Just bought an intake/programmer

Hey guys I just bought a intake and programer that are used. Anyway, it's from AM and Bama and the tune is for a car with an automatic and my car is a manual, is that a problem?

Thanks

Well, I got excited and gave it a try thinking if it wouldn't work then it just would pull up an error and not load. I was wrong, now the car won't start and it won't let me return it back to stock.

Anyone know what I can do?

Ok, here is what happened. I bought the tuner and CAI used. The guy had it on his 06 GT and bought it from AM 6 months ago, he returned his car back to stock unlocking the tuner and sold his car.

So that brings us up to now. I installed everything and tried to install one of the custom tunes from AM. He had called AM and they said it would work on any car as long as he returned his back to stock first. He wanted to make sure so he could sell it to someone else. Well I uploaded it into my car and after the car would not start or turn over, I tried putting my car back to stock and it would now say invalid vehicle on the tuner.

After a couple of hours researching I found out you can update the tuner. I did that and it let me return my car back to stock and also use the strategy tune on the tuner. But the 3 custom AM tunes wouldn't work.

I called AM they said that the tunes were for the PO's previous car and would not work for mine(Computer code or something like that) and they wanted $150 for 3 new tunes for my car. I said well I have bought a bunch of stuff from you guys and the PO bought the tuner from you guys and don't you guys give free tunes for life?

They said that only works for the original car it was purchased for.

So I asked what was all this fine print about the free tunes for life thing. They said that it's for the original car the tuner is bought for and that if you were to sell that car and KEEP the tuner and try to use it on a future Mustang you would have to still pay $150 for the tunes. It ONLY works for that specific car and so does the free tunes for life stuff.

Anyway I ended up going with a local tuner that does a lot of work around here that said he could tune it for my elevation and that would be better. I paid $75 for that.

I feel like AM's free tunes for life thing is misleading and they charge to much for the tune, I have always taken my Mustang business to them over the years except this and some brakes I did in the past. I don't expect anything for free, but 150 is to much for tunes especially when they advertise "free tunes for life." I would think that would stay with the tuner like a car warranty, at least with the original owner if he keeps the tuner. Don't get me wrong I'm not on here trying to get everyone to not buy their tunes from AM, go there if you want. I'm just telling what happened.

Anyway, the car runs great now. I wished I had done this a lot sooner!

Thanks for all the help guys. I just wanted to give the entire story.

You wouldn't be able to do that. A tuner will only work for one car until you return it back to stock. It will only let you tune one car at a time. It also will only do 5 different cars until it locks up.

If AM is going to advertise free tunes for life then they should specify that's only for the car you are currently purchasing it for.

I completely understand a company has to make money, that's the way it is.

My problem is this: Say I spend $550 bucks for a CAI and tuner from them. I sell my Mustang, but I take my CAI off and return the car back to stock settings with the tuner, unlocking it. I keep the CAI and tuner and a while later buy another Stang that's the same body style, I put the CAI on and use MY tuner that I purchased and it doesn't work because the codes are different.

So now I would have to pay another $150 for AM's tunes for my new car when I paid for a tuner that they advertise as giving you free tunes for life. I see no difference in them giving you a new tune for a different computer code and giving you a new tune for using a different intake. They will only do it for the later. But maybe there is, I am not a tuner.

I will still probably buy some stuff from AM. But I don't think as highly of them as I did before this. I'm not on here trying to bad mouth or convince anyone not to go there, just sharing the story of what happened.

Katamando, the tuner has an option for gears, so that will take care of that for you.

Astro, I wasn't expecting free tunes. I didn't know what they would do in that case, I could see it going either way when I bought the tuner used. I thought the original tunes from AM would still work for my car, but found out they won't. But the thing that bugs me is that even if you are the original owner of the tuner, you only get free tunes for that specific car, not for a new Mustang you buy and use the tuner on. I just wish they would clarify instead of always saying free tunes for life making it sound like buying a tuner from them and you're set for life.

I'm thinking $150 is a little steep for what they want. I paid $75 for the same thing from a local tuner.

Ateup, where did you find that at? I've been on their website a few times looking at programers and CAI's. All I have ever noticed is they advertise "Free tunes for life."

It could have been right in front of my face and I missed it. I have always understood it as you get free tunes as long as you own the programer until all of this.

Astro, he said he could do 3 different tunes. But I told him I only need 2, I have one for 91 octane and one for 87 when gas gets more expensive.

Yeah, I did get a good deal. I did on everything, I only paid 300 bucks for the CAI and programer, they are only 6 months old and look new still.

Yeah, that's how I thought of it to. Free tunes for life only works if you bought the tuner and still have the original car you bought it for. That's it. I would be ok with that if they made that more known on their website, I'm not trying to argue their policy. I just think they need to be more up front about it.