As title, the seller advertises on eBay for coding sessions (doesn't sell cables on there)

You have got the backing of Amazon if it doesn't work, i guess the only thing you wouldn't get is the ross-tech email support.

What do you think? The seller is*** in the buying options

Edited 31 July, 201213 yr by fordfan

Fake cable mate, anything that advertises a specific version of VCDS is a hacked cable to work with hacked software.

You will probably get a bunch of responses around "we only recommend the genuine Ross-Tech cable and software" etc.

Personally I'd be happi(er) purchasing from Amazon than eBay because as you rightly say, at least you have the backing of Amazon, whereas it would be easier to get blood out of a stone than get eBay to accept any responsibility for what they sell.

I reckon thats worth a punt.

LOL - Mike is right - I bought a cheap chinese copy for scanning the car - it was nothing but trouble. Worked fine for a bit then the VCDS software sees it as a fake and wipes the EEPROM on the cable.

I eventually took the plunge and bought the genuine article from Gendan.

I would not recommend buying a fake cable to anyone.

I wasn't going to buy it necessarily, I usually go by the rule if it seems to good to be true, it usually is.

Shame £263 for a genuine cable is a lot of money, it's not that it isn't worth it, it's just a lot of money for something I won't use very often.

I did have some coding done by a fellow member for beer tokens but If I want to play again it means more £££

Some will do it for free - you don't necessarily need to pay in beer tokens

I found that once you have set what you want on the car the cable is there for scanning codes, service resets and helping others out. There are only so may things you can do unless you go about upgrading controllers, which is likely to be unnecessary on your car.

your probably right, will leave off buying one for a bit.

LOL - Mike is right - I bought a cheap chinese copy for scanning the car - it was nothing but trouble. Worked fine for a bit then the VCDS software sees it as a fake and wipes the EEPROM on the cable.

I eventually took the plunge and bought the genuine article from Gendan.

I would not recommend buying a fake cable to anyone.

Fair enough ! Like the bit about wiping the EEPROM - nice touch that :-)

Yep - even if you set the hacked software to never check for upgrades and only use the cable when you are not connected to the internet there must be something built in somewhere that eventually checks the fake serial number of the cable and then it gets wiped.

Also, as Mike said, the very latest cars need the very latest VCDS - no point running an old version of the software that doesn't recognise the newer versions of the controllers properly!

I don't think you'd get any kind of backup from Amazon either. The item will do exactly what they advertise it as doing - it will be your fault if you upgrade the software and/or use the device while you're plugged into the net.

I'm a massive advocate of NOT being involved with theft/piracy at all (the reason why I would never buy a second-hand Columbus and why I will personally not get involved with discussions about them), so I'll either pony up for the official device or if I cannot justify that price, I won't have it - it's the same for absolutely anything in our house.

+1 for sticking to genuine stuff, especially where plugging into a machine worth several grand for the sake of a couple of hundred.

There is a cheaper genuine VCDS option if your needs are limited to the A5 platform which covers the MkII Octavia and loads of other VAG cars. This is now available from Gendan (see http://www.gendan.co.uk/product_VCMC.html) for just over £200. Its aimed at the enthusiast, and reckon it will do for me, especially as my Dad has an Audi A3 on that platform - just need to convince him to go halfs now!!

Adam

Fair enough ! Like the bit about wiping the EEPROM - nice touch that :-)

You can re-write the eeprom. As for checking for updates, just remove it from startup in MSCONFIG

You can re-write the eeprom. As for checking for updates, just remove it from startup in MSCONFIG

Yes you can - but it is a pain in the proverbial and you are tied to an old version of VCDS.

I know I am much happier having a genuine cable, and can always approach Ross-Tech for support when needed.

It constantly amazes me how people will spend £thousands on a car and then think that £250 is an extortionate amount of money to spend.

Topic edited and closed, Briskoda is not the place to promote illegal copies of VCDS.