RNS510 replacement ? any one tried this unit

[raygti]

7" DVD GPS VW PASSAT,JETTA,GOLF,EOS,TIGUAN,POLO,Tporter | eBay



went and saw this unit in flesh and i must say its a good looking unit, looks very similar to the rns510....

1 year local warranty too is tempting, however the quality im unsure of. have a mfd2 gps installed in my golf at the moment but it is a time for upgrade.


rough figures : for an rns510 to have same capability as this chinese unit :

$1000 unit, $300 bluetooth module , $100 coding, $50 for radio antenna adaptor.

roughly $1500... and thats overseas warranty too bear in mind....

will it really add that much value to the car?



what are people's opinions..

cheers

[FJ Steve]

long after the thrill of purchasing a bargain.......the sour bitter taste of the dodgy reliability of the Chinese units will have you cringing every time you look at it

Do yourself a favour......at least a reputable Euro on-seller will provide a reasonable warranty.

[raygti]

i value your opinion fj steve !!!! come on vw' dubbers !!!! more criticism ! the more views the better ! thanks mate

[nhand42]

will it really add that much value to the car?

Personal value, sure. Resale value, not so much. You won't add $1500 of resale value to the car.

[ozgti]

Crap. You'll get fed up with the crap graphics on the screen and the fact most of them don't fully integrate with the steering wheel controls. I sent mine back (From China) for refund. Cost me 70AUD to send it though. Just went and bought a proper RNS from the EU.

[SteveK]

long after the thrill of purchasing a bargain.......the sour bitter taste of the dodgy reliability of the Chinese units will have you cringing every time you look at it

Do yourself a favour......at least a reputable Euro on-seller will provide a reasonable warranty.

I was thinking the exact same thing. The user interface has a lot to be desired and would be a turn off from the whole experience. Pricewise though, it shows a lot can be done in such a small unit.

[Russ59]

Been there and done that, I had much the same unit, this chinese crap is nothing but trouble. Looks good in the dash but it's far too unreliable. I ended up flogging it back on fleabay, saved up some more $'s and bought an RNS510. The only way to go =)

[raygti]

Been there and done that, I had much the same unit, this chinese crap is nothing but trouble. Looks good in the dash but it's far too unreliable. I ended up flogging it back on fleabay, saved up some more $'s and bought an RNS510. The only way to go =)

hey russ, thanks for the info , yeh ive got the general jist that its either.....

spend the $1K on an ebay rns510 and it SHOULD be fine.... its just updating the can bus then the coding and the mucking around which is pain but it looks to be worth it...

i actually have a factory mfd2 unit installed but its not touchscreen and the graphics look like a "nintendo 64" so its time to revamp it...

what i am upgrading for is mp3 capability, the previous owner went all out and even got an ipod dock installed... however it only runs the older generation ipod units which use less power.....

there is a rcd300 which im thinking to just zip in and use my iphone as a gps as tomotom on it is good enough !.

but man the rns510 just brings out the interior in the mk5, absolutely stunning car and thrilled with the purchase !

thank you to all for this , this forum is great and great people out there lending hands !

hope to meet you all on the roads one day !

[Russ59]

hey russ, thanks for the info , yeh ive got the general jist that its either.....

spend the $1K on an ebay rns510 and it SHOULD be fine.... its just updating the can bus then the coding and the mucking around which is pain but it looks to be worth it...

i actually have a factory mfd2 unit installed but its not touchscreen and the graphics look like a "nintendo 64" so its time to revamp it...

what i am upgrading for is mp3 capability, the previous owner went all out and even got an ipod dock installed... however it only runs the older generation ipod units which use less power.....

there is a rcd300 which im thinking to just zip in and use my iphone as a gps as tomotom on it is good enough !.

but man the rns510 just brings out the interior in the mk5, absolutely stunning car and thrilled with the purchase !

thank you to all for this , this forum is great and great people out there lending hands !

hope to meet you all on the roads one day !

No worries Ray,

Another option for you could be the RCD510 it doesn't have Sat Nav and can't play DVD's but it is a touch screen and looks similar in the dash to the RNS510. As you would be aware you will have the power drain issue with the RNS510 unless the Canbus upgrade is done (earlier models pre 2007 I think ?) but I'm not sure if the RCD510 will give you the same problem or not so it might be worth your while doing some research on it. I would think that someone on here would know so if Google doesn't give you an answer you could try asking on the forum. Pic of RCD510



Cheers

[DonJuan]

i've been keeping an eye on this thread with interest. i just pulled out an RCD310 to replace with the older RCD500. i am now looking around to see what the best option for sat nav and bluetooth is. i am one of the guys that finds the vw oem stuff expensive although in some cases cheaper then other manufacturers and was therefore looking for a cheaper alternative.

has anyone in brisbane, or anywhere else, had any luck with ebay units from lithuania? i am curious to find out how much i will end up paying for the unit, bluetooth, install and canbus upgrade not forgetting the annual payment to update maps.

does anyone have any advice/experience?

[Transporter]

There is no maps yearly payment and it is not difficult to install DIY. And there is a lot of How to for RNS510 on net incl. our forum.

[AdamD]

As you would be aware you will have the power drain issue with the RNS510 unless the Canbus upgrade is done (earlier models pre 2007 I think ?) but I'm not sure if the RCD510 will give you the same problem

I believe the RCD-510 will also cause the power drain issue in cars with the older CANBUS module. (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong though!)

[Russ59]

I believe the RCD-510 will also cause the power drain issue in cars with the older CANBUS module. (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong though!)

I did say I wasn't sure if it would cause the same power drain issue as the RNS does. It would still be a cheaper option for him if he's after a touch screen unit and doesn't really need the Sat Nav =)

[raygti]

hey russ59, i agree with both you and adam....

it will probably need the canbus upgrade... you both dont happen to know anyone in brisbane who is able to code these and how much it will cost? its alot of mucking around, in the end im going to go for a genuine vw product whether its a newer headunit and install parrot bluetooth or a rns510.. it depends how long i keep this mk v before upgrading to a mk6 when the mk7 comes !

again, thank you for your expertise, being my first vw im new to all this vagcom and vcds coding frenzy

[Russ59]

hey russ59, i agree with both you and adam....

it will probably need the canbus upgrade... you both dont happen to know anyone in brisbane who is able to code these and how much it will cost? its alot of mucking around, in the end im going to go for a genuine vw product whether its a newer headunit and install parrot bluetooth or a rns510.. it depends how long i keep this mk v before upgrading to a mk6 when the mk7 comes !

again, thank you for your expertise, being my first vw im new to all this vagcom and vcds coding frenzy

Hi Ray,

I don't know anyone in Brissy mate sorry, but if you put a feeler out on the forum I'm sure someone up there will be able to point you in the right direction. The Canbus upgrades are available on the internet from overseas. My son did an upgrade on his 07 Comfortline a couple of years back, all up it cost him around AU$250 -$300 to purchase the Canbus unit and have it installed and recoded to the car. The installation was done by Derek at European Autotech in Sydney, not sure if he may be able to put you onto someone in Brisbane who can do the install for you. You will need to get numbers off your existing Canbus to make sure you get the right one for the upgrade. It's bloody near impossible to find the Canbus unit under the dash and even harder to try and get numbers from it, the easiest way is by using VagCom. If you visit the following website it has some handy info on the Canbus upgrade and how to go about it. CAN bus gateway removing, installing and upgrading – Volkswagen Golf | my-gti.com
Cheers