German oil Liqui Moly is famous for its quality. But how to distinguish the original from the fake? This question is relevant for every motorist. After all, the more popular a product becomes, the more often it is imitated. Counterfeits not only do not have the qualities of the original oil, they can also cause premature wear of engine parts or engine failure.
You can buy original Liqui Moly engine oil here
German oil under the brand name "Liqui Moly" first appeared on store shelves and in auto repair shops in 1957. At the same time, a company for its production was founded. According to corporate legend, the founding father of the company, Hans Henle, accidentally found a can with the inscription "Liqui Moly" in one of the garages of the American military, who had already left Germany by that time. Inside was a chemical liquid intended to protect the aircraft engine from a sudden and sharp oil leak.
Where is Liqui Moly made?
Henle decided to improve his find and adapt it to the needs of motorists. In 1955, he patented a product called "Liqui Moly", Hans decided not to change the name. By 1957, the German found investors, registered the company "Liqui Moly GmbH" and production began.
The factory, from which the first products of this company came off the assembly lines, is located in Ulm. It functions, but now it does not produce oil, this enterprise produces additives, liquids that are used to flush the engine and other auto chemicals.
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Oils are made in Saarlouis (Sarlouis), an industrial city in the Saarland, located near the borders of Germany with France and Luxembourg. In other words, the world-famous company has only two factories where production is carried out. And both plants are located in Germany.
Accordingly, if the canister says "Made in Poland" or something similar, the oil is adulterated. Products under the Liqui Moly brand are produced exclusively in Germany.
The principle of making fakes
You can buy original Liqui Moly engine oil here
Liqui Moly oil authentication becomes especially relevant for every buyer, because instead of the legendary German quality, he can get a base fake.
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The main goal of underground manufacturers is to get the maximum benefit from customers, using the name and authority of a well-known manufacturer. There are several ways to fake original engine oil:
- Canister counterfeiting is the most popular and common way to falsify engine oil. Counterfeit manufacturers try to pour low-quality liquids into containers that look close to the original. This misleads buyers, because the purchased oil does not meet the declared German characteristics.
- The use of used canisters from which the seals have already been torn off. Underground manufacturers use artisanal methods to restore broken seals and pour low-quality liquids.
- The use of branded containers - the original engine oil is removed from the canister in various ways, after which a fake is poured. It is extremely difficult to determine such a fake, since the seals remain intact.
Important! As a cheap and low-quality replacement, industrial oil or cheap engine fluid designed for trucks and sold in large tanks at low cost is most often used.
By selling the entire tank, the volume of which can reach 200 liters, like Liqui Moly engine oil, scammers make a huge profit.
Check Liqui Moly oil by barcode:
What to look for
You can buy original Liqui Moly engine oil here
Before buying oil, you can visit the official website of the German company and get acquainted with various batches of motor fluids, features of their appearance, as well as view photos.
Of course, not only information about the location of the actual production allows you to distinguish the imitation from the original. The following signs help to identify counterfeit:
- Cork.
- Label.
- Canister.
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Also, before purchasing German auto chemicals, it is useful to visit the official website of the company in RuNet - liquimoly.ru. It presents a complete catalog of manufactured goods, there are their photos, and there is also an online service that helps you choose the best technical equipment for a particular machine.
You can buy original Liqui Moly engine oil here
The site also contains a list of addresses of company stores and distributors. If possible, you need to purchase oil and other auto chemicals at these outlets, since they, as a rule, do not sell counterfeit products.
LIQUI MOLY engine oil range:
| Group | Series | Peculiarities |
| Specialized oils | Tor Tes | For internal combustion engines equipped with a dual exhaust aftertreatment system. For installations with any type of fuel |
| Special Tec | For vehicles of European and Asian-American production. It is authorized by BMW, FORD, MB-Freigabe, VAG, GM Opel, Volvo and Fiat. | |
| Universal oils | Leichtlauf | Premium category designed for petrol and diesel units of all modern cars. According to the manufacturer, the oils can be used in both new and low mileage vehicles. |
| Optimal | Adapted for Russian use | |
| Synthoil | Represented by 100% synthetics of the highest level of German quality, consists of a polyalphaolefin base and a special additive package | |
| Branded oils | Molygen | It has an unusual bright green color. This feature makes it protected from the tricks of scammers, because it is impossible to make oil of this color in garage conditions. |
| MoS2 | The series is designed for both new cars (including those equipped with a turbocharger) and old ones. | |
| Top-up oils | Nachfull Oil | Technical lubricant, which is used as a top-up material, it is suitable for diesel and gasoline engines |
Cork
You can buy original Liqui Moly engine oil here
The cork needs to be paid close attention, because the “left” engine oil may well be poured into original, used canisters.
The cork of the original Liqui Moly oil is only black. The plastic from which the Liqui Moli Organic Cork is made is homogeneous, without any defects. The plug has a built-in watering can for easy filling of oil into the engine. A disposable is installed on the watering can from the factory
Distinctive characteristics of the original cork:
| Characteristic | Description of features |
| Color | Black, with a slight gloss, without any shades |
| Material | Dense rigid plastic, homogeneous structure |
| Watering can | The built-in spout for oil filling is equipped with a seal and a protective ring. |
| Additional protection (since 2017) | The lid has a dotted rectangle visible only in ultraviolet light. |
The lid fits snugly to the neck, does not rotate when opened, and there are no gaps or other defects under the rim. If the canister is turned upside down, the agent will not seep out.
Important! Since 2017, the original Liqui Moly oil can be identified by additional protection - a small dotted rectangle applied to the canister lid. This sign can only be seen under the influence of ultraviolet light.
The lack of compliance with these characteristics indicates the falsification of autochemistry.
Label
You can buy original Liqui Moly engine oil here
The label is the "face" of the product. Fake oil often does not even have labels evenly pasted, not to mention the quality of their printing.
Canisters at Liqui Moly are the same on most products. Therefore, in this case, there is a place to be re-gluing labels to others.
The essence of the fake Liquid Moli in this case is that the original product is bought, but cheaper.
For example, Liqui Moly Optimal 10W40 and a label from Liqui Moly Optimal Synth 5W40 is glued to the canister. After that, the goods are sold at a higher price.
You can identify real Liqui Moly oil by a neat and perfectly glued label. For fakes, they are most often with jagged edges and low-quality printing. Even when wet, the label should not peel off from the canister, it should be free of spots and stripes of glue, bumps and any other defects.
To protect yourself from this kind of counterfeiting of Liqui Moly oil, you need to pay attention to the quality of the print and the accuracy of the label. Print quality must be top notch, all characters must be clear and not blurry. And the label itself must be securely glued to the canister and, if desired, it can be easily removed along with the adhesive layer.
Real label:
- Evenly and "tightly" glued, does not move away from the canister even when wetted.
- There are no bumps, bubbles, adhesive strips and other similar nuances.
- Printing is clear, not fading.
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The information includes:
- The complete chemical composition of the product.
- Legal address of the company.
- Address of actual production, indicating the administrative district (Saarland).
- Recommendations for use.
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The text is read without difficulty. Also on the label there is a barcode that can be verified in the online service. But this characteristic is not a 100% guarantee of the authenticity of the product.
The back label is also noteworthy. It is a booklet, that is, it is revealed. Inside it contains information about the product in different languages, including Russian. The peculiarity of the label is that its inner surface is self-adhesive. It resembles a Velcro fastener, that is, it opens with ease and also sticks together again.
The price of manufacturing such a label is quite high, so imitation manufacturers either simply do not issue a booklet, or make it disposable. Of course, such negligence indicates imitation.
canister
You can buy original Liqui Moly engine oil here
You can sometimes recognize a crudely made fake by simply examining the canister.
A real Liquid Moth canister should not have any defects. The seams at the canister should be even, without traces of soldering. If in this case you notice some damage in the form of a puncture of the canister and subsequent soldering, then feel free to refuse the purchase. Most likely, the original oil from the canister was drained, and inside some cheaper oil, such as Lukoil or something else.
This is done very simply. The original Liqui Moly oil is pumped out through a thin needle and another oil of unknown origin is poured in the same way. Do not forget the date of manufacture of the oil. It is listed on the back of the canister. The last four digits indicate the production date. The first two of them are the month of production, the second - the year. The batch number and production date must be printed in high quality, without smudges and scuffs.
Before you buy auto chemical goods, you need to make sure that it:
- Made from thick thickened plastic.
- The color of the material is saturated, uniform, matte.
- The seams are invisible, they are even and smooth, without obvious traces of soldering.
- The stripes in front of the canister are not overhead, they are part of the design.
- Dates are printed on the side and on the bottom of the canister, there should be a difference of no more than a couple of days between the numbers.
5w40 oil is originally available in canisters with small, compact handles. The rest of the company's products are gradually being transferred to this type of container from 2017.
You can buy original Liqui Moly engine oil here
Video: Liqui Moly - how to distinguish a fake?
Where to buy
You can buy original Liqui Moly engine oil here
In order not to run into counterfeit Liquid Moli oil, it is better to take the goods in trusted places. Usually stores have the necessary documentation that can confirm the authenticity of the product. Documents include all kinds of declarations of conformity of goods. At the request of the buyer, the seller must show a certificate for the relevant product.
Serious stores work directly with official dealers. This allows us to offer customers a more competitive price, as well as completely eliminate the sale of fake Liquid Moli oil. In this case, the store must have an agreement with the dealer for the supply of Liqui Moly products. If such an agreement exists and the store can provide a copy, then the chances of running into a fake become much less. In addition, you can always request information from the official Liqui Moly dealer about cooperation with a certain legal entity.
You can buy original Liqui Moly engine oil here
In any case, these are only indirect signs that will help identify the fake Liqui Moly oil.
The most accurate result can only be obtained in a chemical laboratory, where with a probability of 95% they will say that Liquid Moli oil is not a fake. But such tests cost 4-5 times more than the oil itself and are not always affordable for a simple buyer.
Liqui Moly is also produced only in Germany, nowhere else. Not in Russia, not in Ukraine. To be killed that the oil is real, the seller must present a certificate that is issued only by Liqui Moly.
Price
You can buy original Liqui Moly engine oil here
How much does original Liqui Moly products cost? It depends on the type of product purchased. For example, 10W-40 costs from 1800 to 2000 rubles, and 5W-30 will cost 2400-2600 rubles for a 5 liter canister.
The popular semi-synthetic 5W-40 costs from 2800 to 3000 rubles. On various sales and promotions, the price does not decrease by more than 40% from the originally declared value. That is, a five-liter canister does not cost less than a thousand rubles under any discounts and promotions.
What to do if you sold a fake?
Where to go if you sold a fake?
Discover!
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Thank you for such a detailed explanation, everything was explained very intelligibly and it is clear that I have been using it for many years and it turns out that I did not know a lot of things.
The article is very interesting and I really liked it, I look forward to new such articles. Thank you for the article.
I recently bought a 5l liquid moth, (5w30), almost everything is in Russian, even made in Germany in Russian, is it really a fake? Need to check.
Engine repairs are not cheap. Thanks for the advice on oil selection.
spasibo za soveti ne raz mena virushali
I learned about the rectangle)) I'll go look for a lamp))
Thanks to your articles, people begin to distinguish the original oil from a fake and fall for scammers less, thank you.
Great article, you need to be able to distinguish such things from fakes, because then you can get expensive repairs, but we don’t need it, so it’s better to spend a couple of minutes of your time and study everything to buy the original.
"Caught" counterfeit. Similar signs. The canister is too soft, indistinct printing of the release date, indistinct characters on the canister, no marking on the cap.
Andrey, hello. I purchased a canister of HC-synthetic engine oil Special Tec AA 5W-30 4l (manufacture date 08/22, the date of manufacture of the canister is also 08/22, squeezed out perfectly) in the Citylink chain store, which is on the “where to buy?” at the dealer. When examining the canister for signs of a fake, according to your recommendations, I found that the production date is in the upper right corner of the canister at the back above the back sticker, the printing of the series and production date is clear, yellowish, and cannot be erased even with considerable effort. The back sticker does not open on the pages, it is glued tightly, do not tear off. The print quality of the stickers is just perfect, the colors are top notch, letters and icons, even small ones, are crisp and easy to read. So I can't tell if it's original or not. Unfortunately there are no lamps. The canister has not yet been opened, purchased a month ago, 11/22. To return the goods, you need strong arguments. What do you advise? Thank you in advance.