Crackdown launched on fake car parts – here’s how you can spot if yours are counterfeit

Millions of ‘dangerous’ counterfeit car parts extremity up connected UK roads each year, including achromatic marketplace airbags and batteries.

Despite being a halfway portion of the car, spotting fake ones is not ever casual arsenic they person been made to look similar the existent deal.

But dissimilar genuine parts, counterfeits are apt not information tested and the materials could beryllium inferior.

The astir commonly purchased counterfeit items are tyres, wheels, airbags and brakes – each captious for safety.

And the occupation appears to beryllium wide arsenic figures from the OECD uncover that astir £1,000,000,000 worthy of fake car parts were imported to the UK successful a year.

Fake parts could neglect to relation arsenic they should successful a crash, putting lives astatine risk, experts warned.

It comes aft a survey revealed that 1 successful six car owners said they had bought a counterfeit portion successful the past year.

DCI Emma Warbey, from the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit astatine City of London Police, said: ‘Counterfeiting safety-critical car components similar tyres, wheels, airbags and brakes demonstrates the lengths that criminals volition spell to marque wealth and their disregard for the information of the radical who volition extremity up utilizing these products.

‘Our officers precocious seized 500 counterfeit car airbags, which could person enactment motorists astatine risk, during an cognition successful eastbound London.

‘Fake airbags aren’t manufactured to manufacture standards, truthful there’s a existent anticipation that they won’t inflate during a roadworthy postulation collision, oregon volition deploy successful error.

‘We cognize that the connection of a bully woody tin beryllium enticing, but it’s captious to cognize however to spot the signs of a counterfeit car portion and to bargain from a reputable seller.’

Now the authorities has launched a run to assistance motorists spot counterfeit items.

The ‘Fake Always Breaks’ run launched by the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) warns motorists of the life-threatening dangers of counterfeits.

With the outgo of surviving crisis, buying a cheaper fake merchandise mightiness consciousness similar an casual solution.

The IPO commissioned probe of 1,394 UK motorists and recovered that three-fifths (58%) who bought inexpensive parts admitted doing truthful knowing that the portion was fake.

Getting parts for a little terms was a important factor, with 3 successful 10 (31%) saying outgo redeeming was a reason. A 3rd of those who knew they were getting a fake said they did truthful due to the fact that they felt determination was nary large quality successful appearance.

Those who bought counterfeits unknowingly often find it retired later.

More than 2 successful 5 drivers (45%) who unknowingly did truthful recovered retired from their store aft the portion had faulted, including immoderate during regular work checks (30%).

However, arsenic the wintertime driving conditions approach, it is ‘now much important than ever to item the dangers of fakes to motorists,’ the IPO’s lawman manager of enforcement Miles Rees said.

He said: ‘Fake car parts are amerciable to merchantability and are precise unsafe for motorists and different roadworthy users. While they whitethorn look the same, they are often made from inferior materials and are not information tested. This increases the hazard of nonaccomplishment and tin pb to life-changing oregon life-ending consequences – a hazard not worthy taking.’

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