I am thinking of buying a used sct xcal tuner for my paxton charged 2001 f150 5.4
My question is...should I?
I know I need to do a tune,but I don't want to buy a used vin locked device. Or have to send it off and spend more to have it unlocked or have cals put back in it....yada yada. So can they be used on more than 1 vin? How do I find out if it is unlocked?
I am new to all this tuner stuff and don't want to get scammed.
I'm sure new is best,but need to keep some green for other parts.
Any help to save some bucks.
Thanks.

 

I would really recommend you buy a new tuning device from a tuner who has experience and a track record writing custom tunes for supercharged Ford engines. This really isn't a good place to try to save a few bucks.

 

X2, bad tuning can end up being much more expensive than you could ever possibly save.

 

If you're just buying the tuner from craigs or the bay, I don't see an issue with it. It's not like you're trying to use the tunes already on them with your truck right? I've owned 5 tuners, 3 being with custom tunes, and ALL were used, never had a problem. Just download your own tune to it and you're all set. All you have to do is make sure you're getting an unmarried tuner. If it's auction, as long as they describe it as unmarried/unlocked, you're protected by "the bay" buyer policy for item price + shipping you paid. Plus you can always make the seller send you a picture of the tuner plugged into his/her truck or USB and show the screen that says "Unmarried". If buying in person, this is even easier to do and just make them show you it's unmarried after they power it on via an OBD-II port or via USB to a computer. It will also show how many unlocks are left incase you want to use it on another car or sell it in the future.

Hope this helps.

 

I sent back a SCT tuner when it started doing odd things. If you buy from a reputable tuner, you have that option. If you buy used, you are on the hook.

Buy new. It's great peace of mind.