Wow.. Im really surprised that Crutchfield would not only give away but continue to carry the Boyo VLT400 backup camera. This piece of junk was my deciding factor in choosing Crutchfield over other sellers as they were giving it away with the Pioneer Head Unit I purchased. Only 3 months after installation the camera failed to work. Im in a dry area and the car remains garaged so its not like its been put to the test. I thought when it went out that at least I had made the right decision by going with Crutchfield for a nice hassle free replacement within the products 1 year warranty but instead I get referred to the manufacturer of the inferior product. So this free product ended up being not so free after you consider installation cost and the nice hole in my car for the wiring. I can only hope that if I do find a replacement camera the same hole can be used. It certainly wont be one from Crutchfield.
All I can say is Crutchfield should be ashamed of carrying this product to begin with. Whats worse is they still carry and still continue offering it free knowing of its poor quality.
I don't have any personal experience with that particular backup camera, and am not necessarily trying to defend CF, but how much can you really complain about a free product?
02 BMW 330Ci, Alpine DVI-9965, Alpine MRA F350 5ch, Alpine MRP T220 + 2x Kicker 6x9 FreeAir, Kicker KX1200.1 + Alpine 12" Type-R, 2-Way Security, Keyless Entry, Remote Start
Plenty because it was not free. I received it for choosing Crutchfield and its higher price for my main purchase over other alternatives because of the offer. The free part would mean something if the free item was a quality item, otherwise I could have spent less someplace else for my main purchase and be better off than I am now. Then on top of that the cost of installation and alterations to the the vehicle.
rz22g - I understand your frustration, and a free product that ends up costing you money is definitely something you can complain about - I learned that the hard way with DVD's drives - got one for like $5 after rebate and nothing but coasters and lost some valuable data b/c of it. Spent $40 on a decent one and wouldn't look back.
I'm not necessarily defending CF either, but you need to keep some things in mind with your comments.
rz22g:I thought when it went out that at least I had made the right decision by going with Crutchfield for a nice hassle free replacement within the products 1 year warranty
I believe CF's policy has always (I've been dealing with them since at least 1982) been 30-days free replacement. Not sure what would have made you think it covered the entire warranty period.
I can only hope that if I do find a replacement camera the same hole can be used.
Can't see any reason that it couldn't be - although many of the newer designs are wireless now.
It certainly wont be one from Crutchfield.
From what I can tell, your problem is with the product and the manufacturer, not the seller.
Whats worse is they still carry and still continue offering it free knowing of its poor quality.
Perhaps you don't mean it that way, but you are implying that CF knew this was a shoddy product when they started carrying it. I don't have hard data on this, but CF (or any manufacturer) do not have time to test a product for six months before they offer it for sale - if they did than people would be complaining about how long it took to get the product in stock. The oldest review I see on this product is from two years ago, but reviews were positive or mixed until about 1 year ago - pretty consistently negative since then.
Even if CF assumed the product was inferior, I don't know what options they would have for clearing out their existing inventory.
I will see that this thread is brought to CF's attention so they are at least aware of the issues with the product.
2002 Ford Focus Sony CDX-GT410u Sony XT-100HD HD Tuner Stock speakers, no amp, no subs
Hey Rz22g,
First let me say that I am sorry about your experience with the camera.
I'm looking into this now.
Can I inquire as to what kind of response you received when you contacted Boyo? Just trying to gather up all the info for our teams to review.