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Old 16th August 2005, 17:22   #1
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Counterfeit Oil?

I intend to keep at least 1L of Engine oil in the trunk of my Esteem to use for topping up before I start long trips. For this I went to my regular (and locally quite popular) parts dealer at Thane and bought at 3L bottle of Castrol GTX (1L was not in stock). It came with a free bottle (500ml ?) of Castrol brake oil as a special offer. I put the bottles in the trunk and drove down to Pune the next day...

When I got to my destination I found that quite a bit of oil had spilled in the trunk, both from the engine oil bottle and from the brake oil bottle. The bottles still have all the seals in place! I carefully packed both bottles into a plastic bag and cleaned up the mess.

When I got back to Thane a week later, I took the sealed leaky bottles back to the dealer and and asked for a refund / replacement... HE REFUSED, saying that the inner seal might have broken and that there was nothing wrong with the oil he sold me! How can it happen to 2 bottles at the same time? Too much of a coincidence for me! Also, I have never experienced SEALED bottles leaking before!

He has always been a bit arrogant, but that's ok with me cuz as long as I was sure I was getting parts / fluids from a "trusted" source, his behavior was irrelevant... but now I suspect that he has cheated me with the oil and I feel lucky that I did'nt pour any of it into my engine or my brake system!

I figure that either:
1. The oils are counterfeit Castrol
2. The oils are original but the package was defective / damaged at source.

In either case, I would have expected the dealer to replace the packs / refund my money. Needless to say, I am not doing any further business with him, but I want to do more to teach him a lesson and protect other people out there who love their cars...

I would like to publish the Name and Address of the dealer on this forum but am not sure whether that is allowed... Moderators / Senior members, please advise!

Also, is there some way I can get the Castrol people to come and check the packs of oil to determine whether they are counterfeit? (And replace them if they are found to be genuine!).

Thanks in advance for the advice guys!

- T u r b o C -

Edit: I'm not sure this is the right section to post this thread... Moderators, please advise and move it if neccessary (and PM me about the move). Thanx.

Last edited by turbo_c : 16th August 2005 at 17:28.
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Old 16th August 2005, 17:32   #2
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The following is the 'Contact Us' link for Castrol India. Go ahead and post your complaint. Also tell them that you have already posted this matter in Team-BHP and give them the URL of this thread.

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/gener...tentId=6005555

Last edited by sandeepmdas : 16th August 2005 at 17:51.
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Old 16th August 2005, 17:46   #3
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Quote:

I would like to publish the Name and Address of the dealer on this forum but am not sure whether that is allowed... Moderators / Senior members, please advise!
ABSOLUTELY IS!! Please share with us.

Moved to Indian car scene

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Old 16th August 2005, 17:49   #4
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Quote:
I would like to publish the Name and Address of the dealer on this forum but am not sure whether that is allowed... Moderators / Senior members, please advise!
A leaking "sealed" package is not acceptable for any product, IMHO. Please go ahead and name the dealer for others benefit. Also, if u still have not broken the seal, its quite possible for you to file a case agaisnt him in consumer court, may be the amount involved here might be insignificant for you to take such a step.
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Old 16th August 2005, 18:59   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sandeepmdas
The following is the 'Contact Us' link for Castrol India. Go ahead and post your complaint. Also tell them that you have already posted this matter in Team-BHP and give them the URL of this thread.
Thanx sandeep, I have posted the complaint at the Castrol site with the URL of this thread. Let's see what happens...

Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO
ABSOLUTELY IS!! Please share with us.
Well, in that case, here is where I purchased the oil bottles on 7-Aug-2005:

Anand Traders
12,Vidya Bhavan,
Agra Road,
Thane (W)
Tel: (22) 25362246

I would like to mention that I have been buying stuff for my Esteem regularly from this shop for over 6 months and apart from a little arrogant behavior, I have not had any problems with the products in the past. Still, I find it unacceptable that when I returned to the him with a genuine concern, I was shooed away! I understand that the problem may not be his fault, but, I expected him to take responsibility for the product he sold me for the sake of his own reputation if not out of a sense of ethical business practices.

Quote:
Originally Posted by gkrishn
Also, if u still have not broken the seal, its quite possible for you to file a case agaisnt him in consumer court, may be the amount involved here might be insignificant for you to take such a step.
The amount is insignificant... (Rs.380 ?), but what if the oil turns out to be counterfeit? I might have ended up paying a huge price in terms of engine damage! Also, if I am not mistaken, Brake Oil is useless (read "dangerous"), if it is exposed to moisture over a period of time... The "free" brake oil bottle is actually "breathing" air thru it's "sealed" cap if squeezed! I guess I will decide what to do next based on what the Castrol guys have to say.

- T u r b o C -
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Old 12th October 2014, 14:51   #6
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Fake YAMALUBE chain lube?

Hey guys, me and my friend just bought a can each of off-road chain lube by yamalube in Thrissur, Kerala for Rs 330 a piece each can contains 450ml of the lubricant. The one by Motul had only 400ml and cost Rs 560. So any idea why the huge price difference? Also when i took a closer look at the yamalube can, I couldn't find any details regarding who manufactured it and where, who imported it, and no mention or symbol of YAMAHA. I checked online and almost every Yamalube product seems to have the Yamaha logo at the bottom end of the can. On this one, it just says Yamalube and 450 ml.Also the danger warning printed on the front of the can seems badly edited and the sentences are not printed in a proper way. I am attaching a few pics. I couldn't find any info regarding fake Yamalube products online so just posting it here.
Attached Thumbnails
Counterfeit Oil?-wp_20141012_001.jpg  

Counterfeit Oil?-wp_20141012_003.jpg  

Counterfeit Oil?-wp_20141012_004.jpg  

Counterfeit Oil?-wp_20141012_005.jpg  

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Old 13th October 2014, 01:07   #7
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Re: Fake YAMALUBE chain lube?



Not only is the Yamaha trademark showing the three tuning forks missing but the Registered Trademark symbol that should directly follow the word "YAMALUBE" is missing.

Looks like the Yamaha lawyers have some work ahead of them.

The phony lube is probably better than nothing at all on a chain but I think it doubtful it contains any of the features of the original.
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Old 27th January 2016, 02:03   #8
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How shall we identify the counterfeit oil?

While I was going through the 'Engine oil: Synthetic or mineral' thread, I read a number of posts informing that the counterfeit oils (more commonly Castrol Magnatec) are sold in the market.

To avoid being cheated, we can buy the oil from a reputed dealer. What else can we do?

Is there any way to differentiate the counterfeit oil from the original oil? This needs to be checked before opening the oil can. Otherwise we end up in paying for the oil and we get into arguments with the dealers.
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