shopcarpro

Hi All, I am planning in purchasing a MB Star C4 Diagnostic set up from a vendor on eBay or otherwise. Have done numerous research on possibilities , pitfalls etc. and feel, it is advisable to buy from a vendor on ebay with good feed-backs, since other on-line vendors seem unpredictable in aftermarket support, product quality etc. etc. http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nk...d=160424075205 is the link on eBay of various vendors. I am tempted to purchase from one of the two vendors. http://www.ebay.com/itm/MB-Compact-4-SD-connect-Star-C4-wifi-Diagnostic-Tool-For-Mercedes-Benz-Star-Scan-/171121431678?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27d7a1d47e Vendor from China with not so good English in the listing OR http://www.ebay.com/itm/MB-STAR-COMPACT-C4-Multiplexer-Mercedes-diagnostic-tool-wifi-with-hdd-2014-01-/251573790768?hash=item3a92f76830&item=251573790768&pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtra Vendor from Lithuania with better English in Item Description...
The Chinese vendor states - mercedes benz star compact 4 for benz Coding of all engine, chassis, body and instrumentation modules The Lithu..vendor states -2. New MB SD Connect Compact 4 Star Diagnosis not only support K line diagnose and CAN BUS,but also UDS diagnose protocol. Because old MB STAR C4 main board do not have UDS chip, so old MB STAR C4 can not support it...My confusion/doubt/skepticism is to believe or not these claims due to my inexperience/lack of product knowledge etc. Hence, I am hoping for diligent/relevant advice from knowledgeable forum members at this juncture.
Thanks so very much in advance for your time in responding.

willgar

I just ordered an ebay unit (albeit C3) yesterday from seller "dzrawdubz". I spoke with the Lithuanian guy, he says it takes 2 weeks for him to get a unit and another 2 weeks to ship (minimum). The US vendor is based in Hawaii and has c3 and c4 units in stock ready to be delivered, I should have mine in a few days. I am confident buying off ebay, the buyer protection is top notch.

He says he warranties the unit for 1 year (I don't know if this applies to c4) and is much cheaper than anybody else I found selling a ready-to-go setup.

Regardless I'll let you know how my c3 setup works.

EDIT: I didn't realize you were in Japan, shipping may be less of an issue.

shopcarpro

Cool, pls. keep us updated, as I am still looking for the right seller to deal with. Shipping to Japan is hassle-free, EMS, DHL.

willgar

Star setup arrived today. What do you want to know about it?

shopcarpro

Ｗｏｕｌｄ　ｌｉｋｅ　ｔｏ　ｋｎｏｗ how everything works out. Shipping punctuality, ease of payment, after-sales service in a while etc. if you do not mind. I am aiming for a C4 anyways. Pls. keep us posted. Thanx in advance.

willgar

Ease of payment:
It was ebay, so paypal made things pretty easy

Shipping:
Ordered on a monday, had it by friday. Box/tracking number says it came from china, even though the sender is based in Hawaii on ebay. Still 5 days to ship from China to Virginia is amazing. Packaging was OK, lots of bubble wrap but I expected a little better considering its a laptop.

Product:
The laptop was missing its RAM stick, a little disappointing but an easy fix. It also must have been dropped while shipping because the computer has a cracked screen. But I had a small external monitor I am using temporary. I contacted the seller regarding the problem earlier today, he hasn't responded yet. Multiplexer says it was made in france on it, everything was brand new. Really nice quality cables, metal connectors, just nice quality stuff.

Functionality:
Everything works perfectly. EPC/WIS, XENTRY (I'm not sure what the difference between this and DAS is yet), DAS and a couple other programs I haven't played with yet. DAS has developer mode, allowing coding and advanced functions. I played with it for several hours, read every module, played with the activations, everything is perfect.

Cliff's notes: Some minor snags but overall I'm very satisfied. The capabilities of this system are blowing my mind.


Im using this on a w220 S-class by the way.

shopcarpro

Hey, Thanx for this response. All in all seems like all sellers are getting the stuff from China and reshipping or having the Item/s shipped. Not a big deal. Good to hear, you are happy with the performance of unit. What is the cost for a C3 or C4 from your seller - if we may ask. Also, what did u do on your W220 so far??? If we may know. Bst Rgds. from Japan.

willgar

I paid $700 shipped. The seller said he was negotiable, but only if I paid directly through paypal (as to cut ebay fees), but I wanted buyer protection so I paid a little more. Most other people selling a unit with a laptop wanted over $1000. He used to have C4 listed for around $400, but I dont see it today. You might try messaging him.

In the first few hours of use I have:
-"RODEO" bleed (along with a roll and pitch bleed)
-Checked the pressure of the ABC pump/played with the valves
-Discovered that the circulation pump for the rear ac isn't working
-Cleared the codes on my SRS module (the car has been in an accident)
-Discovered that the front seat belt tensioner on a 2003+ sclass is in the buckle, and even though it says its reuseable, it has a squib and has to be replaced if any airbags have been deployed
-Discovered that my car is missing its TCU...(), car was stuck in second and jerked into reverse, but I never noticed the whole TCU was missing. DAS said it could not connect and told me to check the wires and connections for damage. I opened the box to see a couple of unplugged connectors. DAS simulation says I should be able to code a used one, but we'll see shortly.
-Found out that my key had a low/dead battery and it was throwing faults in the EWS, fixed key, cleared codes.
-Diagnosed a faulty rear headrest motor as a leak in the bag (DAS says that its not holding pressure and told me the exact part number to change)
-Was able to control every light/motor/valve/switch in the car remotely and individually. For example you can test the light on the rear cigarette lighter. Unbelievable.
-From the simulations, it seems that I can retrofit features by re-coding modules with modified features. DAS asks what is fitted before coding. For example when coding seat switch, it asks whether the switch has heat, cool, memory. But I haven't tired the actual coding part yet.

Currently my car is only throwing fault codes for the rear ac, vacuum pump (rear headrest) and TCU. When I started almost every module in the car threw some code. I should add that you should DEFINITELY invest in a power supply or special battery charger that supports "programming" (basically a stabilized high amp charge). You have to have all the computers in the car on at the same time and cycle the key off and on (so the engine cant be running) meaning the battery drains really fast.

I'll go take some pictures of what it all looks like. Let me know what you want to see.

shopcarpro

　Ｄｅｆｉｎｉｔｅｌｙ， great stuff you can do with this. I am very impressed and want to buy one asap. Will try to contact your seller thru ebay. Thanx again.

willgar

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shopcarpro

Hey , I think its on the money. great stuff. Thanx again.

IGB

That is one impressive system. And I must say, I have been thinking about getting something similar although I might simply start with the software (in spite of its limitations) before graduating onto something as elaborate as this.

That said, a little heads up about the eBay Buyer Protection Guarantee... I am not sure if you've ever had the need to use it before but it really isn't all that they make it seem to be. In fact, I tend to think that Amazon's A-to-Z Guarantee has a slight edge.

For one, and for an item that is of a high dollar cost, this might not seem like an issue, however, if you buy something from a seller who s\hips from China, chances are if you need to return anything, it will likely have to go back to China. This might result in a huge postage fee and in any case, regardless of whether the item was damaged in shipping, "not as described" or even if it were a knock-off/fake brand name item that the seller is trying to rip you off by selling it as if it were the real thing, you dispute the sale with with eBay, and according to the fine print under their Buyer Protection Guarantee, while they will refund you the cost of the item plus what you originally paid for shipping, that refund is not going to come your way until the seller has received his item back. And who gets to pay for the fees to ship the item back to the seller (with tracking/delivery confirmation)? You, the buyer!

Notice it says nothing about that in the FAQs:

However, if you read the fine print, and though it says "we may decide to pay for return shipping"... They NEVER do and instead, they require the buyer to pay return shipping:

Second, the Buyer Protection Guarantee only applies for the first 30 days after the item was expected to be delivered.

In other words, even in case the seller is offering a one year warranty, eBay is not going to back you up if something happened six months down the line and the seller refused to honor the warranty...

I've gotten burned super bad by eBay and hence my wanting to expose their underhanded methods (example: calling it a "Buyer Protection Guarantee" when in fact, it ensures that the sellers is made whole and that he gets his item back (and it must be in perfect condition otherwise you get no refund) all while you must absorb the cost of shipping back to seller even if it was "item not as described in the listing". Not suggesting people should stop buying on eBay but be aware of the small details as they do make a huge difference.

willgar

So far, the specific seller I am dealing with has been excellent. I mentioned in a previous post the laptop was missing ram, but I didn't realize there was a second port under the keyboard that had 1 gig. Also the seller offered to either refund me the cost of having the screen fixed or ship me a new laptop.

Regarding the software, all it takes is one significant repair to make it pay for itself. I recently discovered the WIS system, which has step-by-step guides to do anything to the car, with pictures and tightening torques. I know some of this is available online, but nothing compares to the complete integration offered by the software. If anyone is interested (or is about to attempt a DIY) I can post pictures.

Since my last post I have done a few other things to my car:

1) computer was saying my circulation pump for the rear ac was not working, turns out the problem was there was air in the heater lines. Diagnosed it by looking at the temperatures of the heater core.
2) computer was saying that the intercooler circulation pump was not working. Diagnosed it as more air in the coolant lines. Bled the low temp system using the procedure outlined in XENTRY.
3) diagnosed a/c only blowing cold out of driver's front vents as low freon in the system by reading the freon pressures on DAS. A/C is ice cold now out of all four corners.

And the real achievement:
Fixed a friends S600 that had collapsed front ABC suspension. His Snap-On scanner was unable to diagnose the problem. DAS cited the problem as a single valve on the valve body located in the front left of the car. It said to check the wires for damage or corrosion. Sure enough, the plug was loose on the valve exactly where DAS said it would be. Plugged it in and the suspension is 100% now. The friend was pricing out new front ABC struts.

giuseppe mike

here is offer, supply mb sd c4 full kit with dell d630 laptop, software will be activated before shipping, directly to use after receive it:http://www.obdtool.co.uk/wholesale/m...30-laptop.html

sl600vttt

Hey, I just picked up one of these systems too. I haven't had a lot of time yet to play around but I do have a question for you. I have read that the software can be updated periodically but i'm not sure about connecting to the internet since i don't want to run into a situation where MB disables the software or hardware. Any thoughts?

ealltech

I got a MB STAR C4 from Plusobd.

They are reasonable, up front if you know what to ask
I bought few things from them..... Still works after 3 years(longest)

Down fall of them is.... They are NOT all up to day on there software versions (if current SD 4 is 2014.07 version they only going to have it up to

either 2014.02 or 2014.5) But stable

biker349

please help. i see mercedes c3 with and without hdd. what does the hdd do? and is it worth the extra cost to buy one with the system?
thanks