Ways to tell original vs. fake car parts – from prices, labels, to physical appearance

There are two types of people in this world – those who made it their life mission to not spend money on fake stuff, EVER; and those who say, “It is what it is”, believing that the divide between fake and genuine goods is no more than just good ol’ capitalism at work.

While it can be true for most superficial items like harmless decals or accessories, one should not apply the same approach when purchasing functional/electronic/mechanical car parts. Not only they can affect your car’s performance and cause components to fail, fake car parts can also put your life at risk when they don’t work properly.

One of these is real, the other is fake. Can you tell?

It happens to the best of us. Whether you’re a car person or otherwise, we all are exposed to the risk of accidentally purchasing counterfeit car parts. Some of the most common ones that we should look out for are spark plugs, brake pads, oil filters, and relays.

So, how can you spot fake car parts and tell them apart from the original or genuine ones? Fakes can look so convincing these days, but for the sake of having good mental notes to hold on to, here are some useful tips to remember the next time you’re inspecting a box of car-related thingamajig.

When the price is too sus to be true.

Don't go in here asking why online seller can sell cheaper. Don't be sohai

One major red flag when you’re out there shopping for car parts, especially online, is when the price is suspiciously too low to be true. Yeah, online platforms do offer a slightly cheaper price compared to physical stores due to lower overhead cost, but the price gap shouldn’t be too big.

Apply best practices when buying stuff online – run a check on seller’s authenticity, reputation, and reviews. Some platforms should be able to give you trusted reviews from real buyers that post real photos of the product listed. Advertisement photos can be misleading, so use fellow buyers’ photos as reference.

Nicer packaging doesn’t mean more authentic

One of the most common practices to verify the authenticity of a product is using holographic stickers. Real holo stickers should have a shiny, good 3D effect as opposed to a flat finish with sad attempts to be so-called holographic 3D, as shown in the picture above. But in some cases, counterfeit parts may have good holo stickers too. Since these stickers can be present on both counterfeit and genuine products, it's still not a 100% sure way to tell them apart. Perhaps you'd be 'lucky' that you're able to spot a fake should the holo effect is horrible.

Other than using similar-looking holo stickers, fake items can also come with a better packaging compared to their genuine counterparts. Take this genuine belt from Toyota/Lexus as an example. It comes with a simple zip-tie meanwhile its counterfeit comes with more attractive packaging. It’s the effort that counts? I don’t think so.

Or take this fake Toyota cabin air filter as another example; that comes complete with a plastic bag whereas the original one is packed directly into the box without any other protection. Confusing, huh? In this case, you’ll have to inspect the filter itself.

Save the turtles?

If the con man was careless, you may notice “Made in China” stickers contradicting with the “Made in Japan” or “Made in Thailand” writings on the box.

While there may be some other ways to ensure you receive genuine car parts other than the obvious ones, like sending your car to authorised service centres, it’s worth discussing common car parts that are usually sold in the counterfeit market.

1. Spark plugs

The easiest way to spot a fake spark plug is to inspect the centre electrodes or tips. Genuine spark plugs have a thin centre electrode. In the case of this particular model by Denso, the genuine spark plug’s centre electrode has a diameter of 0.4 mm whereas the counterfeit one has a centre electrode diameter of 0.9 mm.

According to some spark plug manufacturers, there are other tell-tale signs of counterfeit items such as the finish quality, printing quality, and thread quality.

2. Oil filters

Be careful about the genuinity of the oil filter fitted in your car as it could cause some serious damage that will cost you more in the future. Other than inspecting the holographic sticker on the box (if any), you can also look for any irregularities such as spelling mistakes.

Coz let’s be honest, fake goods manufacturers are either doing it on purpose or simply won’t learn how to use Google translate (or its equivalent in a certain country) properly for years on end.

Take this fake Perodua oil filter for example – “Minyak” (BM for oil) is mispelled as “Minyaki”.

Google translate truly can be a double-edged sword.

You can also look at the shape of the oil filter, but you’ll need a genuine one to spot the difference. Small things like the quality of the grooves and dimples are sometimes overlooked by counterfeit part manufacturers.

3. Engine oil

Ain't nobody got time to run a test lab just to get a refund on Shopee

Engine oil manufacturers have made it easy for consumers to authenticate their products by providing a QR code on the bottle. The next thing to do is just whip out your smartphone, scan the QR code, and you’ll be led to the manufacturer’s official website.

For online purchases of engine oil, people would usually go to the official online platform/shop where you can hardly go wrong in terms of originality.

4. Brake pads

There’s no questioning the importance of this car part – you do need to be able to stop your car properly. In some cases, fake ones can even start fires. yikes~ 

You won’t be able to inspect the brake pad at a microscopic level to tell if it’s genuine. However, you can look at the quality of stamping. This is a tell-tale sign even for precision items like pistons.

If you’re more hands-on, look at how well the brake pad fits into the calliper. A genuine one will sit perfectly, whereas a counterfeit part will have some trouble fitting properly. Some brake pad manufacturers have authentication cards too, but that’s usually for the more high-end stuff.

Conclusion

We understand buying car parts can be quite intimidating at times and the great deals you find online can be very alluring. There’s no shame in trying to turn to online sellers for a better deal, BUT you must always be wary. While some con men would sell fake items that are way cheaper than the usual suggested price, some would cunningly sell them for a similar price. It seems like a scary place to be, and there will be multiple unassuming holes that you can fall into.

But it’s always good to apply best practices when online shopping or even in physical shops, if you choose to expand your option beyond official shops or platforms. Always buy from reputable sellers with good reviews and not-too-shady prices or offers. As long as you begin with this, the chances of you getting fake, counterfeit, imitation car parts would already be reduced significantly. Once you have the item in hand, inspect them for the above tell-tale signs before completing the purchase.