I looked to see if DiabloSport was a sponsor and didn't see their logo (otherwise I would have posted this thread in the Sponsor Feedback section), but I might be wrong...

So I traded an XBox for fivepointseven's DiabloSport Predator knowing that others had gotten DiabloSport to reset their Predators. I even got the following from DiabloSport before going through with the trade.
Perfect.

So imagine my suprise when I called tech support after receiving my Predator only to find out that "you can only get it reset if you return the owners car to a stock tune." My question is: well then why would I need a reset in the first place?

In any case, the guy then started talking about "well if you hadnt gone to someone off the INTERNET..." like I had been cheated by fivepointseven. He even told me "You essentially bought an empty box. We cant get you a new tune because once its taken out of the Predator theres nothing in there. Its like buying an exhaust you need to have the exhaust to return, not just the box."

I'm a computer programmer, and I understand not wanting to offer others discounted software, but a Predator is two products: 1) an OBD2 scanner/writer (hardware) and 2) a tune (software). So by providing me just the software, they dont incur the cost for materials.

Thats what really pisses me off: the $400 price tag isn't just a tune! Its for both the software and the HARDWARE. I was providing the hardware...

In any case, telling me that I bought an empty box just to get me off the phone was rude. The fact that he would try to dummy everything down to the point of actually lying to me really ticked me off.

By the way, who here has gotten a reset from DiabloSport in the past? I'm sure there's more than one person...

 

ITs failry simple, if the previous owner did not put the vehicle back to stock, then your asking for a unlock for that, and if the company would do that for $99 when a new tuner costs $400

I have been on both sides of the phone for a conversation like the one you had, and while it does suck, the predator is designed to be the "key" that determines if you have access to the tune or not.

What does suck is they charge the $75 or $99 to unlock the GM ones, but the ford ones, once put back to stock, can be used on another car no problem.

Ryan

 

that sux... but you should really be bitching at the guy that sold it to you... that person didn't reset their car to stock as required ... so essentially he sold you a useless product...

Diablosport requires the PCM be flashed back to stock because that way they have proof that the original person isn't running their tune then giving it to friends (essentially 99 bux for the tune) .... only way they can prevent that is to have the car restored to stock and then reset the unit....

I'd be asking the seller to refund your money (send it back to him) and then if he wants to make the sale... reset his PCM and you'll buy it back..

 

Yeah. I was aware that the thing needed to be reset and I don't blame fivepointseven because he's been completely honest and really seems like a great person.

I posted an analogy on LS1.com:

Say you buy a computer from Best Buy. Then you erase the hard drive taking off Windows. If you sell the computer, the buyer can go to Best Buy and pick up a copy of Windows despite the fact that the hardware was bought off a third party.

I dont think DiabloSport would go out of business selling $99 reflashes. They would save money spent on manufactoring the unit and would essentially be selling copies of software that's already been written.

 

They charge the $99 or $75 regardless if you put the unit back to stock or not, so saying if you did not, they are not being paid for the second vehicle being tuned.

Basically, everybody would buy a used worthless predator, pay $99 to get it unlocked, and then tune thier vehicle. The last predator I purchased I paid $40 for it, and it was put back to stock. All it needed was the $75 or $99 unlock from diablo sport to be good as new.

Lets pretend you are looking on ebay for a predator for your car.

Would you purchase the tuner new from a DS vendor, or purchase mine, that I only have $139 into, that I can undercut a DS vendor, since they spend nearly double that for a predator from DS.

Ryan

 

I see your point Ryan. Since they would get $99 for reflashing a Predator that was returned to stock they dont really have anything to gain by offering the same price to have a not-returned-to-stock Predator reflashed. That is a good point.

That said, I would be willing to pay a higher fee to have mine reflashed. I still dont see why they insist on forcing customers to purchase new hardware. Going back to my analogy, I feel like it would be similar to Best Buy forcing customers to buy a new computer whenever they purchased a copy of Windows.

You make an excellent point though.

This does raise another question for me. Why would DiabloSport require a $99 reflash on a Predator that has been used on a car but then removed ("untuned")?