Fake vehicle spares flood the Zimbabwe market

THE scourge of counterfeit products has permeated the entire economy, but what many had not envisioned was that the bane would affect the motoring industry so soon.

Admittedly, counterfeits are not a new phenomenon in the country nor the loss of hard-earned cash by locals, but what is chillingly ominous is the risk this poses to motorists.

With the proliferation of fake vehicle spares on the local market the unsuspecting motoring public has been hit by a double-edged sword that involves loss of huge amounts of money and putting their lives at risk by fitting unreliable spares on their cars.

Toyota Zimbabwe assistant national parts manager Mr Cannon Krienke said counterfeit parts had flooded the market and the lure for the motoring public was their low prices.

"If the truth be told there is really no monetary saving in fitting your vehicle with these fake parts," he said.

"Within a short mileage you will be replacing the same part spending more money on the same item again. Besides losing their hard-earned money motorists will be putting their personal life and their vehicle at serious risk.

"Protection of your life and that of your vehicle begins with you, the owner. You must be very careful of the source of your replacement parts."

He urged motorists to always use official dealers of the motor vehicle model that they drive.

"That is where you get guarantee for your spare parts and in some cases warranty is even offered," he said.

Toyota Zimbabwe parts manager Mr Alouis Kadonzvo concurred saying the sad thing with counterfeit spares was that an ordinary person might not be able to distinguish between a genuine and fake spare part.

He said dealers in the business had perfected the art of imitating genuine parts.

"They even imitate the outside appearance, the part identification numbers as well as the packaging, making it almost impossible for one to notice that they are buying fake spares," he said.

He added that the counterfeit engine parts affect car performance and expose vehicles to recurrent breakdowns.

Original parts, he said, provide quality efficiency on the vehicle performance and give maximum mileage and durability.

Mr Kadonzvo also noted that proper fuel and oil filtration is only provided when one uses genuine filters, which give vehicles a long and healthy lifespan.

"The quality of the material used on the counterfeit parts is substandard, not even heat resistance where such parts like the pistons would actually melt inside the block, cylinder head gaskets can blow causing endless overheating.

"This results in a plethora of problems, which will require large amounts of money to rectify," he said.

Mr Kadonzvo also noted that there was also concern about the proliferation of fake body parts that fail to provide the required protection as the genuine ones.

"Genuine body parts are manufactured with concerns to save life and minimise injury in the event of accident.

"They absorb the impact in a certain format meant to save the lives of the vehicle occupants, something very crucial that is normally omitted in a fake part. This is the same with the accessories too.

"There are counterfeit accessories like the nudge bars and bull bars, which are not air bag compatible.

"They block emotion signal to the air bag sensors and result in failure to provide the most needed protection from the airbags when involved in an accident.

"These fake parts are made with nothing in mind but only to make quick money. There is no care or effort towards human safety," he said.