Elinz Electronics, Buyer Beware

[TPC]

I thought I should warn people about buying Elinz Car Stereo/Head Units.

I bought one 3 years ago and over the time I have had it I have had the following problems.
1. November 2012, the camera stopped working and I bought a replacement as I thought I may have damaged cable during installation then opened it and tested and cable was fine and camera was definitely faulty.
2. August 2013, the GPS stopped working, I pulled the unit out of the dash and found the GPS antenna socket on the back had broken away from the unit, I repaired this myself as it was just out of warranty and Elinz website was not working so could not contact them.
3. May 2014, GPS stopped working totally, cannot select GPS function. Have tried disconnecting power and factory reset but still does not work.
4. July 2015, Bluetooth stopped working, it will not connect to any phone. Have tried disconnecting power and factory reset but still does not work.
5. August 2015, the unit has become very slow to react to button press and sometimes locks up.

I contacted Elinz about getting it repaired with the information above and have received the following replies:


Hi there,
Thank you for reporting these issues,
The repair cost is only $150 and the turnaround time is 6-8 weeks. We have double checked with,
the suppliers and unfortunately this unit is already discontinued and no longer in production,
meaning they don't have the parts to make repairs anymore.
What we can suggest is you can wait for an updated model that we are about to release,
either this week or next week, which is more stable and faster than the current and previous ones,
that we have had.

Hope that this helps. If you have any other inquiries, please feel free to contact us.
Have a nice day!
Customer service,
Peejey,
The Elinz Electronics Team

My response
Hi,
As the parts are no longer available to repair my unit does this mean you do a change over to the new model for the repair cost?

Tony

Elinz response
Hi there,
Thank you for the reply,
We cannot process a change over for this unit, we can only process a change over,
without fees, if the unit to be return is still within warranty but not in production anymore.
But in your case, since it cannot be repair due to unavailability of parts.
What we can only offer is you can go and purchase the new product that we will be posting,
within today, in which it is the latest model that we will have that will work in your car.


Hope that this helps. If you have any other inquiries, please feel free to contact us.
Have a nice day!
Customer service,
Peejey,
The Elinz Electronics Team


My response
So what you are suggesting is I should spend another $500 for a new Elinz unit to replace my 3 year old unit as you are no longer repairing it.
I believe this a ridiculous suggestion giving the lack of reliability of your product.
I will be posting this correspondence on several automotive forums to warn potential buyers of the risk in buying Elinz products as 3 years is not a reasonable time for the product to last.

Very disgruntled customer.
Tony

I know we live in a disposable society but I do not believe I should have to throw away my stereo and buy a new one after 3 years.
I was not trying to get it done under warranty as warranty has clearly passed but they are saying it cannot be repaired.

[Rock Trol]

I had never heard of them before you posted. Checked their web site and looked at their blurb regarding Nissan in dash unit:
"From Elinz Electronics, one of the most trusted sources of quality electronic devices and car accessories in Australia, comes a car DVD player guaranteed to make your travels a wondrous experience."

Makes me wonder.

[4bye4]

I had never heard of them before you posted. Checked their web site and looked at their blurb regarding Nissan in dash unit:
"From Elinz Electronics, one of the most trusted sources of quality electronic devices and car accessories in Australia, comes a car DVD player guaranteed to make your travels a wondrous experience."

Makes me wonder.

You are having a wonderous experience and you didn't even buy one.

[Hodge]

Brand noted down mate. Thanks for the heads up.

I have had a much much more sinister run with the Eonon units. I wish I'd have read the reviews on the units prior to buying before jumping at it.
Absolute rubbish and their service follows close by ...

[Rock Trol]

You are having a wonderous experience and you didn't even buy one.

I was ignorant before. I am now 'Wondrously' enlightened.

Are the resellers of these units Australian based or from overseas? The Eonon and Elinz units sound like cheap Chinese electronics that are probably over priced for what they actually are. Lots of features but lacking in quality and product development.

[Cuppa]

There are too many of these type of ‘companies’ who import cheap goods & are only interested in the sale. After sales service varies from non existent to evasive to abusive. They manage to keep going because enough of their products work for a while. There is a high profile machinery seller who fits this profile on eBay. Te real problem is being able to tell the difference between the shonky importers & the importers who carry spares & are willing to offer after sales service. Fine if you get lucky, but stiff bickies if there is any problem. That would be ok if they were honest about it - “Our stuff is really cheap & mostly works well, but if there is any problem with it we are unable to provide any support, if this is important to you we suggest you pay a higher price elsewhere”.
The real skill is being able to tell the difference between the shonky importers & the importers who carry spares & are willing to offer after sales service at the point of sale. I reckon the shonks tend to go a bit more overboard in trying to convince you how good their stuff is .... ‘guaranteed to give you a wondrous travel experience’ - pah!

[SpecialDave]

I used an auction sniper to get a heavy duty reverse cam yet to be mounted but paid about 5% of what they're charging so even if it's crappy I'm happy with that. Stay tuned for cam review.


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[Hodge]

I was ignorant before. I am now 'Wondrously' enlightened.

Are the resellers of these units Australian based or from overseas? The Eonon and Elinz units sound like cheap Chinese electronics that are probably over priced for what they actually are. Lots of features but lacking in quality and product development.

With the 4 Eonon unites i kept getting sent back... The features were there and were great when it worked. The whole unit physically, was just cheaply made and about to fall apart out of the box. And the wait to sent stuff to hong kong and back was annoying. I guess i put my self in that position so, nobody else to blame. But never again. Do it right and buy from local brick 'n mortar store, a known brand. At least a better chance to get decent service some sort of quality.

[TPC]

Has anybody bought a stereo/head unit with all the extras like GPS, bluetooth and reversing camera that they are totally happy with?
I need to replace mine so after advice on a good brand.
I may even give up on the idea of having all in one and get an individual camera and bluetooth.

[jff45]

My chinese no name unit has been working well for the last 5 years but I fitted a small 12v fan to it before I installed it.
The GPS still works well but it's way out of date because I don't use it. I find it almost unsafe to have to move my eyes that far to use it. My iphone with Tomtom is much better and sits in my line of vision.

I no longer use the bluetooth because the micro is too far away. I have a Supertooth on the sun visor.
The unit has an iphone cable that charges and passes the music. The radio works well.

Twice there were issues with no volume but I just stuck a pin in the little reset hole and it came back to life.

I've been pretty lucky with chinese stuff - maybe because I have 2 half chinese grand kids - but I buy with my eyes wide open and am happy to throw it away if my luck changes.
I still think I'm miles ahead money wise than if I'd splashed out on pioneer, alpine, etc gear.

Forgot to mention, the reverse camera I bought separately still works faultlessly.

[rusty_nail]

Has anybody bought a stereo/head unit with all the extras like GPS, bluetooth and reversing camera that they are totally happy with?
I need to replace mine so after advice on a good brand.
I may even give up on the idea of having all in one and get an individual camera and bluetooth.

i installed 2 for my father in law in his work trucks. they have worked faultlesslyfor about 4-5 years, they are eonon units though, i guess its luck of the draw what you get.

[SpecialDave]

I got one of these for $13 as mentioned using auction sniper and yet to install...

http://www.nissanpatrol.com.au/forums/images/imported/2015/08/79.jpg


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