New Predator

[david95]

I received a Predator from a friend who used to own the same year Mustang as I. He sold his Mustang years ago and has had this sitting around. I tried to use it on mine, however it said my car was not in the database. I looked online and noticed I need to update the revision software. I have got that ready to go, however, the tuner is requiring me to restore the backup. I do not want to restore a backup form his Mustang to mine. And no telling where in the worl dhi old Mustang is at. How can I remove the backup and start from scratch?

[mikel]

it needs to be unlocked, thats $129 for the unlock service.

[david95]

OK, Thanks for the reply. How do I purchase the unlock service?

[mikel]

under support on our site, click on the return authorization form, and request the unlock service.

[david95]

I have to fill out an return authorization form, pay $129.00, ship it back to you, wait up to 30 days, then wait for it to be shipped back to me? I'm willing to pay $129.00, but it seems like an awful lot of trouble to use your product. Why wouldn't I just go buy a new Bama SF3 which I can use today?

Isn't there any easier solution for this. Money isn't the object, waiting is.

I would suggest allowing your customer to unlock it by purchasing an encrypted key code from you which would be required for the customer to do it. The 30+ day waiting period is unsatisfactory.

Not smart business. You just lost a sale because of it.

[mikel]

no, it is reset over the phone once the charge is approved.

[david95]

OK.

Then what am I actually paying $129.00 for? Information? I figured you were charging me $129 for labor to reset it. I figured that to be high, but nobody should work for free. But, a $129 phone call to provide me information on property I own seems a bit steep. It does not appear to be a user license issue, since it is understood that if the tune had been restored to the original mustang it could be used on other cars by other people. So if you do not mind, please explain this cost.

BTW. I called your technical support many times this afternoon. All I got was "there is no operator available, this call has ended" message. And then it hung up.

Thank you,

David

[Mike_Levy]

It is a license issue. Your friend didn't restore his backup, so the tune is still on his old car. Now you're paying to use it on your car. It'll be on 2 cars, and they need to be paid for that. If he had restored his backup, it would no longer be on his old car, so you'd be able to put it on your car for no charge. When he bought the Predator, he bought a license for one car at a time, not two.

[david95]

That doesn't sound logical what-so-ever. First, the old car is gone, there is no 2nd car. And what you are referring is, that you will call me and give me some info that will "allow" 2 cars to be used? Is this the caase? Will I still be able to tune his old mustang along with my mustang? I don't want a tuner for two cars, only one. What you explain is not a license issue. Could I pay $260.00 so I could use it on 3 cars? Or maybe $390 to use it on 4 cars? That is what you are referring. This, I could "understand". But what if I only want it for "one" car?

What if his car was totalled? And the computer wouldn't come up. Would you charge him $129.99 if he bought a new one?

So please explain what I am paying $129.00 for. It sounds like a system that has been implemented to bribe people in being able to use their property.

Again, I completely understand locking it down to one car. I have no issue with that. But paying such a high cost for information, and not labor, to allow it to be reset for another car is excessive.

I am not paying for a license. I am not paying for labor. I'm paying for secret information that was intentioanlly builtin to prevent me from using it unless I pay a bribery charge.

[garrett]

The answer is no. The unlock service is resetting the license of the tool. You're only able to tune 1 vehicle at a time. With the tool being married to a vehicle and not having access to it, you will have to pay to unock the tool. Multi vehicle licensing is something we are working on for the future but do not have at the moment.

The way an unlock work is

1. Fill out the Return Authorization form
2. After the payment has been processed you will receive an email with instructions to call us with the tool powered up
3. We will reset the device for you over the phone, clearing out the marriage to the previous vehicle

That's all. Once the tool is reset you're able to start tuning again.

[david95]

So all you should have said was it cost $129 for you to tell me the secret on how to unlock the tool?

Wasnt' that easy enough? I am typically an indiviudal who likes to be fair. Willing to pay people for work rendered. I am a computer enginner for 23 years. I wan't going to attempt this, but since it appears "so easy" to do, that it can be done by a simple phone call, I am quite confident I can hack it myself.

So let me make sure I am clear. I do not have a problem paying people for work rendered. If you had to do the work, I have no problem paying you. If you had to send me code, which required work to create, I wouldn't have a problem sending you money. However, to receive the secret information that was purposely put into the device solely for the purpose of getting $$$ from your customers without actually rendering any work is not a good business practice. There should be a far easier and cheaper way of "unlocking" the tool. Which in realty, seems there is, it's just a secret you won't reveal without $129.00.

Remember, two posts ago you stated "Now you're paying to use it on your car. It'll be on 2 cars, and they need to be paid for that."

When this last post you state "The unlock service is resetting the license of the tool. You're only able to tune 1 vehicle at a time."

You are contradicting your own statements, which makes it very difficult to trust you at all. I am only trying to understand the "reason" for the charge, and you have yet presented a "logical" one.

[russo]

So all you should have said was it cost $129 for you to tell me the secret on how to unlock the tool?

Wasnt' that easy enough? I am typically an indiviudal who likes to be fair. Willing to pay people for work rendered. I am a computer enginner for 23 years. I wan't going to attempt this, but since it appears "so easy" to do, that it can be done by a simple phone call, I am quite confident I can hack it myself.

So let me make sure I am clear. I do not have a problem paying people for work rendered. If you had to do the work, I have no problem paying you. If you had to send me code, which required work to create, I wouldn't have a problem sending you money. However, to receive the secret information that was purposely put into the device solely for the purpose of getting $$$ from your customers without actually rendering any work is not a good business practice. There should be a far easier and cheaper way of "unlocking" the tool. Which in realty, seems there is, it's just a secret you won't reveal without $129.00.

Remember, two posts ago you stated "Now you're paying to use it on your car. It'll be on 2 cars, and they need to be paid for that."

When this last post you state "The unlock service is resetting the license of the tool. You're only able to tune 1 vehicle at a time."

You are contradicting your own statements, which makes it very difficult to trust you at all. I am only trying to understand the "reason" for the charge, and you have yet presented a "logical" one.

If one device worked on every vehicle we would not be in business, as one person could buy a tuner and tune all of his friends cars.

The device is full of engineering software and years of calibrations to develop those tunes.

[Mike_Levy]

The reason is because its sold to be used on 1 vehicle. Its locked to that one vehicle. Now you want to use it on a second vehicle. They can't sell you another tool if you unlock this one, so they need to get paid for the work they did to write the coding, etc.

Whether or not you have access to the first vehicle, theres still a tune on it. If they unlocked it for you for free, they'd have tunes on 2 vehicles and only have gotten paid for one. If the first vehicle was totaled, all it takes is faxing in proof and they'll unlock for nothing.

[garrett]

So all you should have said was it cost $129 for you to tell me the secret on how to unlock the tool?

Wasnt' that easy enough? I am typically an indiviudal who likes to be fair. Willing to pay people for work rendered. I am a computer enginner for 23 years. I wan't going to attempt this, but since it appears "so easy" to do, that it can be done by a simple phone call, I am quite confident I can hack it myself.

So let me make sure I am clear. I do not have a problem paying people for work rendered. If you had to do the work, I have no problem paying you. If you had to send me code, which required work to create, I wouldn't have a problem sending you money. However, to receive the secret information that was purposely put into the device solely for the purpose of getting $$$ from your customers without actually rendering any work is not a good business practice. There should be a far easier and cheaper way of "unlocking" the tool. Which in realty, seems there is, it's just a secret you won't reveal without $129.00.

Remember, two posts ago you stated "Now you're paying to use it on your car. It'll be on 2 cars, and they need to be paid for that."

When this last post you state "The unlock service is resetting the license of the tool. You're only able to tune 1 vehicle at a time."

You are contradicting your own statements, which makes it very difficult to trust you at all. I am only trying to understand the "reason" for the charge, and you have yet presented a "logical" one.

I guess I would have told you there's a "Secret" if that's the case. You're over thinking the situation at hand. There's not "gotcha" situation here. There is a reset procedure to unlock the tool from the vehicle it is married to, that requires unlock passwords to be used. I would urge you to pay the fee to use the device, otherwise it will be of no use.

[david95]

You are urging me to pay $129.00 for a secret password which was built into the device for the purpose of getting $129.00. No. I will not pay for a "word", I "pay" for services rendered or products received. Not for "secret passwords".

Over thinking? There isn't anything to overthink. It's quit simple. You are complicating it by attempting to justify a $129.00 bribary charge by coming up with different reasons. Like mutiple car licensing to ressetting. I still don't know which one of you to believe, since both reasons were inserted in this posting.

Does the "reset procedure" change? Or is it a one time preceedure fits all? What "labor" is involved? Other than telling me the "secret password"?

Put it this way. If I sold Bob a computer last year with Windows and Office. And he sold it to you this year. How would you feel if you tried to use it and it told you that you could not log in until you called ME to provide you a secret password so you could use it? The OS and app licenses come with the "computer", NOT the user. You would be free to use this product just as Bob did. You would also have the option of rebuilding the OS using the same license key and never have to contact me. Why? Because you "own" everything that comes with the conmputer. No bribary charges for you to use it.

I have never and will never even consider such a thing.

What if my car were stolen? Drove into a lake? Burned beyond recognition? I would have to pay $129.00 on top of everytihg to get a new car just to use the product I bought to begin with?

What's suprising is you don't even "see" this problem. I'm not willing to pay you $129.00 today, knowing there is a possibility that my car may be stolen tomorrow and the insurance company purchasing me a new one, just to have to pay you $129.00 again tomorrow to use it again on my new car. And ONLY 1 car.

I'll tell you what. I'll figure it out myself. And don't worry, I'm sure it's simple enough for me to do. But once you change this policy, I will consider purchasing a new one. Not while you enforce this very bad policy.

Again, I don't want "free stuff". I pay what I receive. but I am not receiving anything of value in this case. You are just hiding something I should already be capable of doing myself. Hence bribary charge.