MMI dodgy dealer warning

[mcbutler]

Hi all,

Like a few others I have bought and had fitted an MMI unit from a dealer on AliExpress called the Carsara MT Store

This is a warning to anyone else thinking of using this supplier.

My MMI is faulty, it flashes, twitches and blinks all the time on both the MMI scree and the original BMW OS screen (both signals pass through the MMI box).
It does this all the time, all the cables have been checked and rechecked byu the professional who fitted it.

Dealer has sent two software updates which were a waste of time.

I asked him "what next" and now he is ignoring me completely.

So, purchase at your peril if you use this thieving twa_

[Timmyboybunter]

How funny - I am currently on hold with PayPal, browsing the forum, chasing the complaint I raised about the Carsara unit I returned (due to it being the 'new' model, whereas I ordered the old).

My original unit from Carsara worked 100% perfectly, right up until the point I sold my last car. The replacement unit I bought from another seller was malfunctioning and throwing canbus errors etc - nightmare, and would make me think twice about installing another.

And 2 minutes later, pleased to report Paypal have re-opened my case and found in my favour! (after closing it 2 weeks ago as it took 1 month and 10 days for the package to arrive in China).

AliExpress is really the ultimate gamble isn't it. Be prepared to lose any money spent there. Sorry to hear about your experience Mark.

[mcbutler]

I got a reply today, they are sending a replacement LVDS cable, pretty sure thats not going to fix it but will give it a go.

[mr.tourette]

What these threads have me wondering is why aren't these units available to buy elsewhere, you would think with their popularity they would be more freely available.. or are they some sort of unlicensed product using software they shouldn't? thats the only reason I can think of with them only available on Ali

[Silverstar]

What these threads have me wondering is why aren't these units available to buy elsewhere, you would think with their popularity they would be more freely available.. or are they some sort of unlicensed product using software they shouldn't? thats the only reason I can think of with them only available on Ali

They are freely available, there are sellers in Europe selling them on eBay and elsewhere but at usually at a big price premium. I regularly buy stuff from China wholesale to sell online and bought mine from a seller on Alibaba rather than Aliexpress. They had no issues with selling me these kits in wholesale for me to sell on but I just didn't think they would be worth the after sales trouble to warrant me selling them on.

[AnubisZed]

OK an update from me......
Mark contacted me regarding this and nothing I could come up with worked so I'm still thinking it requires a new box.
I've contacted the supplier, as its the one I recommended in the first place and have dealt with a few times now with no issues. This was on Thursday & Friday last week. They told me that they have offered to send the LVDS cable and sent me a screenshot of said offer, now I'm assuming this offer was the same day I spoke to them.
I'd like to say that I hope the cable sorts this issue out, but to be honest I doubt it will, but you never know.

There is a distance issue here as well as a language problem, but there is also the issue that they don't want to be sending new boxes out willy-nilly without exhausting all cheaper alternatives as that's the expense part, not good for the buyer though in being messed around.

As stated above, although these boxes are made in China they are sold around the world. There are re-sellers in Europe, the UK and the USA. Some companies just sell them as they are, unbranded and some have their own branding and even UI's installed with different graphics, but they all do the same job and come , originally, from the same place. The difference is that these rebranded boxes cost you at least double what the Aliexpress ones do, partly because they are taking the warranty side on and partly because if it looks different then the customer thinks they are getting something better for their money, which they aren't! I hope that explains it a bit more.

[mcbutler]

OK an update from me......
Mark contacted me regarding this and nothing I could come up with worked so I'm still thinking it requires a new box.
I've contacted the supplier, as its the one I recommended in the first place and have dealt with a few times now with no issues. This was on Thursday & Friday last week. They told me that they have offered to send the LVDS cable and sent me a screenshot of said offer, now I'm assuming this offer was the same day I spoke to them.
I'd like to say that I hope the cable sorts this issue out, but to be honest I doubt it will, but you never know.

There is a distance issue here as well as a language problem, but there is also the issue that they don't want to be sending new boxes out willy-nilly without exhausting all cheaper alternatives as that's the expense part, not good for the buyer though in being messed around.

As stated above, although these boxes are made in China they are sold around the world. There are re-sellers in Europe, the UK and the USA. Some companies just sell them as they are, unbranded and some have their own branding and even UI's installed with different graphics, but they all do the same job and come , originally, from the same place. The difference is that these rebranded boxes cost you at least double what the Aliexpress ones do, partly because they are taking the warranty side on and partly because if it looks different then the customer thinks they are getting something better for their money, which they aren't! I hope that explains it a bit more.

Hi Dave and thank you for doing that. I have still not received any notification of cable dispatch despite accepting the offer, so will just sit here and wait.
Updates will follow guys