Counterfeit Valve Body Scandal Surfaces in the Aftermarket Parts World
Aftermarket car parts are a huge business, with hundreds of niche companies selling vehicle- and application- specific upgrades and merchandise. They can be pricey, though, and like anything expensive, there can be a dark side to the business. Broader Performance, a company manufacturing Ford transmission parts, recently found itself on the wrong end of that cycle, as it discovered a counterfeit of one of its products being sold on Summit Racing.
Broader Performance’s owner, Jay Robarge, recently took to YouTube to discuss a valve body he discovered being sold under his company’s name. The “fake” valve body was being sold with Speedmaster branding, though it still bore the Broader Performance engraving on the side. Robarge said he received a customer complaint about a part ordered from Summit Racing, which is impossible since Broader Performance sells direct-to-consumer rather than through third-party retailers.
Speedmaster is not a tiny, unknown company. It has long attended SEMA, the epicenter of the aftermarket parts world, and it sells to customers around the world. Robarge speculated that Speedmaster might have been too lazy to remove his company’s branding or might have left it there for brand credibility, but Summit Racing is taking the situation seriously.
The retailer comments on Robarge’s video, saying, “We take the issue of counterfeit and knock-off parts very seriously and were unaware of your example until seeing this video. We put any inventory of the product detailed in your video on hold and have made it unsellable. We will review with Speedmaster and take the necessary actions based on those conversations. Thank you for making us aware.”
[Image: Broader Performance via YouTube]
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Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.
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You expect everything on Amazon and eBay to be fake, but it's a shame to see fake stuff on Summit Racing. Glad they pulled it.
I read an interesting post by a master engine builder. He's having a hard time finding quality parts anywhere.
The other issue is most young men don't want to learn the engine building trade. He's got so much work that he will now only work on engines his shop is restoring.