Fake amuse bodykit

phelan

Sadly, this is true, it's damn close to uncontrollable. For all any distributor might say about trying to limit kits coming into Country X so nobody can replicate the kit, it's going to happen one way or another. There's just no foolproof way of keeping an original design from being copied.

With that said, realize that it's not all about the 'quality of real vs. replica' or similar arguments. And I think that there's no harm in offering something like a CF version if the original manufacturer won't do it themselves. However, there is engineering research and design that goes into the original manufacturer's cost. They recoup the design cost by selling kits; if replicas get made, they end up at a loss, and in this economy, it's not surprising to see some companies close up shop because of it. So in the end, it could be a very negative effect on aftermarket parts, as it drives companies out of the business.

I'm not here to preach BUY JDM OR GO HOME, or anything like that. As an engineer, though, it saddens me to see copies get made and the original company has to bite the bullet. It doesn't help the aftermarket at all in terms of creating new and unique parts. Why do it if someone else is just going to copy it later on?

I'm just saying that as a consumer, yes, we want value for our money spent. Yes, JDM parts are stupidly expensive, and a part of that is the companies being a bit excessive and charging for name branding. However, that's also foreign exchange rates and international economies at work, and the engineering work involved in making a quality product. At the same time, though, realize that there could be unintended long-running consequences for the aftermarket. Will they effect YOU? Maybe, maybe not.

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凛 ('Rin') - 2009 Nissan 370Z
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