Background:

This post continues a comparison of several Mk7 GTI Stage 2 ECU tunes.

Discussed in this post is my experience obtaining a 034 Motorsport IS20 Stage 2 tune.

A while back I obtained the 034 Motorsport flash cable with DSG tune. I was driving with an IS38 in my GTI and 034 did not offer an ECU tune for the Mk7 GTI with IS38, so I mixed the 034 DSG tune with a Cobb-based ECU tune.

Having reinstalled the IS20 to gather performance data on several tunes I was in good shape to obtain the 034 Motorsports ECU tune.

034 Offer:

To sweeten the deal 034 was offering a chance to try their software for 30 days risk-free.

Transaction Details:

Per the advertisement instructions, I contacted 034Motorsport before purchasing and requested to take advantage of the advertised offer.  Shortly after I received confirmation the payment was accepted and I was informed that within 1 to 2 business days the ECU tune would be available for installation.

Derailed:

It was at this point that things went off track.  I received a communication from the 034Motorsport Marketing Manager stating that they were canceling my order because they believed I was going to compare their tune with that of a competitor.

Right, you are probably thinking “Isn’t that the exact scenario they describe in the offer to entice consumers to try their tune?” 

You are correct, their advertisement specifically calls for consumers with competitors’ tunes to try theirs, but notwithstanding the false advertising implications, 034Motorsport wanted no part of having their tune compared with competitors if a review would be made.

Suggestion:

I followed up with 034Motorsport after they notified me that they were canceling my order and requested that they reconsider, suggesting that a vendor that is willing to stand behind its product demonstrates to consumers that they are confident in the product performance – to say nothing of the inconsistency of making an offer and then stating they did not want to honor that offer.  034Motorsport was un-swayed.

Test reality:

Something many of these small businesses don’t have experience with is selling their products to a consumer who has an interest in verifying how the product will perform.  Verifying a product does what it is claimed to do is not abnormal. 

034Motorsport told me: “You are doing testing with variables that we did not approve nor endorse.”

No kidding. This supplier may as well have yelled out, “We’re clueless about how this works in the real world“.

In the real world, the vendor does not participate in the consumers’ testing. This stems from the conflict of interest a vendor would have.

On a positive note, as a test engineer, it is satisfying to scare the shit out of a marketing manager since it is confirmation that my work is accomplishing its purpose of accurately documenting how products perform.

Conclusion:

A purchase was made of the 034Motorsport ECU tune for the Mk7 GTI in response to the business offering consumers to try their tune if the consumer has a competitor’s tune.

Despite my situation and actions meeting the terms of the offer the business reneged on their offer and canceled my order.  The company claimed that they did not want their product compared with a competitor if it would be in a review.

Despite advertising a “risk-free” offer I spent time and effort to purchase the tune per the offer terms that the business failed to honor.

Implications:

This action by 034Motorsport raises questions about truth in advertising, the Consumer Review Fairness Act, and what the company believes about the performance of its software that they don’t want consumers to find out.

References:

• Mk7 GTI Stage 2 Tune Comparison Main Page