the fink
Letters
to the Editor
That old chestnut, the use of the term “pirate parts” has come up again, but this time we cannot take the blame
for using it. The pirate was there in all his glory at the Automechanika Frankfurt, and we decided that this was our
opportunity to get Johnny Depp into our mag. One of our readers didn’t like this, though, and we bring you the full
correspondence, relating to this subject:
Dear Sir,
experienced, their product knowledge is a joke. A senior member
of a car manufacturer uses the words “genuine” and “pirate”, and
states that a genuine part is manufactured to better specifications.
He, quite rightly, separates the issue of “counterfeit” parts, which
is an entirely different matter and one that I believe every reputable
parts distributor abhors. An employee of another car manufacturer
implies that genuine parts are made to a higher standard, and
goes on to state that “genuine parts are parts packed in their
original packaging”. A spokesman for the Automobile Association
says that “genuine parts are those in a manufacturers packaging,
e.g. Volkswagen, whilst ‘branded’ parts are those carrying a
manufacturers brand, such as Champion spark plugs.”
Using a pirate or the words ‘pirate parts’ is something I would have
thought you would avoid, as it is disparaging and gives further
credence to a phrase I believe is a misnomer, and that does not
belong in our industry, particularly when linked to a picture that
denotes thievery (a pirate is after all a sea-faring robber). Some
years back I replied to a magazine article and wrote the following
that I believe is even more applicable today:
It is interesting to note that it is always the car manufacturers
who claim their genuine parts to be superior to all others, and
who constantly denigrate non-genuine replacement parts by, for
example, calling them ‘pirate parts’. In this day and age few product
ranges can reasonably be classed as superior to all others, the
obvious exception being “captive” items like certain body and
suspension components, where no opposition exists. It is common
knowledge that a very high percentage of genuine parts sold by
car manufacturers are the same as those sold in their original
packaging and under their original branded names by independent
parts distributors. Why do car manufacturers keep insulting their
customer’s intelligence by claiming otherwise, when they make
very few (if any) parts, with the exception of the body? The fact
that many non-genuine parts are manufactured from superior
materials, or are assembled with more robust components, is also
ignored. There are also some original specifications that embody
latent defects, which have been eliminated in after-market branded
products. That non-genuine parts incorporate these enhancements
is actually more prevalent than one would think, for a number of
reasons too lengthy to mention here, yet the car manufacturers
imply this is never the case. Some of the spokesmen, who over
the years have expressed their opinions on the subject, have
never actually visited different component manufacturers. They
have never seen the same product coming off the line and being
put into different packaging, and have little idea of the realities
and differences between different brands or different component
manufacturers. They rely on their title to establish their credentials
and supposed expertise, but to those properly trained and
| words in action
They are all inaccurate and what was said only serves to highlight
the ignorance of the people making those statements. It is
interesting to note the wording used, and particularly the Oxford
dictionary definitions of those words, namely: “Pirate” - a seafaring
robber. “Counterfeit” - made in imitation, not genuine, forged.
“Original” - existing from the beginning, not copied. “Branded” a particular make of goods, an identifying trade mark. “Genuine”
- really coming from its reputed source, not sham.
It becomes obvious that the continued use by the car
manufacturers of the word “pirate” is a deliberate attempt
to belittle independent replacement parts, is entirely out of
context and in fact should not be used for the subject of motor
spares. It is well known that the worst form of salesmanship
is to run your opposition down, which does not say much for
the character of those who persist with this blatant misnomer.
It could be argued that the use of the phrase “genuine parts” is
also a misnomer. If “genuine” means to come from its source,
then car manufacturers parts must by dictionary definition be
“non-genuine”. No car manufacturer is the actual source of the
majority of the parts they distribute, except for captive items like
body parts, which comprise a very small percentage of total parts
sold. Car manufacturers are resellers in exactly the same way as
independent parts distributors are, because the parts they sell
come from independent component manufacturers.
82
december 2014 / January 2015