Harbor Freight Autel DS708!?!?

[Loscaldazar]

http://www.harborfreight.com/MaxiDA...wOTkuOTkiLCJwcm9kdWN0 X2lkIjoiMTA2NjIifQ==

$1100 with coupon. Maybe it will go cheaper too?

 

[Moltar]

Likely it will. I believe it's now an obsolete model. The questions I have is Harbor Freight an authorized seller and will Autel still provide support and updates.

 

[JDSV]

Likely it will. I believe it's now an obsolete model. The questions I have is Harbor Freight an authorized seller and will Autel still provide support and updates.

It does look like an older model but do not think it is obsolete as Autel had an update for it on 3/5/2014.
http://www.autel.us/updates/upds708.htm

Looks like the same model can be bought from Amazon for a bit more:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008XN7NUG/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Amazon is saying the device was first available (I assume for sale on Amazon) in 2010, not sure if that relates to the date when Autel first released it.

 

[capturedlive]

Don't know where there idea of obsolescence is coming from. Autel is still selling it on its own homepage: http://www.autelshop.com/

 

[209businessman]

Re: Maxidas Scanner $1099.00 at HF
I emailed harbor freight and asked if they were a authorized seller of the maxidas ds708 and they said yes and that there units come with serial numbers and they said yes. I then emailed Autel US and asked them about harbor freight and they told me that harbor freight is a not a authorized vendor and that they don't purchase from Autel US direct. I really want to purchase the maxidas ds708 but don't know if I should believe autel or harbor freight. Anyone buy the maxidas ds708 from harbor freight and was it a legit US unit and have you had any problems with tech support

 

[Moltar]

Don't know where there idea of obsolescence is coming from. Autel is still selling it on its own homepage: http://www.autelshop.com/

I know the reply is a little late, but obsolete as in it's no longer the latest and greatest tool Autel offers and is not likely to have any continued support for very much longer.

 

[PatL]

Did you end up buying the unit from HF and if so, was it obsolete and/or supported by Autel?

I am looking at it too and have the same questions. By the way, do a search for HF 25% off and you can get it for $875 at the moment.

Pat

 

[amoney90]

Anyone ever confirm if they're supported or not?

 

[JonnyMac]

Ive got one at work. It was purchased through a non authorized dealer but I contacted autel directly and asked if they knew the seller and whether they were a genuine product ti which they said it was all genuine. Ive never had any issues with support. The way i see it is that they are all made in china and the factory will sell you one directly if you wanted no matter where you are and the support is provided no matter where you are.

 

[The Wizard]

I'd like to bump this thread please.

Has anyone bought the DS708 from HF and been able to register, get support from Autel, etc?

Is there a Q in the 5th or 6th place of the serial number in these HF units?

The "Q" is supposedly a tell tale sign of a DS708 unit that Autel will support here in the US.

If you know, I'd appreciate the info as I'm ready to pull the trigger. Thank you.

 

[Gmonkee]

In case of doubt trust the maker's word on warranty and support. They hold the final card should you ever have a major problem

 

[signcrafter]

I was all but ready to pull the trigger also but was worried about buying from harbor freight. I emailed autel today and here is there response. Looks like I will not be able to update or get any support if you buy the autel from harbor freight. Also on the HF site it says 90 day warranty where if you buy it from an authorized dealer it says 1 year support and warranty. Not sure if it's worth the deal at HF?

Hello, Harbor Freight does not sell for us direct. We do not sell to them either. I believe they are purchasing directly out of China, so we actually can not support their products.

Maurice Miller
Technical Support | Autel North America

 

[regguy1]

I'd like to bump this thread please.

Has anyone bought the DS708 from HF and been able to register, get support from Autel, etc?

Is there a Q in the 5th or 6th place of the serial number in these HF units?

The "Q" is supposedly a tell tale sign of a DS708 unit that Autel will support here in the US.

If you know, I'd appreciate the info as I'm ready to pull the trigger. Thank you.

5th digit should be a Q for Autel US support

 

[signcrafter]

5th digit should be a Q for Autel US support

Autel told me they will not support the maxidas bought from HF.

 

[wagzilla]

I was all but ready to pull the trigger also but was worried about buying from harbor freight. I emailed autel today and here is there response. Looks like I will not be able to update or get any support if you buy the autel from harbor freight. Also on the HF site it says 90 day warranty where if you buy it from an authorized dealer it says 1 year support and warranty. Not sure if it's worth the deal at HF?

Hello, Harbor Freight does not sell for us direct. We do not sell to them either. I believe they are purchasing directly out of China, so we actually can not support their products.

Maurice Miller
Technical Support | Autel North America

That is why I did not get one!!

 

[yogitech]

What happens when autel gets taken to the cleaners by Ford motor company for stealing software? It won't matter where you bought the unit...!

 

[The Wizard]

In case of doubt trust the maker's word on warranty and support. They hold the final card should you ever have a major problem

I agree, and this is usually my mentality when buying things. When I look at the authorized dealers on Autel's website, it's a pretty short list compared to how many vendors/companies claim to be an authorized dealer seen on Ebay, Amazon, and the internet in general. I've run across more people that claim to be an authorized dealer in the last week than what's on Autel's website. LOL Are they lying? I guess it's feasible. People do it all the time to make a sale. Or maybe Autel is lying in an attempt to keep market value up by discouraging support/warrant from low cost vendors. Beats me.

I was all but ready to pull the trigger also but was worried about buying from harbor freight. I emailed autel today and here is there response. Looks like I will not be able to update or get any support if you buy the autel from harbor freight. Also on the HF site it says 90 day warranty where if you buy it from an authorized dealer it says 1 year support and warranty. Not sure if it's worth the deal at HF?

Hello, Harbor Freight does not sell for us direct. We do not sell to them either. I believe they are purchasing directly out of China, so we actually can not support their products.

Maurice Miller
Technical Support | Autel North America

Thank you for this info, much appreciated

5th digit should be a Q for Autel US support

Thanks for the clarification. What I find interesting is that even you state you bought from an Authorized Dealer, correct? (Yes, I realize you do in fact have a Q in the 5th digit) Well, the place you bought from isn't listed on Autel's website either, I think (see below). I even went as far as asking Autel about the place you bought it from today, and guess what, they're not on the list just like I suspected. Unless Autel is mistaken because the name of the place you bought it from, thetoolwarehouse.net, has a very similar name of Topline Tool warehouse, which is listed as an authorized dealer. What's weird is, when I click on Topline Tool warehouse from Autel's site, it doesn't take me to a valid site.

Just a theory, but what I think is happening is Autel is getting pissed that their product is getting whored out at crazy low prices. They have an ideal price point they'd like to sell their products for to retain market value, keep prices and profit up, but maybe some authorized vendors are selling to other non authorized vendors at rock bottom prices just to make a quick buck.

I called Harbor Freight today and they say they'll actually carry the unit in the stores right around Thanksgiving.

The price difference between buying from HF and an authorized dealer that's actually listed on Autel's website is about double! I don't care too much about the warranty or the support, but it would be nice to have. A year will fly by before you know it. The most important thing to me is being able to download any firmware/software updates during my 1st year.

In another DS708 thread here on GJ, someone recommended ntxtools.
What are your thought about buying from them now?
http://www.ntxtools.com/network-too...m_campaign=October%20Deals%20@%20NTXtools.com.
I can live with this price as I was going to buy the TS401 anyway.

Thanks for all your help/input fellas.

 

[dnschmidt]

J B Tool Sales has it for $999.99. I've bought tons of stuff from them. I think they are legit and wouldn't be selling gray market products.

 

[regguy1]

NTX Tools is a good outfit, I bought my OTC Genysis from them, they're in Ohio. with the TS401 it's a good buy. I'm sure they're not gray market. maybe you could actually look at a HF unit when they get some in stock and check the SN for the 5th Q

 

[cbrxfr67]

I've sold hundreds of 708's and they are still selling well. If anyone interested, pm me and I can try to help you get a better deal than elsewhere.

 

[signcrafter]

I've sold hundreds of 708's and they are still selling well. If anyone interested, pm me and I can try to help you get a better deal than elsewhere.

I'm interested in a 708 and was looking at picking one up form harbor freight for about 850 but autel.us told me HF is not an authorized seller and I won't be able to update it. Are you an autel.us authorized seller and will I be able to register and update if I buy from you? Do you have a website? What is your best price? Do you get these from autel.us or straight from china?

 

[The Wizard]

I'm interested in a 708 and was looking at picking one up form harbor freight for about 850 but autel.us told me HF is not an authorized seller and I won't be able to update it. Are you an autel.us authorized seller and will I be able to register and update if I buy from you? Do you have a website? What is your best price? Do you get these from autel.us or straight from china?

Great questions. I'd like to know as well.

 

[SCscoutguy]

I sent them a link to this thread and asked them to respond and they just sent me this back in a email as a response.

Greetings, Harbor Freight is not a authorized dealer of ours. We believe that they are purchasing this product directly our of China. Which means that Autel NA will not support this tool. All of our dealers are going to be listed on this link Dealers

And the DS708 we do still support and still till this day have software that comes out. This unit is not discontinued at all.

Maurice Miller
Technical Support | Autel North America

If HF is getting these directly from China like they say then wouldn't that be illegal?

 

[wvrailroader]

I bought an Autel MD802 through Sears (not a marketplace seller either) about a month ago. There was a packing slip in the box directly from Autel showing it had shipped from their warehouse. I got online and downloaded the updates, so it apparently has support directly from Autel. My point is that maybe some of those selling these scan tools may be just having them drop shipped directly from Autel, because Sears does not show up as a distributor on the list on Autel's website.

 

[JonnyMac]

I sent them a link to this thread and asked them to respond and they just sent me this back in a email as a response.

If HF is getting these directly from China like they say then wouldn't that be illegal?

No... why would it be...

if you buy a Japanese import nissan skyline rather than from a dealer that doesnt make it illegal??

 

[JonnyMac]

By the way, all of the support comes down to an sd card.
I actually corrupted the card due to some misinformation I followed. The seller simply sent out a pre loaded sd card and I just plugged it in and away you go.
As for, I guess what you'd call self support, its a login id on a website and the downloading or updates dont care where you purchased it from..
If you cant get access to the US site then the software is still identical to one released in any other region, you just have to confirm with the seller where the login details are valid for

 

[signcrafter]

I emailed HF yesterday asking about them not being an authorized seller and asked if I will be able to update the maxidas if I buy it from them. Here is the email I got back from them.



Thank you for your recent inquiry.

I will need to contact my technical advisor to properly assist you with this request. Please allow 2-3 business days for a response.

Please include all previous correspondences when replying.

Thank you,

Tommy
Harbor Freight Tools
Product Support

 

[signcrafter]

Just got another email from HF this afternoon.

Thank you for your recent inquiry.

Our corporate team is working with Autel right now to have the Autel support team updated that we are an authorized seller of this item. They have informed us that this should be resolved by next week and the support teams should no longer be stating we are not authorized.

Please include all previous correspondences when replying.

Thank you,

Tommy
Harbor Freight Tools
Product Support

 

[CGarcia]

Thats awesome. I just tried using a 25% off coupon ont HF website and it works, and shipping is only about 6 bucks. total 824.99

 

[Strouty]

If autel does support the ones from HF, that would be pretty cool.

 

[Loscaldazar]

As far as the ones Autel USA supports or not, the main problem tends to be with the fact that there are two version of the Autel MD802: a four channel and an all channel version. The 4 channel version is not supported, but the all channel version is, and I bet even if you order directly from china, the all channel version will be supported. As far as I know, there is only one version of the DS708, but you only get a year of free updates anyway. The price for an update after that is around $700!

 

[Brownsfan]

Does anyone know if this will communicate with bcm's? and other non powertrain modules? I got at 25% off coupon. Thats a lot of scan tool for the money.

 

[JonnyMac]

Does anyone know if this will communicate with bcm's? and other non powertrain modules? I got at 25% off coupon. Thats a lot of scan tool for the money.

Yes its full multi module...

 

[Tarheelgarage]

If autel does support the ones from HF, that would be pretty cool.

The one we have in the shop was purchased at Harbor Freight; no problems with registering or doing any software updates.

 

[signcrafter]

The one we have in the shop was purchased at Harbor Freight; no problems with registering or doing any software updates.

Thank you for that. Was hoping someone had bought at HF and could give some first hand experience.

 

[bcradio]

Thats awesome. I just tried using a 25% off coupon ont HF website and it works, and shipping is only about 6 bucks. total 824.99

Not bad, then you could probably get updates for only $400-$500.

 

[dnschmidt]

Updates for $400 to $500 dollars seem to worry people. If you're a professional shop then this is certainly under the category of "the cost to do business." If you're an individual why would you ever need to update other than buying a 2015 or later car. I bought a Chinese Tech 2 (which works great by the way) for $350 to work on my 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix. When I bought it I knew that it was only current up to 2013 and that I was never going to be able to update it. SO WHAT! All I cared about was whether it was current to 1999. This update thing to me is a minor consideration.

 

[signcrafter]

Not bad, then you could probably get updates for only $400-$500.

Updates are 800 a year after the first year.

Updates for $400 to $500 dollars seem to worry people. If you're a professional shop then this is certainly under the category of "the cost to do business." If you're an individual why would you ever need to update other than buying a 2015 or later car. I bought a Chinese Tech 2 (which works great by the way) for $350 to work on my 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix. When I bought it I knew that it was only current up to 2013 and that I was never going to be able to update it. SO WHAT! All I cared about was whether it was current to 1999. This update thing to me is a minor consideration.

I agree for the most part but updates aren't usually just for brand new vehicles. Sometimes they will had features for older vehicles or fix glitches or change how it functions.

 

[Tarheelgarage]

Updates are 800 a year after the first year.



I agree for the most part but updates aren't usually just for brand new vehicles. Sometimes they will had features for older vehicles or fix glitches or change how it functions.

Quit all the daym worrying and buy that daym scanner; you won't be happy until you are holding one in your hands....

 

[articsilber323]

The one we have in the shop was purchased at Harbor Freight; no problems with registering or doing any software updates.

does yours have a Q in the serial number?