Do you guys talk about "replica Rolexes" ? Come on, a knockoff is a knockoff. Why not call it one.

 

Stay on topic. This discussion is about automobiles, not apparel and accessories.

What do you call a Shelby Cobra kit car?

 

There are quite a few replica's out there that fit just as good as authentic, or hold up just as well. I have a cheapo ebay lip on my ap1, fits pretty good, and some people think its the real deal. I would never pay $300 for a lip that will probably get cracked or something, when mine looks just as good and is made of urethane. I just bought a replica ASM front bumper, out of the box it fits like poo, but im going to get to trimming this weekend and get it fit right. By no means am I going to be saying its an authentic asm front, just look in my sig, it says ASM rep. I just want a nice looking front bumper that fits decent, and for the price of this, its well worth it.

 

I'm on the fence on this one. Granted I haven't modded my car I have ridden and driven cars with "knock off" wheels and suspension and they rode and felt normal if not great. Some of the benefits of authentic parts is weight and fitment. While replica, knock offs or fakes are cheaper and can be bought easily rather than waiting months. It's a trade off and if you are comfortable with your choice. It doesn't matter to me what people do to their cars. It's their cars. I would personally do my research and see the pros and cons of replica vs authentic and make a decision based on that.

 

Hardly equatable.

The Shelby Cobra is extremely rare and extremely expensive. So is a Porsche 550.

Its ok to offer recreations of these unattainable classics because they've been out of production of for over four decades.

Buying a $500 "Shine" Amuse knock off because you can't afford a still-in-production and readily available Amuse R1 (What, $1200?) is not the same.

Just like a Murcielago "Replica" - ITS LAME and its POSING.

 

I think the post I quoted is on the right track in terms of how people try to explain their preference, but it contradicted itself.

For the record, there is a tremendous amount of R&D in interior, wheels, and body parts. I guarantee more R&D goes into these areas. Why? At the end of the day these play a vital role in occupant safety. Header? No real secrets here and no magic formulas. Suspension? As far as shocks go, most small companies will just rebrand a Koni.

A major part of the purchase of an authentic item is the reliability and support of the company. These are Six Sigma and QS9000 companies; the big dogs. These companies have built their reputation on their product quality and stand behind it. They supply to the OEM market, pass governmental and regulatory testing, and still find ways to continuously improve.

All you guys getting fired up over the "replicas are for poor people" comment, it's the truth. Don't take it so personally. He didn't say you were literally impoverished. If money was no object, would you even think twice about not buying the original?

At the end of the day it's your personal choice as to how you allocate your resources. The replicas help push the envelope for the next authentic product. Personally, I would never buy the knock-off. But there are a lot of things I wouldn't do that seem pretty popular around here lately.



CLIFFS: I'm willing to bet your knock-off was a significant downgrade from stock. Most of that **** is just junk. And Honda engineers > random knock-off production company.

 

My point was that replica is the standard term in use for automobiles and that is how I decided to make my point.

Even if fake, phony, bogus, fraudulent, knockoff, and replica mean the same thing.

 

99% of the public will have no idea (nor will they care) if your parts are replica or not. IMO as long as they look good and fit with the car, replica parts are okay.

 

So do we really need to debate this topic again, and again and again and again?

 

Keep on fakin' the funk guys. Someone has to match up with the woman that buys fake purses and accessories to boost her perceived social status.

I'll make sure the door doesn't hit me in the ass on my way out of this thread.