Mike.
I have heard nothing but good things about the microtuner and am looking to buy one. There is someone on here with a classified ad for the very same microtuner I need. They said they sold the truck and want to sell the tuner. Is this a bad idea to buy one that is not new?

 

Well, in general, of course the Micro Tuner is a very reliable product and problems are rare, so usually buying it used works out OK. You do need to make sure that the Micro Tuner is newer than *your* vehicle is, so you don't have a situation in which you have to pay a fee to have it updated before it will work on your truck.

You also need to consider & remember that when you buy used performance parts, you have no benefits of ownership. There is nobody to call or go to for help or support, and no protection from the manufacturer, you are strictly **on your own.** Sometimes people don't really understand that, that's why I am rather emphatic in how I state that, not to discourage anyone from buying used if a good situation comes along, but just so people don't forget to consider that element & will take a minute to make sure that is OK and that they are really comfortable with that.

Only *you* can decide if having a warranty, having someone to call for Tech Support or help, etc., matters to you. If those things are not a concern & you like the deal, then sure, you can certainly buy it used if that makes you happy!

Best of luck whatever you decide,

 

Also note that you can only program 1 vehicle per tuner and it locks itself to a specific VIN. So you may be buying an expensive code reader. Not sure what model you are looking at but the 1715 states right in the manual that it will lock onto the VIN and only program that vehicle.

Now if someone has a way around this... I'm all ears.

 

Hey Mike T., I never really considered that angle before buying my Microtuner from ya. What would happen to me if say I totaled my current '01 SCrew and replaced it with a 2002 or 2003? Would I be able to find some way to use my Microtuner on the new truck? Could it be sent back to SuperChips and reset, or something?

Ya know, just when I thought I had all the bases covered, somebody adds a new bag to the diamond............

-Mike-

 

The Microtuner has a return to stock option. When you hook the microtuner up for the first time to the truck, it stores the stock program before it uploads the tuned program. The presence of the stock program is what I believe tells the microtuner that it is already being used for one vehicle. When you return that vehicle to stock, thereby clearing the stored program, the tuner can then be used in another vehicle.

Rest assured that the tuner I have for sale in the classified section CAN be used in another truck. I returned it to stock per the instructions and I know that the program was no longer on my truck...the SOTP (seat of the pants) meter told me that loud and clear.

 

Hi All,

Storm made an excellent point (and a very important point that I really didn't think to mention, sorry!), in that it is possible for someone to not return their vehicle to stock but tell you they have and sell you their *really* used Micro Tuner, which would then be worthless. Now, of course it takes a deliberate thief to do that, but you know how the Internet can be......

I will say this........anyone entertaining the idea of buying Ed's used Micro Tuner can rest assured that Ed is a straight-up fellow who won't ever pull any nonsense like that. Nor would any of the people that really participate and contribute to these forums, IMHO.

To answer Big Deal's (Mike's) question....................

It would depend on just when that Micro Tuner was made and when the replacement vehicle was made. If your replacement vehicle was built *before* that particular Micro Tuner was made, then you'd probably have the newer codes the replacement vehicle would require and be just fine. However, if that Micro Tuner was made before the replacement vehicle, it may very well *not* have the code needed for the new replacement vehicle, and then you'd need to pay a fee to have it updated.

So you wouldn't be "stuck," but you *might* have to pay an update fee to make it work on the replacement vehicle, it just depends on when the Micro Tuner was made compared to when the replacement vehicle was made.