Resell of a VCDS?

tncrom

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 30, 2013
Location
Iowa, East Central
TDI
2013 Passat TDI, Manual (Took Buyback), 2015 TDI Passat SE Manual
Hi...

I have about 80K miles on my 2013 Passat TDI. I'm getting a CEL (I think cold-related), haven't had much luck diagnosing, and it's become clear that I either get a VCDS or let the dealer handle. I'd like to keep the car for another 40K and turn it in at 120K (which is when the wtys on the turbo and ad blue htr go bye-bye). So here's my question: If I buy the $200 VCDS, and later want to sell it, is there a market for a used VCDS? I'm not sure if I'd have registered my VIN on it when I sell it, so it might have all three VINS still available, or possibly only two. Just wondering if folks sell VCDSs on this forum somewhere. I've definitely seen them on EBAY.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Chris
 

mishkaya

TDIClub Contributor
Joined
Mar 4, 2005
Location
Iowa
TDI
'06 Jetta 5MT, '10 JSW MT, '14 JSW 6MT
You might be able to find someone local to you to scan your car, in which case you wouldn't even need to purchase VCDS. Where are you located in Iowa?
 

tncrom

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 30, 2013
Location
Iowa, East Central
TDI
2013 Passat TDI, Manual (Took Buyback), 2015 TDI Passat SE Manual
Eastern Iowa,....just west of Iowa City. Work in Cedar Rapids
 

tadawson

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2013
Location
Lewisville, TX
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL, 2015 Passat TDI SEL
Only the wireless is VIN locked - the $200-ish MicroCan does not know or care how many cars it is used on.

- Tim
 

meerschm

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 18, 2009
Location
Fairfax county VA
TDI
2009 Jetta wagon DSG 08/08 205k buyback 1/8/18; replaced with 2017 Golf Wagon 4mo 1.8l CXBB
Uwe just posted updates on the VCDS line of interfaces. many things have changed, including vehicle vin count limits on cable interfaces.


http://forums.ross-tech.com/showthread.php?8778-HEX-V2-Product-Announcement-Introduction
the new version of the wired interface does come with VIN limits, structured to prices.

but these limits only apply to modification (basic settings, coding...)

no limit will be placed on reading codes or data, or resetting failure codes.

the $200 version is a bargain. at that price, two uses can pay for the whole thing, compared to a trip to the dealer.

you should not have any problem selling should you decide to, but the interface and VCDS also make a pretty good OBD-II reader for other cars.

and there is an active for sale area here

http://forums.tdiclub.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16
 
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tncrom

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 30, 2013
Location
Iowa, East Central
TDI
2013 Passat TDI, Manual (Took Buyback), 2015 TDI Passat SE Manual
Thanks everyone. Turns out a buddy of mine has a VCDS. Plan to borrow this weekend and see what's up. May still eventually buy the $200 as like one of you stated, that's maybe a couple of trips to the dealer.
 

tadawson

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2013
Location
Lewisville, TX
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL, 2015 Passat TDI SEL
Yeah, saw that later. All I can say is I'm glad I already own mine . . . I find it far harder to buy into tools deliberately restricted/crippled in software . . .

- Tim
 

16vjohn

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jul 12, 2007
Location
Salt Lake City, UT
TDI
EA288 CVCA 6MT
Yeah, saw that later. All I can say is I'm glad I already own mine . . . I find it far harder to buy into tools deliberately restricted/crippled in software . . .

- Tim
Fully agree. Came here to make sure the news was true. I was going to buy one today until i saw the restrictions. Especially when they tell me the VINs are hard coded. So, if you sell the car you're SOL on licenses. Sad. Ill just keep borrowing from friends with the older version.
 

AnotherPerson

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2015
Location
New Orleans
TDI
1999 Beetle
They will allow you to upgrade your 3vin package to 10vin or unlimited. So your not hosed. But if you do buy it and decide to sell it after using 1 vin, or now even older interfaces. You have to pay rosstech $100 transfer fee to be able to even use there forums on a legit product.
 

JSWTDI09

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 31, 2009
Location
Las Vegas, Nevada
TDI
2009 JSW TDI (gone but not forgotten)
I was going to buy one today until i saw the restrictions. Especially when they tell me the VINs are hard coded. So, if you sell the car you're SOL on licenses. Sad. Ill just keep borrowing from friends with the older version.
You can still purchase a wireless or a wired VCDS interface with unlimited VINs, you just have to pay more for it. The idea is to make it cheaper for the enthusiast who only needs 3 (or 10) VIN capability. If you buying new and you want unlimited VIN capability, you just have to be willing to pay for it.

Have Fun!

Don

P.S. Buying a used interface cable is also an option, unless you want/need support from Ross-Tech.
 

16vjohn

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jul 12, 2007
Location
Salt Lake City, UT
TDI
EA288 CVCA 6MT
I've had dozens of VW/Audi products, in a matter of a few years I will exhaust the 3 VINs easily. Sure, I can shell out more money to get around that. The point of my comment is real enthusiasts not engaged in commercial operations will be impacted.

That said, I do not condone or recommend intellectual property violations by anyone. More especially that of Chinese companies with seemingly endless ability to import products that do just that. I will say that this is exactly the type of behavior that fuels the rip-off market. If competition of the last 20 years has taught anybody, anything, it's that the harder you push the harder the market will push back. With this 3 VIN limit nonsense, I believe they've cemented themselves into a corner. This is exactly what the consumer gets when there is no viable competition.

I acknowledge and appreciate their contributions to this site and the TDI community... in the past... But I will not now, not ever support an engineered limitation that's clearly a money grab. There should be a way that I can prove I sold a car and have the VIN removed from my rightfully purchased device. If the real goal is to get more money out of commercial operations and not injure enthusiasts, there would be a way to do this. I literally logged on to Ross-Tech's site this morning to buy a cable until I read of the new limitations.

I'm sure some of you will find a way to argue the point... I really don't care. Like I said, I'll just keep borrowing cables that won't cost me anything.
 

Revpeach

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2012
Location
Monticello, IA
TDI
2012 Jetta
I have a miceo-can

I Live in Monticello, IA and have a micro-can for sale for $ 125, if you're interested. Turned in my Jetta so I don't need it anymore. PM if interested.
 

Nevada_TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 17, 2008
Location
Reno, sort of...
TDI
2001 Jetta TDI
As far as I know my VCDS doesn't have a VIN limitation, but I have never put Vin's in, so I really don't know. I have scanned a couple dozen cars so far and never entered their VIN's. I purchased my cable 8 or 9 years ago; maybe this is a fairly new thing I don't know about.
 

16vjohn

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jul 12, 2007
Location
Salt Lake City, UT
TDI
EA288 CVCA 6MT
As far as I know my VCDS doesn't have a VIN limitation, but I have never put Vin's in, so I really don't know. I have scanned a couple dozen cars so far and never entered their VIN's. I purchased my cable 8 or 9 years ago; maybe this is a fairly new thing I don't know about.
It's a new thing that started this year. To do any configuration (adaptation, etc), it will automatically record the vin and burn it to memory where it can't ever be removed. The only way around it is to increase your "license" count at the software level.
 

16vjohn

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jul 12, 2007
Location
Salt Lake City, UT
TDI
EA288 CVCA 6MT
I Live in Monticello, IA and have a micro-can for sale for $ 125, if you're interested. Turned in my Jetta so I don't need it anymore. PM if interested.
Tempting offer... someone will buy it. Unfortunately, I need support for my 2001 Jetta. Thanks sir.
 
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AnotherPerson

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 24, 2015
Location
New Orleans
TDI
1999 Beetle
Thinking about it. This must be part of the forced firmware update. My cable won't do the firmware update so I'm stuck with old software but it don't bother me. I tried posting about the problem in the rosstech forums but they keep telling me to update my software and give them some into about the dongle when it won't work. Go figure :/. And on a side note they now charge you for ownership transfer of a used cable. Even if it's a unlimited one that was purchased a while back.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

pdq import repair

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Location
idaho
TDI
09 Jetta
I fully support Ross-tech. For the level of software capabilities per dollar spent it is far above any of the competition. To get this level of software capability with anyone else you have to spend several thousand dollars.

Their policy from the very start was to charge you upfront and support the product for free. I often wondered how they could support themselves on software and cable sales alone.

Several years back they started talking about a support charge, where you would pay to get support on a per problem or yearly subscription basis. I thought at the time that it was a good decision and offered to sign right up for the yearly subscription. I was told that they didn't have the pricing quite figured out at that time and they would still support me for free. I guess they eventually scrapped the idea.

I only wish they would venture out into other car lines as well. I would gladly buy a cable per car line to get the same abilities as offered on VAG cars. I think though that they understand the premise "Do one thing only and do it well."
 

jef@rosstech

Associate Ross-Tech Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jul 19, 2010
Location
knoxville
TDI
2004 Dog hauling, wood towing, pinball stashing Jetta wagon
Several years back they started talking about a support charge, where you would pay to get support on a per problem or yearly subscription basis. I thought at the time that it was a good decision and offered to sign right up for the yearly subscription. I was told that they didn't have the pricing quite figured out at that time and they would still support me for free. I guess they eventually scrapped the idea.
We charge for vehicle support over the phone now, have been since 2011 or so.

https://store.ross-tech.com/shop/ts_annual/

Now we do have free product support over the phone for our registered customers. This covers help with installing the software, or some trouble shooting if you can't communicate with the car as a whole. We want our customers to be up and running.

Of course people can get free vehicle support on the web, we have our own Ross-Tech forum just for this. And of course here at TDIClub is another free resource.
 
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