[montyguru]

hi danny,
consider this.

warranty and pukka bill with serial no of products positives:
(now who actually gives that in the first place!! lol)

1. genuine product, not a fake
2. assurance
3. official import
4. insurance provided, if not can be done
5. deduction in accounts
6. new product, not an old one sold as new
7. you can sue the dealer should anything go wrong

warranty and pukka bill negatives:

1. higher cost
2. higher cost
3. higher cost... which basically goes to the govt.

interesting:
1. warranties are not stamped, not registered.

2. even if they are stamped, regd and product goes faulty, they are still not honoured, because warranty is only for manufacturing defects and NOTHING else.

3. so do you really need a warranty for manufacturing defects? and what kind of company sends out products with defects in the first place? and then has to issue warranties to cover its ***? or do they do simply do this to counter the fakes? which is why they insist you register the product?

I only know of Polk in India to have this, no other brand. Well-priced. Serial Numbered. Online registration. But again, only against manufacturing defects, so what the heck !!

market reality:
sony HU with b&w: 9990
same sony HU without b&w (new): 5000
same sony HU without b&w, without faith (i.e. old sold as new): 5000

market reality:
pioneer new 6x9 co-ax: 3500 (without b&w, with faith)
pioneer used 6x9 co-ax: 3500 (without b&w, without faith)
pioneer fake 6x9 co-ax: 800 (without b&w, without faith, sold for 3500 :-))

(that's how easy it is to cover the DISCOUNTED Head Unit)

IMHO Conclusion:

1. HUs aren't easy to fake, though they may not be new. consider the price difference and take the risk. if there's a difference of 20-30%, pay it, show it in your books, get that 30% tax rebate, and sleep in peace.

2. Speaker fakes are common right from focal utopias to pioneer and sony. Neither is it easy to make out a used one from an unused one. most dealers won't show them to you. or show new ones, and install old ones. who checks them anyways? LBM can tell you more about this from his personal experience :-)

3. It's a good idea to go with speakers with a bill and warranty, and ensure that batch/serial nos are entered on it. but again, while a sub with b&w will start only at 4-5k, you'll get a new 307 for 2800. so by and large, it's a question of trust.

unless you have a car that justifies it, or you want to claim deduction by showing expenses, b&w are of no use. yeah... we've to be good citizens pay taxes and all that crap is there. but then, the police in our country doesn't even file an FIR if you tell them your mobile was stolen. they file it only if you say it was lost/misplaced by you. such is the state of affairs !!