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Remotes - Genuine, OE,
Aftermarket... or Counterfeit?
» » RAVI KOTECHA OF AUTOWAVE HAS
been buying and distributing remotes
for many years. Here he offers some
clarification surrounding authenticity of
remotes, and various suppliers being
caught out…
We have all heard the recent controversy
surrounding authenticity of remotes, and
various suppliers being caught out. There
are so many theories and stories flying
around, some have an element of truth
and some are just plain nonsense. I have
visited and bought from many factories,
and I know the way it works; so it won’t get
much clearer than this.
FIRSTLY, WHAT IS A
GENUINE REMOTE?
Let’s take Vauxhall for example,
Vauxhall Motors Limited has an approved
dealer network. Included in this dealer
network are companies such as Evans
Halshaw, Pentagon, AA and other ‘main
dealers’ around the country; this network
is able to purchase directly from Vauxhall
Motors Limited at a dealer price.
Depending on the type of dealer,
discount on remotes ranges from 15%
-25% so for example, a Vauxhall Astra H
2 button remote (PN 93180489) which
costs £89.50 + VAT at retail price would
cost them between £67.13 to £76.08 +
VAT. They usually sell to ‘trade’ customers
such as garages and locksmiths at
around 10% discount (£80.55 + VAT).
There may be a very slight difference in
discount structure if you buy from another
EU dealer, but it will be marginal.
So, when someone is selling you a
genuine remote for £40-£50 there is a
problem. When you open the casing and
the PCB looks genuine you will assume
it’s ok, so how is this so?
I receive emails and Skype messages
every day from various people around
the world, offering me ‘brand new,
genuine remotes’ in big quantities at low
prices. I have met some of these sellers
in person on my travels and they have
shown me the physical stock. The truth
is, they are stolen from the factory and
THESE ARE EXAMPLES OF KEYS THAT ARE OFTEN SOLD AS ‘GENUINE’
OR ‘OE’ WHEN IN ACTUAL FACT THEY ARE AFTERMARKET
then resold to distributors worldwide
who are not willing to pay dealer prices.
An analogy I often use is, A Ford Fiesta
has a list price of £15420, Evans Halshaw
(the largest Ford dealer in the UK) will
sell you that car at around £14500 if you
walk in and pay cash. If an unofficial
independent Ford dealer offered you
exactly the same car for £8000 would
you think that is normal?
IS THERE SUCH A THING AS OE?
OE stands for original equipment, so
what OE would mean for a remote is
basically a genuine remote but without
the logo? Factories that manufacture
remotes for the likes of Ford, Vauxhall,
Toyota etc have an agreement in place
that means they can’t sell the remotes
to anybody else (which is quite obvious
really). The software written on the
remote belongs to the manufacturer, the
hardware is not difficult to copy; any good
factory can look at the PCB and copy it
but once you rewrite the software it is no
longer ‘original equipment’, and if you do
copy the software it’s ‘counterfeit’.
The conclusion is, you can’t buy an OE
remote.
LOCKSMITHJOURNAL.CO.UK | MAY/JUN 2019
Sponsored by Mul-T-Lock
AFTERMARKET REMOTES,
ARE THEY ANY GOOD?
There are various opinions on
aftermarket remotes, the reality is you
get some really good quality and you
get some absolute junk. It’s a case
of buying from a trusted supplier and
using tried and tested products. As
most of you know, at Autowave, we
work very closely with factories in
China and have our own operation
in that part of the world. It’s just a
case of trying for yourself, but the
way the industry is moving I think
locksmiths will become more reliant on
aftermarket remotes to be competitive
on price.
SO WHERE DOES THE
RESPONSIBILITY LIE?
I think it is important to that your
supplier is open and honest about the
‘grade’ of the stock they are selling,
whether it be genuine or aftermarket,
but I think it is just as important
for locksmiths to understand the
difference and what they are buying.
www.autowave.co.uk