concert in order to protect the passengers. When different parts of vehicles are fused together, that synchronization is off.

Most vehicle manufacturers take a strong stance against clip jobs, including Chrysler, Ford, Toyota/Lexus, Acura, BMW, GM, Honda, and Jaguar.

If you’re in a major crash, you should be sure to ask the body shop how they’re going to repair your vehicle, and go to the mat with your insurance company to avoid a clip job. If you’re in the market for a used car, make sure to check CARFAX and have a reputable mechanic or body specialist look over the vehicle to verify that it hasn’t been subject to a clip job.