As a part shop owner and online seller that deals with engine oil of various brands, allow me to shed some light on the industry. EO sold in supermarkets/hypermarkets are usually direct import stock from EU or sourced out from Petronas Malaysia itself. Do take note that their packaging would differ from what we can purchase from petrol stations or reputable part shops. Here is why:
Many do not know that most EO sold in our domestic market are actually packed locally under the authorizations of the respective principles such as BP (Castrol), JXTG (Eneos) or Pennzoil (technically owned by Royal Dutch Shell). There are exceptions where authorized distributors import higher end ranges from mainly Singapore (Mobil 1), Hong Kong (Shell) and or Thailand (Castrol).
These products' packaging may vary to what is found in hypermarkets but rest assured they are deemed genuine oil as well. For example, we would never see the same EO lineup between the official Pennzoil USA and Pennzoil Malaysia sites. UMW is the authorized manufacturer & distributor for Pennzoil in Malaysia, refining and packaging are done locally, hence explaining the lack of the Ultra Platinum range in our domestic market. It's usually either due to higher cost or incompatible formulation for various regions.
As for Castrol, Mobil and Elf, these brands are being sold in our country through regional distributors: Northern (Perlis Kedah Penang Perak), Central (Selangor N9 Malacca) and Southern (Johor Pahang) etc. To me it is a pain in the ass because a Central regional distributor cannot deal with a Perak retailer/wholesaler due to a "No Cross-border" industry policy, vice versa. In short, these are the few companies holding distributorships of major brands monopolizing their "arranged areas".
By this point I'm sure many are spitting and questioning "What about the ones being sold on Lazada, Shopee and other platforms?"
The truth is, most distributors prohibit vendors to market their products online apart from their own official channels. Liqui Moly is actually prohibited to be sold online. Castrol distributors take a 'one eye open one eye close' approach. Which all leads us to this uncertain gray area where most online vendors operate. Some sellers in the online market are actually the distributors themselves, some are major authorized dealers like Vanli, some are small fry like myself and some are what we call bad apples of the industry. As per the ongoing scandals on fake oil, the operations are usually more rampant in KL and Klang Valley areas due to high demand and competitive pricing, but this has now affected other parts of Malaysia because some vendors purchase 'cheap' supplies from hot areas and reselling them at a huge price slash.
Through a few discussions with my own distributors (based in Ipoh, that puts me in the North), we concluded that the lube industry in Malaysia is a vague, competitive wild wild west in expense of the innocent consumers. It is good that KPDNKK are taking complaints, and actions against the bad apples. As a vendor myself, I do acknowledge the accountability that sellers should hold to buyers - to provide genuine quality at a fair price. Though we all know that is not always the case in this flawed system, I urge that consumers to not cheap out on what they put into their vehicles. It is true that most want the best bang for the buck, but very often this demand pushes for the supply of cheap, low quality shady products which exist in our very surrounding.
To ensure your peace of mind, the primary solution is to get services done in your vehicles' respective SC. If the unreasonably high cost is a concern, EO sold in Tesco/Aeon/Giant are definitely legit, do take note that EU formulations and additives might not be the best for our tropical climate but rest assured, they are safe to use. If you have a favorite part/online shop where you frequent, don't feel shy to ask them questions on the product you're buying into, it is your right and their job to enlighten you. IF, the price is too good to be true, it is definitely too good to be true. Shop wisely, carefully but not cheaply! Cheers all
Thanks very much for this. I learned a lot from this!
May 22 2019, 12:51 AM
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