Bought a GPS online, great deal but it was hacked

[PandaBear]

Found a deal a while back on GPS from ebay. The seller with over 30000 feedbacks didn't mention who he is but when I got the package it is shipped from buy.com

It was a New Magellan Maestro 3200 on the listing, but turns out he send me a white box Magellan Maestro 3200C (C stand for Chinese). At least it is flashed to a 2007 US map. If you want to download a 2008-2009 US map, you have to download via torrent because Magellan wouldn't sell you a map for a hacked unit. Also warranty is questionable since it is hacked.

It is a good deal ($60 shipped), but I'm not sure if it is a good idea to keep it. Any recommendation?

 

[crinkles]

what is a hacked unit?

 

[Gary Allan]

Does he mean pirated software??

 

[jmac]

what happened to that first response to the OP?
I think it means the whole unit is counterfeit.

 

[crinkles]

Oh OK I get it. Naughty Pandabear!

 

[oilyriser]

Have we finally disposed of the Troll?

For $60, is it a pirated hardware as well? Stolen?

 

[Scott P]

There are dangers buying off ebay. Buying a counterfeit unit is one of them. Many manufacturers only offer support on products bought from actual authorized dealers.

 

[97f150]

Who gives a rats rear. If it works correctly....use it.

 

[PandaBear]

I don't think it is a counterfeit, but more like a gray market unit that was modified and sell in the US.

Buy.com is the ebay seller (funny isn't it), and from my own company's dealing with Buy.com, they are a store front for the manufacture or a whole seller.

 

[oilyriser]

They do drive on the same side of the road in China as in the USA. If you got the Hong Kong version, driving directions might get interesting on the highways.

 

[crinkles]

Originally Posted By: 97f150
Who gives a rats rear. If it works correctly....use it.


so you'd happily drive a chinese built F150 if copied from Ford's blueprints and it worked correctly??

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: crinkles
so you'd happily drive a chinese built F150 if copied from Ford's blueprints and it worked correctly??


It is build by Magellan, in Philippine, just like the Magellan for the US market. The only difference is the 90 days warranty and unsupported by the Magellan company because it is a gray market.

The correct comparison is if it was the same Ford F150 that was sent to Mexico but someone send it back to the US, with 1 year warranty, for 60% of the typical US cost, will you buy it?

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: oilyriser
They do drive on the same side of the road in China as in the USA. If you got the Hong Kong version, driving directions might get interesting on the highways.


The hardware is the same, they flashed the firmware and map to the US version.