Effects of using Counterfeit spare parts vs genuine spare parts.

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All around the world, customs authorities are searching for fake brand products aka counterfeiters. Time and time again counterfeiters are using the good name of Mercedes Benz for their illegal business. Sometimes, customs authorities require assistance from genuine product manufacturers to help differentiate between genuine, and or copied parts.

Counterfeiters are often well made, but however; that doesn’t reveal anything about the technical properties of the product in meeting the safety requirements of the manufacturer. It is in those somewhat minor differences that the greatest risks to customers safety lie.

So, how much risk is really involved here? To find that out, development engineers at Mercedes Benz teamed up with the brand protection team to examine counterfeits. Whereas with some counterfeits, technical limitations became apparent right away during initial testing. More copies of replacement parts had to go under more comprehensive product tests.

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Experimental Evidence

The replacement parts were put on a road test that highlighted that, although the counterfeiters may look similar, their standard for safety fails to meet up with the general safety standards of Mercedes Benz. The experiments went from road tests to bench tests which pointed out the dangers presented by these counterfeit products. The conclusion of these experiments as you will later on realize, broke the mist of the fact that counterfeit replacement parts jeopardize not only the trademark but also pose a serious threat to the customers' safety.

1. Tire rod test

Tire rods we set on the test bench and set up into vibrations for several hours. The test shew that the fake tire rods had a considerably reduced level of durability when compared against the genuine tire rode. As a result, even when a low level of pressure is applied to these copied parts, they suffer significant deformation, something that ultimately leads to the early onset of cracks and fractures.

2.Road Test

As no one can accurately predict what would happen in such an instance, a road test was carried out. In the road test two car where used, one with genuine parts and the other with fake parts. In the test, the car had to evade an obstacle along its path before getting back along the path ahead of on coming traffic. The test vehicle with the fully functioning genuine tire rod get through the challenge without any problems. The same maneuver was effected again, but this time around, with fake tire rods. The test bench with fake tire rods broke when exposed to high loads which could be of detrimental consequences to a customer on the real busy roads. Even in real life, an experienced driver will have problems keeping the car under control.

Top quality for optimum performance

Genuine Parts have proven to be of better quality, safety and reliability. The durability of the Genuine Parts alone ensures outstanding value for money. That rings as true as steel particularly for a Mercedes. Mercedes-Benz Genuine Parts are state-of-the-art components thanks to precisely defined manufacturer specifications and comprehensive controls. And if you wish, we, as Silver Star can professionally install them for you.

In the economical and Eco-friendly alternative: Mercedes-Benz Genuine Re-manufactured Parts. Furthermore, Mercedes-Benz always has over 340,000 flawless and reliable used parts available. The online order service Mercedes-Benz WebParts allows you to order Genuine Parts and Genuine Re-manufactured Parts conveniently from your local authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer.

Counterfeit spare parts are a safety hazard

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For us, your safety is our first priority. That's why we consistently take action against counterfeit products. Unlike other counterfeit products, fake spare parts endanger more than just the brand owner's reputation and profits, but much importantly, the customers' safety, which is everything to us.

Deceptively realistic

At first sight, genuine and pirate spare parts very often look virtually identical. Thus a fake spare part can sometimes hardly be told apart from a Mercedes-Benz GenuinePart – and yet it can be extremely dangerous. Because what distinguishes them may have serious consequences for your safety. This is clearly evidenced through the exhaustive product testing that Daimler regularly carries out on different fake products. The results are shocking. Which is why a Mercedes-Benz team operating worldwide takes action against product pirates and tracks down imitations.

Deceptive Labels

Even if it says 'Mercedes-Benz', unfortunately you're not always getting genuine Mercedes-Benz product. Counterfeiters are increasingly specializing in copying vehicle replacement parts. More and more often this practice extends to safety-relevant parts such as brake linings, windscreen wipers, suspension components or filters. The counterfeit parts are often deceptively real, to the point that not even experts can easily identify them at first glance.

Criminal schemes

The counterfeiting business is now backed by a gigantic criminal industry that causes major economic damage: the counterfeiters pay no taxes, pay no attention to working conditions and endanger jobs with the original parts manufacturers. These non-genuine parts not only contribute to financial losses but also pose a safety risk. We regularly test various counterfeits against Mercedes-Benz GenuineParts. The results are shocking: for instance, counterfeit brake pads can increase the braking distance by up to at most 15 metres in a waste case scenario and failure of the counterfeit product can, in other cases has led to severe accident.

You can steer clear of counterfeit products and the resulting risks by going to your authorized Mercedes-Benz dealer or service partner. That way you can be certain that you're receiving Mercedes-Benz quality – from GenuineParts through to professional installation.

This is how you can protect yourself

In many cases a fake can hardly be told apart from a genuine spare part, and its price is not a safe criterion, either. However, you can be careful whom you get the spare parts from.

Always trust your Mercedes service partner for Mercedes Genuine Parts.

Be careful of dubious products or questionable offers. Counterfeit products are often offered on the Internet. Highly visible and aggressively-advertised offers can often be an indication that you are in the presence of fake products.