In an age of laser scanning and parts made to absolute tolerance, why are parts like this showing up? I received some tail light lenses from my German supplier. They were SUPPOSED to made by Hella with no markings. I have no clue why the parts were never checked against the original one. The corner bend is no where close and off by about 1/2". I am out $$$ om this deal. Posting pictures to show what I am talking about. Euro lens is the aftermarket.

Yes should be simple. The problem is if they are made like OEM there are 3 sections on each side. The inner, the outer and the reflector. To do it correctly the tooling has to be made to fit, beaning the shrinkage is allowed for. So far that has been the issue. That and not checking to fit on the car. I have yet to make these are there is supposedly "suitable" product on the market. I too have some coming from Germany, supposedly Hella.
This may get interesting.

The main issue is that they don't have Hella on them and they clearly don't want to be associated directly.

I've seen this before. Very well could be Hella running service parts off worn tools or with modern plastics that don't shink the same as 70's era materials. They know full well that parts aren't to print and don't want their name on them.

Alternatively, they really aren't Hella . . . China makes some really nice Chibson guitars. Very hard to tell at first glance that they aren't a real Gibson's. But those that know what to look for easily spot the fakery.

Either way it really sucks to be out real coin.

I wonder can they be softened with a heat gun and carefully formed for a better fit?

Id think. Its the later of the 2. You really can't easily remove tool marks.

Insert. Just costs more for the tool upfront. I've seen OEM Tier 1 suppliers do it my whole career.

Here's a dirtly little secret of the tire industry. OEM's have spec's on tires that are very hard to meet. It often involves measuring tires on-line and sorting. The best go to the OEM's that are paying a premium for sorted tires.

The others go into the aftermarket or to another OEM willing to accept a slightly lower specification. It's not that they are "bad" or unsafe. They just don't meet OEM spec's.

The first set of tires you get on a car are likely to be the best set, even if you later turn around and buy the same exact tires, same DOT code out of the aftermarket.

Tires are only one example where aftermarket service parts are not equal to OEM.

I know you said that before but every time I buy a car I can’t wait for the original tires to wear out so I can get a good set.

All depends on the defintion of a good tire.

In my case I'm talking about properties like balance, roundness, and radial harmonics that tend to exite other components, noises, or vibrations at particular speeds. Usually talking about ride quality of a particular tire.

There is always a compromise in tires. Ride vs. Steering Precision. Noise vs. Fuel Economy. Any of the above vs. cost. Wet traction vs. Dry traction. Wet vs. Snow.

Tires are a PITA.

So yes, it is entirely posible to switch from once tire to another that has a better attribute balance that suits your personal preferences. However, to gain what you like, you're likely giving up something else.

The other thing that clouds judgement is time. By the time you get rid of them you may not fully remember what you really started with and by then other aspects of your suspension have changed due to wear (bushings change, dampers loosen up, springs get a smidge of sag, etc.

Evaluation of tire A vs. tire B can be hard enough back to back with only the minutes required to do a tire change between evaluations. Doing that months or years apart and being able to do it in a repeatable blind evaluation is a marketable skill that few can do.

Try the heat gun to soften the lens to see if you can shape them to fit the car.

I just saw a pair of these Hella bad..from the UK...I dont know where they got them though..bad-bad

Yep I think that might work, slow en gently though!

Forgot to add, the posts do no line up either, causing bowing.

I AM SO TIRED OF SHODDY AFTERMARKET PARTS!

The problem is the point at which the plastic becomes pliable is close to the melting point.
If you were to try this the temperature needs to be consistent through the part. If you used an oven and started low (less than 300) you could try until you find the point it would work, but you may have issues with other dimensions too.

If you laid it onto a bucket to cool it would help. I'm interested to see how this works.

We see this too often. Bad tooling, so the whole run is bad. They sell it anyway, so they can recoup there costs. Very important to not buy parts and let them sit around. Test them out immediately so you can send them back. I made the mistake of buying parts for a project and then installing them a year later, only to find out there junk and can't return them.

Just waiting for AA to chime in saying he has boxes of repo Hella lens for sale while posting a picture of a pallet full of beat up box’s.....

Good tip. BTDT. Pulled a part out of a sealed up box and it's the wrong part, doesn't fit, damaged.

And I know they have had the same issue with some of their repops