Dodgy Dealings

[Assassin]

It would appear the fake parts from the automotive industry have filtered through from the automotive industry and many are reaching the industrial/marine engine sectors and many are finding their way into legitimate dealers stocks.

These components look the same as original equipment and while they were originally confined to the fast turnover service/consumable parts, they appear to be getting creative in their forged components and are producing forged components such as cylinder heads and pistons for example. While most come from dodgy online dealers they are getting into the reputable dealers supply chain and being sold as original components, so beware.

I suggest the following: most of us carry spares so keep your receipts for these components as these state where and when they were purchased, keep a separate service log stating where and when you fitted them to your engines, the hours when they were fitted, and the hours when (if you get a dodgy part) when it failed.
By keeping such a log you have comeback against the supplying dealer and it is there responsibility to replace any financial losses and keeping the evidence in detail reinforces any case you may bring if you have to resort to proceedings against them.

 

[rafiki_]

Thanks for the warning. Can you be more specific on the parts?

 

[jfm]

...it is there responsibility to replace any financial losses and keeping the evidence in detail reinforces any case you may bring if you have to resort to proceedings against them.

Typically there will be a clause in the contracts saying that the supplier's liability is limited to the cost of the item sold, so supplier isn't liable for consequential losses etc. Typically such clauses will be valid in the UK, ie will be upheld by the courts. Caveat emptor. Fraud of course is another matter but you'll have a tough time getting redress

 

[Sailorsam101]

This has been going on in the bike world for ages..lots and lots of expensive motorbike chains are actually cheap crap that fail in a bike way quickly.

Always buy critical parts from a known good UK supplier...simple as that.

 

[Assassin]

Rafiki

In a word, no.

It would appear these gangs make a huge batch of dodgy parts and dispose of them in a variety of ways then move onto making something totally different, dispose of them, and the circle continues. They appear to know how to avoid detection by batch making and moving on. making it difficult to trace them.

 

[Assassin]

Typically there will be a clause in the contracts saying that the supplier's liability is limited to the cost of the item sold, so supplier isn't liable for consequential losses etc. Typically such clauses will be valid in the UK, ie will be upheld by the courts. Caveat emptor. Fraud of course is another matter but you'll have a tough time getting redress

An interesting point and one which is such a grey area currently, due to the interpretations of English law.

From what I understand of a few recent cases this is being interpreted in different ways by differing courts and it would suggest they are favouring the claimant in such cases by considering consumer legislation which says a product must be of a specific quality and appear bring this into play.

I know of one case (not in great detail unfortunately) in which they agreed on arbitration and the arbitrator ruled that as no contract is in place other than an implied one, so claimant could not make an informed decision as they were not aware of the contractual obligations and with a party not being able to make an informed decision there could be no meeting of the minds or a valid contract between.

It does make it very interesting with these different interpretations.

 

[superheat6k]

To amplify JFM's comments, it is hardly reasonable to expect a parts supplier to stump up if the part concerned is not installed by a bona fide professional, and there hangs a very big problem with any claim against a supplier when you would have to show it was properly and diligently installed, but still failed.

In many cases the detailed instructions for installing a part will simply not be available because manufacturers keep many such techniques strictly private.

If you are following someone else's manual then you are not going to succeed in proving anything.

If you wanted to take on a maker of say a pump, you would be put to to show on balance of probabilities that not only did you have access to and reasonably followed the OE makers instructions, but that you took and recorded a reasonably detailed record of what you were fixing, e.g, photos, notes, torque settings of any bolts, use of the correct locking compounds, etc.

I would add that many pattern parts are of superior quality to OE supplied parts, after all many parts are not made by the OEM, e.g. filters, belts, gaskets, but are instead often made by the same lime as the pattern item, and baked with the OEMs part label.

This is certainly the case in the remanufacturing industry I work in. Yes do parts do occasionally crop up, but sadly human error at the preparation or assembly stage is a far more common cause of premature machine failure than a dodgy part.

 

[Jamesuk]

What are you buying?