Discover Pro 8" System in Australia - problems, solutions & VW dealers

[PBJ]

Any updates on this with regards to getting the maps to work in Australia?

[Euro Car Upgrades]

Maps are working, you just need to purchase the activation and find a good dealer to activate it for you.

[DV52]

Hey Ryan

Yes we sell the as it stands now without the installation & coding charge.
You dont get the Google functionality on them as SimCard reader is not present on them.
Maybe VW will implement it in the future.
The maps will definitely be developed for Australian market as they already are sold by Skoda which is esentially the same system.
The Pro upgrade is still worth about 3000-4000 $$ even in Europe and you have to buy highline vehicle minimum to be able to spec it up to Discovery Pro

liquidforce: thanks for the info. At these prices, I suspect that you are pitching to a niche market (even including the DYI sector). Many of us that have NAVSAT on the standard discover media unit already have experienced its low quality and poor functionality. Many posts on VWW and other forums are replete with complaints about appalling voice pronunciation on the VW system and the lack of features that are normally found on most commercial hand-held units (which cost a fraction of the price). I've read a little about the Google system and it sounds far better than the native SATNAV that VW currently use.

Given the price of the Pro, I suspect that you will need to clearly articulate the value proposition for a sale. A better SATNAV than the crappy VW unit might be a good start!

[Euro Car Upgrades]

The price for the DP is high and will remain this way, same as 3G or 3GP systems on Audi.
We seem to be selling more of them to South America or even Indonesia than in Australia.
Clearly people in poorer countries must be quite rich to buy a G7 and then invest a bit to buy DP
At the moment we cannot buy enough units to satisfy the market and the only thing which comes to my mind is to increase the price considering the maps are loaded and can be activated.
Dollar is still weak and supplied price has gone up as well. What can you do?

liquidforce: thanks for the info. At these prices, I suspect that you are pitching to a niche market (even including the DYI sector). Many of us that have NAVSAT on the standard discover media unit already have experienced its low quality and poor functionality. Many posts on VWW and other forums are replete with complaints about appalling voice pronunciation on the VW system and the lack of features that are normally found on most commercial hand-held units (which cost a fraction of the price). I've read a little about the Google system and it sounds far better than the native SATNAV that VW currently use.

Given the price of the Pro, I suspect that you will need to clearly articulate the value proposition for a sale. A better SATNAV than the crappy VW unit might be a good start!

[PBJ]

I'd be more concerned on where these 2nd units are coming from... They would've been attached to a car at some point

[DV52]

The price for the DP is high and will remain this way, same as 3G or 3GP systems on Audi.
We seem to be selling more of them to South America or even Indonesia than in Australia.
Clearly people in poorer countries must be quite rich to buy a G7 and then invest a bit to buy DP
At the moment we cannot buy enough units to satisfy the market and the only thing which comes to my mind is to increase the price considering the maps are loaded and can be activated.
Dollar is still weak and supplied price has gone up as well. What can you do?

liquidforce: I must say that I'm surprised but running out of stock is always a good problem to have! Given this (good) problem, I also agree that you are selling these units at an inefficient price- at least for the overseas market. Assuming that competitive forces prevail (i.e. you don't have a monopoly), your suggestion to lift prices until you find the elastic price, sounds eminently sensible. I'll make sure to look for your company name amongst the top 100 rich and famous- good luck!

[Euro Car Upgrades]

We would rather sell them at at the same price like RNS 510 units which is your $1500-$2200

This would make it reasonable for Australian buyer and this would mean we can charge for the install

We will keep the lookout for the cheaper units from test cars in Germany etc.

For the time being, if you score a cheap unit from eBay this is what you need to activate the maps on it once the CP is taken off by your dealer. Most of the dealers will say they cannot get it but I would be happy with a surprise on this one.

[PBJ]

Discovery Pro 8" System in Australia - problems, solutions & VW dealers

liquidforce: I must say that I'm surprised but running out of stock is always a good problem to have! Given this (good) problem, I also agree that you are selling these units at an inefficient price- at least for the overseas market. Assuming that competitive forces prevail (i.e. you don't have a monopoly), your suggestion to lift prices until you find the elastic price, sounds eminently sensible. I'll make sure to look for your company name amongst the top 100 rich and famous- good luck!

The price is astronomical but it's not their fault, the suppliers would be charging them an arm and a leg. That said, you can find a few units selling closer to the $1000AUD mark on eBay...

But let's also not forget that liquid force also helped troubleshoot these units. I think that deserves some compensation . They've done far more than VW Australia have!

[Euro Car Upgrades]

If you get a stolen unit from Lithuania or the UK as most of the $900 RNS 510s we see on ebay than you are pretty much FCUKED. Component Protection services the purpose of checking if the supplied unit is registered as stolen in the VW database in Germany.

If the unit is registered as stolen, the CP will not be removed and you may have a visit from a local Police Officer to find out where you obtained the unit.

If you purchase the unit from eBay UK or Lithuania, make sure you have seller's details as most of these units are basically stolen and they will be registered as that in VW online database.

Our units come from test vehicles which are dismantled from cars after about 10.oookm. This is until we find a good source for brand new units.

Harman & Becker who is the MFC of them (same as top of the range Audi units) is not to happy to sell them outside of their network unfortunately. It will probably be easier on 8 inch Alpine screen though

The price is astronomical but it's not their fault, the suppliers would be charging them an arm and a leg. That said, you can find a few units selling closer to the $1000AUD mark on eBay...

[PBJ]

Funny how VW Australia Customer Service get very angry (yes angry) when inquiring about why we don't have the Discover Nav Pro. Hoped that enough people asking would get them to change it in future model years...

[Euro Car Upgrades]

It is a joke Australia does not have it.
The gossip is they want to promote Skoda Octavia.
Which VW Golf owner will buy Skoda even with 8" Screen?
2 different cars.
We get at least a dealer a week inquiring about 8" screen.
Hope VW can change their game in 2015 as so far I see no flooding of Octavias but G7 is everywhere

Funny how VW Australia Customer Service get very angry (yes angry) when inquiring about why we don't have the Discover Nav Pro. Hoped that enough people asking would get them to change it in future model years...

[PBJ]

It is a joke Australia does not have it.
The gossip is they want to promote Skoda Octavia.
Which VW Golf owner will buy Skoda even with 8" Screen?
2 different cars.
We get at least a dealer a week inquiring about 8" screen.
Hope VW can change their game in 2015 as so far I see no flooding of Octavias but G7 is everywhere

Doesn't surprise me lol. Worst is that all other countries have the option (including New Zealand). WHY VW, the standard unit looks like it came off a CRT display from the 1950s.

We've nicknamed it 'The ol' Radiation King' (Simpsons reference)

[Transporter]

Funny how VW Australia Customer Service get very angry (yes angry) when inquiring about why we don't have the Discover Nav Pro. Hoped that enough people asking would get them to change it in future model years...

IMO, it's a mix of guessing/knowing what people will not buy because it's expensive therefor not worthwhile to bring in the country and laziness at its best (more paperwork and other formalities associated with it).
Oh, and a bit of stupidity going with it; a good example is Tiguan with the 28deg approach angle for improved off road driving, where it's available in Europe and Singapore, but it's not a good feature for Australia, because of all our rods are in 100% tip top condition that's why don't need it How retarded is that

[AdamD]

IMO, it's a mix of guessing/knowing what people will not buy because it's expensive therefor not worthwhile to bring in the country and laziness at its best (more paperwork and other formalities associated with it).

It's all about the (predicted) numbers for VWA. They're not interested in what they classify as a niche product or option. (And in the scheme of things percentage-wise it is still niche, even if the number of customers who would be prepared to pay for a Discover Pro appears high in isolation). Given they're doing fairly significant volumes of the Golf now, you can understand why it's not a 'standard brochure option'.

The trouble is that VW wants to be seen as a relatively prestigious brand with a feature-rich product, but doesn't want to waste any money allowing customers to place custom orders. Which is a real shame because that latter point is all down to their bottom line, and minimising costs. They may tell you it's about streamlining orders and improving resale, but if a customer wants a special order and is prepared to pay for it, well...

It's the main (and deciding) reason I didn't buy another VW.

[Euro Car Upgrades]

Amazin car the S3 mate, You can get them with Full Led Lights and 8inch screen with a few toys.
Google Earth also an option.
We almost bought one like this as a total write off on the auction and we were going to use it for racing but some outbid us.

It's all about the (predicted) numbers for VWA. They're not interested in what they classify as a niche product or option. (And in the scheme of things percentage-wise it is still niche, even if the number of customers who would be prepared to pay for a Discover Pro appears high in isolation). Given they're doing fairly significant volumes of the Golf now, you can understand why it's not a 'standard brochure option'.

The trouble is that VW wants to be seen as a relatively prestigious brand with a feature-rich product, but doesn't want to waste any money allowing customers to place custom orders. Which is a real shame because that latter point is all down to their bottom line, and minimising costs. They may tell you it's about streamlining orders and improving resale, but if a customer wants a special order and is prepared to pay for it, well...

It's the main (and deciding) reason I didn't buy another VW.