Got my new "Philips" HID

[rgsoundf]

OK, since five years ago, when XenonDepot used to carry Philips kit (both Philips bulbs and Philips slim ballasts) I wanted to get this pricey kit. Now they don't carry it anymore, just Philips bulbs and Xtreme ballasts. Well, I found a kit that claimed it offered a kit consisting of both. I got it today. Well, I wish myself to be wrong but the entire kit looks counterfeit to me. First, on the back of "Philips" manual, the address and everything is in China. Second, the company - ModExpress - carries both 4300K and 6000K "Philips" kit, and I read somewhere that Philips doesn't make any bulbs higher than 4300K. Third, the ballasts got this suspicious "Ballasts Designed for Original Philips Xenon, etc." label you can see on the 2nd pic.

Well, I think I got owned by what XenonDepot calls "Don't be fooled by other companies selling replicated Philips bulbs at a premium price."
To add insult to injury, they sent the wrong, 6000K instead of 4300K, bulb.

[08lxciviccoupe]

Can you ship them back?

[Bryan 07'CoupeEX]

"Philips' highest color temperature bulb is 5800K (marketed at 6000K Ultinon)" From intellexual net · m k i v

I cant comment on the other things.

[derek1324]

How much did you pay?

[rgsoundf]

The price is the same as XenonDepot's: around $290. After posting, I did some research and came across some kind of positive feedback for Mod express, on some Toyota and Acura forums. They all say it's a real company, not some "garage" based business. Dunno. All I am saying is that the ballasts do not seem to be made in Netherlands, nor do they claim to be, there's no mention of Philips on the ballasts, there's a misleading Philips blue and white labeling stating something vaguely about the "design", and that's not what the Mod-Express advertises:

"Philips HID Conversion kits, made and built for the extreme enthusiasts and perfectionists. This kit will contain genuine Philips bulbs and ballasts made in Netherlands. Please do not get confused these are not re-based Philips components, these are made and produced directly by Philips. A European corporation that dedicates itself in creating OEM quality standard kits."

Mod Express - HID Conversion Kits, Xenon Lights, Replacement Bulbs

[rgsoundf]

Just got a response from them:

"There has been a factory misprint for our last shipment, all 4300K were labeled 6000K’s on accident.

We however have tested your bulb (Kelvin temperature) and it is indeed 4300K.

Please go ahead and install them, and if any tint of blue is to show (halogen reflectors) please go ahead and let us know and we will ship you a new set. If however there is no blue (all white) you have received the correct temperature.

Sorry for the confusion and misprint."

[striker_1818]

Philips bulbs have a big fat philips marking on the base of the bulb.
If there are no markings or if the philips brand isnt printed in there, then you know it's a fake.

Fake bulbs:


Real bulbs always have the philips brand:


Real Hella gen3 ballasts:



They are never made in china

[striker_1818]

Also, philips does not make conversion kits. It is illegal

[rgsoundf]

Exactly my point.

[striker_1818]

yeah ask them for documents ofo authenticity or a full refund.

[1sloPR5]

You see this time and time again. Philips does NOT make conversion kits. Anything that markets its self as such is FAKE. What people do is re base the bulbs do the whole "pig tail" thing and slap on some Chinese made ballasts and call it a Philips kit. What Striker said is correct Philips bulbs will ALWAYS have the dotted print on it and the real ballasts look like the ones in his pics(I have Hella). Philips bulbs = D1R D1S D2R D2S D2C

Philips does how ever make the Ultinon Bulbs which are made in Germany but not for street use in the US or EU (I have these). That "kit" is a fake, sorry man...

[07mugencivic]

how much did you pay

[Leonard1818]

Ouch dude, sorry about that. FWIW, you may get away with running that kit. A lot of people are using the chinese knock-off kits and they are working fine.

This reminds me... when I got my HID retrofit my bulbs came already installed... I never took them out to look at them but they are supposed to be OEM Phillips bulbs... I'll have to check them out and see if they do in fact say Phillips on them.

[rgsoundf]

Don't get me wrong fellas, I had my Plasma Garage HID kit - apparently from China - for like 3 or 4 years (on my other car) and everything was fine. I was kinda upset that I got owned so easily I hate fake stuff, sorry. Not sure about getting a refund from them though, probably gonna take lots of resources, time and energy alike.

[sh33t_0f_p4p3r]

thats why i got my 55$ ebay kit =) yo

[zetarin71]

^ebay

[XenonDepot]

Hi,

We get emails on a regular basis from Chinese companies trying to sell us that kit claiming that it uses Genuine Philips bulbs and ballasts. I actually have a sample kit here in my office and the components are definitely not made in Germany. The $250 "Philips" kit you got is going to be just as good as the Volt kit that we sell for $119.99 on the board in our promotional thread.

Steve

[rgsoundf]

$290 not $250

[XenonDepot]

Clarification: This kit is a lot better than 99% of the kits you find on ebay. HID kits are not made equally. I'm also hoping that you get some sort of after sales service/support if you need it from the vendor that you purchased the kit from. You definitely don't see a lot of that happening with ebay vendors. However, with ebay vendors barely making any profit on the product how much quality after sales/service support can you expect. In fact, some of them actually make money on problems as they charge the customers high shipping charges to get products replaced thus making money on the shipping.

I see it on a daily basis from customers that contact us after they have been burned.

Steve

[striker_1818]

Originally Posted by XenonDepot

Clarification: This kit is a lot better than 99% of the kits you find on ebay. HID kits are not made equally. I'm also hoping that you get some sort of after sales service/support if you need it from the vendor that you purchased the kit from. You definitely don't see a lot of that happening with ebay vendors. However, with ebay vendors barely making any profit on the product how much quality after sales/service support can you expect. In fact, some of them actually make money on problems as they charge the customers high shipping charges to get products replaced thus making money on the shipping.

I see it on a daily basis from customers that contact us after they have been burned.

Steve

How can they charge high shipping prices if you are shipping the malfunctioned product yourself?
I have yet to encounter high shipping charges for items under warranty. Chinese ballasts not being the same? I'd have to disagree as they tend to assamble used parts and label them as new. But you won't know that unless you actually open up the ballast and get that "protective adhesive" that hides everything inside it to supposely make it more "water proof".