Auto parts. Trade in "forbidden" parts is booming
Just open one of the popular online sales sites, enter: "airbag", "brake pads" or "muffler" and check the "used" option, and we will receive at least several thousand offers for sale. – Installation of such parts is illegal and very dangerous. This should be remembered, especially during a pandemic, when online commerce is booming, experts from the ProfiAuto Serwis network of independent car services warn.
The issue of car parts that cannot be reused seems to have been settled for many years. On September 28, 2005, the Ministry of Infrastructure published a decree containing a list of items of equipment and parts removed from vehicles, the reuse of which endangers road safety or has a negative impact on the environment (Journal of Laws). 201, Art. 1666, 2005). The list includes 19 items, including airbags with pyrotechnic activators, brake pads and brake pads, brake hoses, exhaust silencers, steering and suspension joints, ABS and ASR system elements. Marked parts must not be reinstalled in vehicles. However, they can be legally sold and bought.
Trade in "forbidden" parts is booming. What does it look like in practice?
After entering "used brake pads" on a popular e-commerce platform, we get 1490 offers. Prices range from PLN 10 (for "front brake pads, Peugeot 1007 set" or "Audi A3 8L1,6 rear brake pads") to PLN 20. zł (in the case of the set “calipers discs BMW M3 M4 F80 F82 ceramics”). When searching for "used lever" on another popular platform, we get as many as 73 results, and when searching for "used exhaust muffler" we can choose from 581 27 offers.
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As it turns out, there is an extensive business selling used parts that should never be reinstalled on a car. Why buy parts that can not be installed on a car? Are all parts of this type available for sale? Turns out the recipe is dead. The police will have to catch red-handed the mechanic who installed the banned part. In practice, this is not feasible. Therefore, it is necessary to explain how dangerous this practice is. It is worth recalling this, especially now - during a pandemic. Expert analyzes show that the coronavirus pandemic has increased the online trading of spare parts. Some drivers have opted to buy budget cars as a safer alternative to public transport. Over time, there was a need for the first repair. It is worth such cars to fall into the hands of professionals, and not be repaired "at cost", not paying attention to safety.
- The pads may be almost new, they are from a car that has only driven a few thousand kilometers on them. But who will get rid of them in this case? There must have been something wrong with them. We cannot be sure that they do not have any damage that is invisible to the layman. A look at online auctions also reveals that some retailers offer parts with visible damage or corrosion. A used auto parts certification system will be required to determine if a component is recyclable. When implementing the decree, the ministry treated this issue from a zero point of view. There is a list of parts that cannot be reassembled, no matter what condition they are in. We do not know how the used components of the brake system, airbags or seat belt pretensioners will react at a critical moment. This is a game with your life and the lives of other road users. People buy because it's cheap. But what is the price of life? asks Adam Lenort, ProfiAuto expert.
The regulation was created out of concern for the health and life of road users and is aimed at protecting the environment, so mufflers and used oils are also included in the list. Another aspect of the case is the credibility of those workshops that decide to break the law and assemble parts of this type.
– If customers become aware that this website is using such methods, they should avoid it. What is the guarantee that a suspicious, unprofessional workshop will not install a worn part for the driver without his knowledge in the future? It's a matter of trust. That is why it is worth using proven networks of good car services, where such a practice is excluded, - adds the ProfiAuto expert.
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