I bought a Mahle oil filter from Amazon ("dispatched and sold by Amazon") and to my surprise its says "Made in PRC".  It's packaged and looks the most premium oil filter I've ever purchased, but some mental block is preventing me from fitting it (perhaps irrationally).   I might return it and purchase the same one from Opie Oils and see what arrives.  If it comes back the same thing I'll just fit it and accept this new normality.  But I see a lot of members are generally very particular about the parts they fit on their much more premium cars than mine, in that case maybe avoid Mahle for oil filters.

 

Where do you think the premium brands have their products manufactured?

 

The only thing that has changed is that now they have to print on the product where it is made, many find a way around that by assembling or packaging the items in europe.

 

At least you know that its not counterfeit because those guys ain't concerned about respecting the laws and would print made in Germany on it.

I've often wondered how much of our cars are really "Made in PRC" and hidden behind the "Assembled at the Skoda Factory in Czech Republic".

 

If the Mahle oil filter had no country of manufacture written on it all I'd put it on the car and drive around happily in my blissful ignorance, and never give it a second thought.  But that "Made in PRC" there's just some mental barrier to fitting it.  Maybe it's time cross the Rubicon and accept and trust the brand, we've already done it with other things in our lives, TVs, phones etc.

Assuming it is a genuine Mahle filter, I suppose the brand owner will want to preserve their name and insist on a certain standard of quality control. Interestingly, the Mahle air filter I bought recently was made in Austria. 

I actually sent it back to Amazon and purchased the same one for more money from Opie Oils in the blind hope it might be different... unfortunately it's the same story "Made in PRC" .  It does actually say it on the box too which I didn't notice last time, on the bottom out of the way.  I generally thought they were made in Austria, I bviously that's not the case on all their oil filters.  

 

 

I was amazed earlier this year to see that that there was still a Mahle Factory in Kilmarnock Scotland as ever second year for a decade they have been threatening to strike and there seems every few years to be news stories of cuts in the number employed.

http://unitetheunion.org/news-events/news/2020/february/unite-moves-towards-industrial-action-at-mahle-engine-systems-after-pay-talks-collapse

 

 

The filters got manufactured in my plants and seemed to not actually show the manufacturing plant on the boxes.

http://bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-shropshire-49279017

 

I pay under £4 for Mahle filters at my local Motor Factor with a trade discount.

Nothing to do with getting at much cheapness, I preferred them to the Silver VW/Audi filters that they started using. 

 

 

 

Edited 4 July, 20205 yr by Roottoot

£4 for a Mahle FIlter is fantastic price.  They are just so well made, at least superficially, they also smell fantastic ha [but that might just be me].  I'd love to buy some Mahle stuff here made in the UK, but over the years of buying service parts have yet to find any for my current/previous cars.  

Interesting,  I just did a google search on "where are bosch oil filters made".. It brings up lots of pictures of bosch filters obviously, but you can see that whilst some say Made in Germany, many are made in Tunisia, South Africa etc.

 

I think trying to buy stuff actually made in Germany or Japan might be difficult......