Fake Gruppe M - BEWARE!!

[cslbecks]

This is a subject that ive mentioned previously. I was/am currently in the market to buy an aftermarket exhaust for my E46 M3 CSL and was/am considering either a SS or Gruppe M silencer. I have owned previous E46 M3's and a few years ago got stung buying what i thought was a genuine Gruppe second hand and paid almost £1,000 for. It looked and sounded great but as ive mentioned before definitely restricted power some how and so i removed it. When i tried to sell it on i was told by a number of potential buyers that they believed it to be fake. I eventually sold it for a lot less money than i bought it for and had to state that i couldnt prove its authenticity. I now own a CSL and have enquired about a few Gruppes for sale and cant believe how many fakes there are on the market. No-one seems to have bought new and so no-one has any proof of receipt or authenticity. I dont necessarily see this as a major problem IF the potential buyer is told that the item for sale may be a fake/copy/replica - because even the fakes sound and look great. But why would anyone pay upwards of £700 for a fake??? Especially when i believe it may restrict power and certainly you will have NO warranty or any comebacks if it falls apart or fails in anyway etc - thats potentially a lot of money to just throw away.
Anyway - i was enquiring about yet another Gruppe for sale recently and decided to do some proper research on them. I got a direct contact for Gruppe Japan where all items originate from - and spoke to a guy called Hoya. He told me to forward him pictures of the so-called Gruppe to him and he would authenticate it for me. I heard back from him this morning. The Gruppe was indeed a fake. I cant attach his email on here as i dont know how to but the main basis for his assertion that it was a fake was the plaque serial number 05-0116. I have noticed this before and thought it was odd that almost every Gruppe ive ever seen has this very same number stamped on them. 05-0116 is a fake plaque and fake serial number. If you own a Gruppe and cant prove its authenticity and/or bought it second hand then check the serial number. The other way of checking its authenticity is by looking at the welds. The fakes do have decent welds on them but if you compare them to a picture of a genuine Gruppe the difference is clear. Go to the Gruppe website and download a pic of a genuine Gruppe exhaust.
As i said - i dont see this as a problem IF when selling the exhaust a seller clearly states that they have no way of proving if its genuine or not - at the end of the day Caveat Emptor - but i certainly dont think anyone should be paying £800 for something thats fake and you have no comebacks on if it breaks of fails.
If anyone has concerns about a Gruppe they either own or are about to buy then contact Manubu Hoya direct and he will confirm either way. His email address is: info@gruppem.co.jp