[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by ritik123

Is this to say there isnt much of a point paying the premium demanded by an authorised dealer?.

I only recommend the purchase of any car audio product from an authorised dealer with bill and warranty. I was merely elaborating on the process.
The reasons for buying with bill and warranty i have gone over many times in the past.

[tsk1979]

I have bought grey quite a few times, and all the time I have got "unofficial warranty".
My first was a sony unit. The lens went bad after 2 years, so no warranty. But that particular model had this lens problem. Even with warranty I would have been left with an unworking system. Its good I spent less.
My latest pioneer is doing almost fine, i.e. the CD eject mechanism is acting up. But the guy who installed it will repair it for me for free. So in effect I have warranty. Infact on this ystem he has given me 2 years repair warranty as he says its a reliable one.
Since I have very old association with this chap(he's in ludhiana) I chatted with him about grey market thing and how can they offer repair warranties.
His logic was simple. that out of every 20 units he sells, 1 or 2 come back with minor issues. Offering free warranty does not cost him much and earns lot of goodwill. Only time he has been hit is with the sony lens thing. Though mine went after 2 years, some others had lenses gone bad after 6 months. He actually lost money on about 25 units he installed.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by jinu_joseph

Thought I must share this with the group regarding the difference between grey and white Pioneers. I found this when I went to install my ICE to the installer. He is the official dealer for Pioneer but said if i wanted he could get the grey version from a nearby shop. I asked him whats the difference between white and grey. This is what he had to say:

White units are assembled at Pioneer factories under strict quality control and then imported into India. Grey peices on the other hand are assembled in India in questionable conditions. They are brought into india as spareparts in parts and pieces and then the parts are put together to form the whole unit. He also said that in many cases, the assemblers replace the original lens and even some other original components with cheap Chinese ones.

This convinced me to get the white units.

well, well, isn't that a novel way to bring around a mislead customer !!
its the same in life, ain't it ?

show him hell & he will take heaven anyday.
Sam & B&T you should try that sometime lol ( i am sure you wont, just joking guys)

tsk1979, take a look at post no.22 & the mauling i received after that. maybe you wont be mauled because you are the mod, i hope.

[kdb]

When i went to buy my 6850 from grey market the wholesale dealer told me there are 2 kinds of 6850's, one had "MADE IN CHINA" (big label) on it and nothing else.. no bar code, no pioneer label etc .. The other one had all the bar codes and pioneer labels.. What he meant was that the one with "MADE IN CHINA" has the front panel assembly assembeled in India .. and the one with the labels is fully imported. and there was 100 bucks diffrence in both of them.. anyways i got the one with labels .. and its is working fine till date

[navin]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I have bought grey quite a few times, and all the time I have got "unofficial warranty"..

You have a better installer. However for most a bill and warranty ensures that atleast they have some form of redressal. for example those whose Sony lenses died in 6 months could get a new one from Sony for free.

[s.prashanth]

I was told, the grey market stuff comes in as components and is assembled here in india

[Rtech]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

how else is it grey ?

grey = original, smuggled (Will be sold w/o bill & warranty)

Bill & Warranty = original , imported through the right channels, paying all taxes & accounted for with customs, excise, sales tax, income tax.

Duplicate = look alike, made in india (Never ever buy)

Grey does not always mean smuggled. Grey can be items that are legally imported and sold after following the correct procedure. Basically items which are sold through channels other than the official manufacturer. For example, there is a huge market for 400cc bikes in the UK. Almost all of those are grey imports, but perfectly legal. They are imported and sold by dealers. They are not smuggled.

I think we must differentiate here. Most of the items we refer to as "grey" here are indeed smuggled though.

[rsjaurr]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Since I have very old association with this chap(he's in ludhiana) I chatted with him about grey market thing and how can they offer repair warranties.
.

tsk,Isn't it the same guy in feroz gandhi market near Gulmohar hotel once u reffered to me?

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by rsjaurr

tsk,Isn't it the same guy in feroz gandhi market near Gulmohar hotel once u reffered to me?

Yes, his name is bobby. I always forget the shop name, but he always honours "repair warranty" and most of his customers I have met have been happy.
He honoured that for the sony lens problem guys also, infact since he is a good friend he was literally weeping over that model and how he actually lost money.
But he says good money is made from speaker and other accessory installations, so HU margins are actually very thin.

the highest value items... The air freshner, pressure gauge and silly stuff like that!

[ricky_1605]

guys

i have a few questions about the grey market..

is it reliable to get the ICE parts from grey market (delhi)?
if yes, please suggest me some shops?
how to check for fake parts?

also tell me some shops in faridabad to get the setup done?

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by ricky_1605

guys

i have a few questions about the grey market..

is it reliable to get the ICE parts from grey market (delhi)?
if yes, please suggest me some shops?
how to check for fake parts?

also tell me some shops in faridabad to get the setup done?

Grey Market HU's are mostly genuine , and some amps.

lots of fake alpine amps and pioneer/kenwood/sony speakers.

to check if a part is genuine, check the model number, check up for the same on the interenet, and see if what they show there is exactly what you're getting here. You can still get ripped off. The internet is not a good substitute for experience

[ghpk]

There are many experts here, you can take a clear pic of the product and post, iam sure most people would be able to make % of its authenticity

[ricky_1605]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

Grey Market HU's are mostly genuine , and some amps.

lots of fake alpine amps and pioneer/kenwood/sony speakers.

to check if a part is genuine, check the model number, check up for the same on the interenet, and see if what they show there is exactly what you're getting here. You can still get ripped off. The internet is not a good substitute for experience

thank you greenhorn...i think now i should go for the HU from grey market.

[WanderNomad]

For Genuine grey stuff and best pricing go to Car Expert in Karol Bagh. He is a wholeseller but deals in retail too. PM me for details.

[rejoycjohn]

hey all ... need a help ..

I had posted in one of the threads here on where to buy a grey HU in Bangalore ..
Dint get much response ..:-(

I know we can get stuffs in National Market ..It would be great if anybody can direct to a genuine dealer out there ....

cheers all ..