BEWARE aUTOTHORITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
02-27-2009, 01:55 PM
#16
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Other than the Autothority Chipset/MAF being old technology, I have absolutely nothing bad to say about them.
They have bent over backwards to help me, and upon discovering a bad harness connection I called them and they overnighted the piece to me...so...I am OK with them.
From other threads/posts I have read, it seems that the customer service issues seem to arise when the person with the issue was not the original owner/purchaser, but still wants Autothority to back a product that they have no idea what has been done to it, how many times it has changed hands, etc....
This reaction seems to be consistent with other ( not all but most) chipset vendors, I have spoken with. I inquired to a few if they would offer support (even if I paid for the support), and the majority of the answers were a solid NO.
I have no affiliation with Autothority and if to do again (which I will in the near future), I would choose a different vendor based on the better performance now available and not because of any customer service issues.
BTW...Authority merged with PitStop motorsports.
They have bent over backwards to help me, and upon discovering a bad harness connection I called them and they overnighted the piece to me...so...I am OK with them.
From other threads/posts I have read, it seems that the customer service issues seem to arise when the person with the issue was not the original owner/purchaser, but still wants Autothority to back a product that they have no idea what has been done to it, how many times it has changed hands, etc....
This reaction seems to be consistent with other ( not all but most) chipset vendors, I have spoken with. I inquired to a few if they would offer support (even if I paid for the support), and the majority of the answers were a solid NO.
I have no affiliation with Autothority and if to do again (which I will in the near future), I would choose a different vendor based on the better performance now available and not because of any customer service issues.
BTW...Authority merged with PitStop motorsports.
02-27-2009, 02:14 PM
#17
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No, or at least not when I asked. Which is completely understandable for the aforementioned reasons.
02-27-2009, 02:50 PM
#18
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Based on experience, when items change hands a few time, some parts can be missing/misplaced, electronics condition is unknown, and in many cases the parts being sold are not a good match to the new application (not what he/she should be using). You explain this to the buyer, the seller will be ticked off as you blew away his deal. Supporting a mismatch will never yield good results.
Charge the buyer for time spent diagnosing a issue to find out he/she purchased a damaged component, will have a bad ending no matter what. The chances are he/she will not be happy as they might end up spending more $ than when purchasing new.
The bottom line, when you purchase second hand equipments, you are taking a risk. When we ship a product we offer support as we know there is no mismatch, no missing components and no unknowns. Supporting electronics is much more complicated that supporting a plastic part that you can examine by looking at it.
If you want the extended support, then buy new. Vitesse offers the best support out there.. Do a search! We don't promise unless we know we can deliver...
As far as APE, I cannot speak for them. However I get lots of inquiries from people that owns their products and need support. The MAF manufacturer where APE purchased their MAFs is no longer in business. Some of the MAF calibrations are (what I consider) a bit odd and cannot be reproduced. My thinking is taht they moved on to a different market.
02-27-2009, 03:54 PM
#19
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If you do buy new the support is unmatched. I've bought/owned several different chip/maf combo's now. No one takes the time that John does.
02-27-2009, 04:24 PM
#20
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The OP was just trying to ask a simple question. Authority showed him the door. I promise you if you call John and want to ask a simple question about one of his products he will glady take 5 minutes even if he has never done, nor will do business with you. There is a huge difference in calling up and just ask a couple of simple questions trying to figure out what the maf/chip/unit supports and trying to get them to troubleshoot a serious problem with you that could take hours.
If you do buy new the support is unmatched. I've bought/owned several different chip/maf combo's now. No one takes the time that John does.
If you do buy new the support is unmatched. I've bought/owned several different chip/maf combo's now. No one takes the time that John does.
02-27-2009, 04:45 PM
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02-27-2009, 04:52 PM
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John, I know...I know...I keep forgetting to get it mailed back. It will be mailed tomorrow!
The little stuff gets easy to forget... Sorry.
02-27-2009, 06:16 PM
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02-27-2009, 07:16 PM
#25
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The OP was just trying to ask a simple question. Authority showed him the door. I promise you if you call John and want to ask a simple question about one of his products he will glady take 5 minutes even if he has never done, nor will do business with you. There is a huge difference in calling up and just ask a couple of simple questions trying to figure out what the maf/chip/unit supports and trying to get them to troubleshoot a serious problem with you that could take hours.
If you do buy new the support is unmatched. I've bought/owned several different chip/maf combo's now. No one takes the time that John does.
If you do buy new the support is unmatched. I've bought/owned several different chip/maf combo's now. No one takes the time that John does.
I was not questioning the service John provides, I have applauded it several times. What I was getting at is that it is hard for Vitesse, or anyone for that matter, to fix issues in a system that has been around the block a bit and the history is not known. That is all, nothing more.
02-27-2009, 08:08 PM
#26
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02-27-2009, 11:27 PM
#27
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Mr MPD47, do you work for Autothirty Pit Stop? It kind of sounds like it to me.
As i mentioned in the original post, I am a certified and quality technician employed at a shop with awesome technical support and experience. The Maf kit that I have is not a missmatched component set, it is a combo that had a failure somewhere. All I wanted from APE was maybe some specs or a wiring diagram, as i know that over the phone diagnosis with an unknown individual mostly ends up unsuccessfull. As to the failure being the APE kit, when i put all my stock components back on, my issues went away. Hmmmm, go figure. Like I said before, I've had great luck with the folks at Lindsey, Russel Berry has been great too, and it sounds like Mr. Vitesse is also a stand up guy. These are the people that I'll be dealing with in the future, believe me.
As i mentioned in the original post, I am a certified and quality technician employed at a shop with awesome technical support and experience. The Maf kit that I have is not a missmatched component set, it is a combo that had a failure somewhere. All I wanted from APE was maybe some specs or a wiring diagram, as i know that over the phone diagnosis with an unknown individual mostly ends up unsuccessfull. As to the failure being the APE kit, when i put all my stock components back on, my issues went away. Hmmmm, go figure. Like I said before, I've had great luck with the folks at Lindsey, Russel Berry has been great too, and it sounds like Mr. Vitesse is also a stand up guy. These are the people that I'll be dealing with in the future, believe me.
02-28-2009, 12:40 AM
#28
If I worked for them, do you think I would've responded as such? No, I would've defended the product. Do a search on my name and you can find out the products/companies that I've dealt with through rennlist. I don't represent anyone with an financial interest in this site.
