Hopefully starting tomorrow I will be getting a Z2 unit... I want to upgrade it to Z3 firmware etc... So I have a few questions.. I tried to search about the ebay upgrades and didn't fine anything... So here it goes.

What's the advantage of upgrading to Z3 other then 3D buildings (which I think would be kind of annoying).

Also I know there is a seller here that does the upgrades as well and I was thinking about going with his upgrades BUT.. He doesn't do the 80gb harddrives and the 60gb harddrive to Canada is $150... Now I read about him saying beware of ebay drives as they could be cheap drives and such.. So this is why I am making this thread.. I am in NO WAY downgrading this reputable seller but as far as I am concerned money is money and if I can save myself over $50 (and even more since this is 80gig and not just 60gig) then I will do it...

So I emailed this seller to ask what model drives he is selling with the upgrade and I find out they are the exact drives that the seller on here is using.. Well one of them is and the other one is a different mode but they are both Toshiba's.. From what I can tell the only difference is buffer size (one is 8 and the other is 16).. Models are Mk8026GAX and the other is MK8032GAX.. The 32 is the one that the seller on here uses for the 40gb harddrive..

Basically I would like to see if anyone else has bought from this seller on ebay.. He has a 2 months warrenty on the harddrives as well... All upgrades from the looks of it exactly like the seller on here.. This is the link http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-2010-MAP-OUT-UPGRADE-AVIC-Z1-Z2-Z3-80gb-HDD-/330499528534?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf34e9756

There is also this seller who carries a 90 day warrenty (also uses the Toshiba harddrive just don't know what model yet)..

http://cgi.ebay.com/2010-MAPS-UPGRADE-AVIC-Z1-Z2-Z3-TOSHIBA-80GB-BYPASS-/140480131864?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20b544b318

Then there is this guy who is asking ALOT higher then anyone... $199

http://cgi.ebay.com/2010-MAP-Pioneer-AVIC-Z1-Z2-Z3-upgrade-80GB-bypass-/160471375938?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item255cd6e042 .. I can't figure why he is basically over $100 more then the other sellers..

Again I mean no offence to the seller on here.. I am just looking to get a good deal, Isn't everyone?? I am a bargain shopper and I will try to find the lowest price that is compare to the same unit.. I won't buy crap for a lower cost but I will buy something good for a lower cost compare to the exact same thing at higher cost...

If anyone can let me know if they have dealt with any of these seller it would be great

Thanks

29 views and no replys..hmmmmm

Most of us are waiting for Garret to reply but I'll just throw a thought out there:

Why do you want an 80 gig drive so bad? You can't even fill it up all the way, there's an album limit.

I saw the post, but nothing to "reply" to. I talked to this member offline and provided answers to his questions. My pricing is firm, as I need to cover my costs. My reputation on the forum speaks for itself. It does not matter to me where anyone buys their drives... I am just here to help...

There's your reply, OP.

To be honest, I think Garret is extremely reasonable with his prices. I've never heard a bad word about his services.

No I wasn't saying anything about his service or anything.. From what I read around here he is a good guy and provides a good service.. I mean no disrespect to him or his business...

I am just saying that there are three sellers (the guy with $199 had a typo it was $89) that are selling the exact same units (with 80gig instead.. not that I would use it but the point is "more for less") with warranty and I just wanted to see if anyone here bought from them.. I notice alot of people buying the hardrive on there feedback and they get good reviews... Powersellers auctally...

Some people will pay more money to have a service with somoene the know (I do this as well) then pay less to have more done... I havent been an avtive member here because never had a unit until now so I don't really know Garret. So I would prbably buy from ebay cause I know all 4 just the same (not at all)...

Cheers

Well I have been clear on this forum for a while now about my thoughts about buying products from eBay. In my opinion, eBay should always be an absolute last resort for anything, especially hard drive components used to run your entire unit. The problem with eBay is you really don't know if you are getting what is advertised or not. And don't be fooled by the feedback rating you see. Most people don't wait a full 30-90 days before leaving positive feedback so you really don't know if the product they bought actually lasted a reasonable time. To me, saving 50 bucks on a 130 dollar upgrade is not worth it when the damn thing takes a dump on you in 100 days. That being said, if there is 100% positive feedback on these eBay guys then you are probably ok with going with them but I have never seen a complaint about the service Garrett offers and I see every thread that gets posted on this forum. I really think you should consider paying the extra money for the piece of mind and go with Garrett. Good luck on your decision.

I post in my other thread about this.

What Garrett's warrenty???

These eBay guys have very good feedback and are power sellers. I don't think they get feedback and reputations by having bad products.

Like I said no problem with Garrett product just the price is alot more then all the the people who sell then. When I compare I look at this stuff

Same harddrives

Same software/firmware upgrades

Ebay has bigger harddrive 80gig

eBay has warrenty does he??

I just can see why his is almost double the eBay ones. Maybe he can't get the harddrives as cheap I don't know. I like to shop around like I said before. If the eBay guys has a bad rep or feedback history then of course I would pay more for someone who doesn't get bad feedback. BUT when they are both very comparable minus price I have a hard time spending $60+

Once again you have no idea how many of those positive feedback ratings that aren't so positive later down the road if a problem happens. To my knowledge you cant go back and change your rating months later when the item brakes and the seller wont do anything for you. This kind of thing happens all the time on eBay. Good luck to you on your decision however.

I post in my other thread about this.

 

What Garrett's warrenty???

 

These eBay guys have very good feedback and are power sellers. I don't think they get feedback and reputations by having bad products.

 

Like I said no problem with Garrett product just the price is alot more then all the the people who sell then. When I compare I look at this stuff

 

Same harddrives

Same software/firmware upgrades

Ebay has bigger harddrive 80gig

eBay has warrenty does he??

 

I just can see why his is almost double the eBay ones. Maybe he can't get the harddrives as cheap I don't know. I like to shop around like I said before. If the eBay guys has a bad rep or feedback history then of course I would pay more for someone who doesn't get bad feedback. BUT when they are both very comparable minus price I have a hard time spending $60+

Let me thrown my $0.02 worth. You can certainly try to save some money and get a drive from someone on eBay *CLAIMING* that their drive is suitable, but really isn't Garret uses automotve grade drives which are important because they are tested against vibration and have a much higher temperature range tolerance. They are NOT I repeat ***NOT*** the same drives. Just because they are the same physical size, doesn't make them the same. As for the 80GB, you will never be able to use it. If you are big into numbers, then you should go waste your money on eBay and stop asking questions, if you really care about what you put in your car, then listen to the advice that has already been given to you and is being repeated again. If you do some research, you will find that you can't even really fill up a 60GB drive fully because of the album limit imposed by the firmware on the unit itself. The bigger drive is wasted, so don't worry so much about numbers, worry about drive QUALITY. Garret's is better. Garret will always give you the absolute latest upgrade available at the time you purchase the drive, including the latest Gracenote database and XM/Sirrius pictures. Who knows what you get on eBay? If you think you will be able to track down an eBay seller for a warantee repair, then you obviously don't do much business on eBay as the rest of us do. I can say from personal experience that Garret's communication is top notch. He answers all questions thouroughly, honestly, and promptly.

I have bought from Garret and you can see my write up on his drive purchase thread if you wonder about the quality of service. Good luck on eBay, because it seems to me that you have your mind made up already and are just trolling for someone to tell you to go buy on eBay. You won't find anyone like that here, Garret has proven himself to be better than anyone despite the higher cost (for better quality drives that you won't HAVE to warranty) he more than makes up for it in quality service and convenience.

Good luck with whatever route you choose... but you will truely need the luck if you decide to go on eBay.

Very well put EssTEye. Especially sense the OP bought the very unit he needs this drive for from an untrusted source like eBay and the unit turned out to be defective that he now has to spend money on to get it fixed. YellowCobaltSS please don't take this as me rubbing it in. I seriously hope you find a solution that works for you with your situation. However I think it is important for future readers of this thread that may be considering eBay that it truly is a big risk and what has happened to you sense you originally posted this thread pretty much reinforces our point.

glad i read this...is there a way around the album limit...? how do i get in touch with garret ?

There is no work around for the album limit.

PM sent with contact info.