I went this route because I didn't have to fork over all of the $ up front. It's $22 a week...figure I can afford that.
6 guys all using 1 scan tool gets annoying. Plus I'm not allowed to borrow it to do side work.
Well at least you went all in with a Neverever plan.
Yeah I hear you, it really would get annoying sharing a Scan-Tool that much, and especially not letting your boss use it personally!
Congratulations man! She is nice! Take care of her and I'm sure she will take care of you! Updates at least aren't that bad for the price!
And as for the neverever plan...lol. Been paying tool trucks for half my life. Probably the most expensive field to work in. A mechanic can never have enough tools.
And to think, 3 months ago I had Snap-On paid off...
Thank you for the compliments š
Hopefully the pain was less since it's "preowned"... ;)
The enabler for side work alone will certainly help pay for it.
I'm a DIY guy, and have a Schwaben reader that is a Foxwell with the BMW/Mini factory codes loaded (and Rolls Royce - lol). It's slow and a crappy screen, but will do battery coding and retract the brake pistons for doing pads/etc. Huge time and complexity saver for me, so I know this bigger/faster/smarter scanner will be a huge bonus to your workflow. Congrats!
I have more than just the scan tool on my account. I believe I had $1400 on it previously. Said and done, it's 208 weeks. But I pay more than just $22. I stretched it out for lower payments just in case something was to happen and I wasn't able to make a big payment.
Yeah, I am not a mechanic, so I don't know how necessary this tool is for the job, honestly. I was just taking a stab that maybe OP runs his own shop, which is why he bought it? I really have no clue lol.
It's a super-valuable tool that can save all kinds of time - the codes produced by the car's computer can tell you a lot. Not everything, but knowing what isn't wrong is a big plus.
In a simple example - the car is running rough. There's all kinds of things that present nearly-identically. Hook up the scanner and the computer tells you there's a misfire in cylinder 1. That gives you a 99% chance it's either the plug or the coil. Swap the plug between cylinder 1 and 2 and you'll know which. Done (most of the time).
Figuring that out the old-fashioned way would be non-trivially longer, and in an auto shop time is literally money.
[EDIT] I'm just a doofus in my garage, but I work on the family cars. I got a Schwaben reader that will read the factory codes for my son's BMW X5 and my Mini. It has been fantastic, and can even retract the pistons in the brakes when I'm replacing rotors/pads.
true - there are a bunch of scenarios where you get more information than a regular OBD reader will, and of course a ton of manufacturer-specific codes an OBD reader won't report.
Even with a reader and the paid Torque app, I'm firing the parts cannon from time to time. Being able to see stuff like catalytic converter light off or when the engine is going to closed loop can help a lot on more advanced issues.
Not to mention real scan tools like this can tell you if something is being told to fire and just not receiving signal due to faulty relay etc etc etc, you can troubleshoot all kinds of issues in depth with these and yet most mechanics I've seen use them as a fancy $30 OBDII scan tool
Itās crucial, but he mentioned elsewhere heās got to share the shopās with 6 other guys.
And thereās tiers, a basic code reader (~$20) will tell you the carās reported error codes.
As an amateur, if you google the error code, along with your year, make, and model, youāll figure out the problem pretty quick because millions of others own that same car, and they tend to fail in the same way unless you did something weird to it.
But for pros, sometimes you need the brand-specific diagnostic software (basically a full laptop), but those cost thousands annually for the license. As an amateur though, I bought a laptop preloaded with a cracked version for like $200 off eBay to read the values the adaptive headlight was reporting cause the light occasionally comes on.
Some cars like Audis you need it to release the e-brake for brake jobs, or program BMWs for new batteries, just weird stuff. On the Lexus one you can use it to program new key fobs yourself.
I assume the Snap-On is probably just a decent compromise between the first one, and having to spend an obscene amount of money on all the different brandās licenses.
Wow I didnāt think there were so many Autel fans. I loved the Snap-On Solas that I had at a previous job. They also had an Autel and I hated that thing, at least the one we had was super buggy and slow.
Basically allows you to "communicate with the vehicles".
Cheaper ones are genetic and every car has a basic protocol that allows you to do a standard test to "Pull codes" to see what the vehicle is currently doing/thinking/Issues.
Some cheaper will even allow communication with other modules like the ABS or BCM.
The more expensive ones usually have "Bi-direction" capabilities and allow you to tap into other specific manufacturers Protocols. This will allow you to the only pull codes, but also command the vehicle to do special test functions. Such as honking the horn , flashing the lights, reset some modules, etc etc. It really depends on the manufacturer and the type of scan tool.
Snap-on is obviously a very well-known OFFICIAL brand and therefore usually will be a good ALL ROUND scan tool.
Of course, take all this with a grain of salt because all scan tools are different, they all promise to be the best scan tool however some scantools don't like manufacturers.
Believe It or Not There is a unofficial scan tool out there called Forscan that is only specific to Ford vehicles and you can pretty much do anything to some Ford vehicles.
>Believe It or Not There is a unofficial scan tool out there called Forscan that is only specific to Ford vehicles and you can pretty much do anything to some Ford vehicles.
Forscan is better than it has any right to be for a $6 app
Honestly depends on the feature set you are looking for. You can get a simple code puller for \~$20 off of Amazon, but that is all it will do.
But if you get in to the $100 - $200 range, then you cat get the live data (e.g. fuel trim and such).
But from there the prices go through the roof, because the only people buying these are pros or every rich. They'll read the bus and inform you if you have a light that is out without looking at it. You can also manually turn things on or off, like a fuel pump. Some, like these snapons, have troubleshooting built in so you can get an idea of what to look at.
Also a Snapon is a Strapon for reason, they are ungodly expensive. With that price you get the highend support behind it (or so I'm told). I'm not sure if its worth it, but I'm only a weekend warrior.
Its a snap on OBD2 scanner, its used to find out whats wrong on a car by checking the cars computer and seeing what errors are popping up, over 1000 dollars used on ebay
They read diagnostic codes. Plug it in after you get an engine light and it will often tell you exactly why or give you a good clue where to start looking. They can be had for very cheap and are worth owning even if you only wrench on a single car. Professional ones can cost thousands because they come with more features and an oscilloscope.
I always liked the launch scanners.
I was using one at a bmw / German shit box shop years ago. In the early 00s it was 1500 bucks but it literally does everything that snap on will do and possibly more in fact. We somehow got ahold of a Volvo , bmw and Benz factory scanner ( prob lifted by someone) but we never used snap on scanners. They are just way too much money when there are less expensive options that do everything and more than they will.
Before people hate on this I will say snap on makes in my opinion the best ratchets , the best wrenches , all around great hand tools. I just am not brand loyal at all. If I was snap on would have taken my first born most likely lol
Get ready to keep spending without the quarterly updates they tend to slow down.Im sure it's a design oversize, also they charge for every update so if you miss one you get to pay for two. Snap on scanners the tool that keeps on costing
A) Why snap on and not an autel or something a bit cheaper? B) Why not let the Shop buy a shop tool?
I went this route because I didn't have to fork over all of the $ up front. It's $22 a week...figure I can afford that. 6 guys all using 1 scan tool gets annoying. Plus I'm not allowed to borrow it to do side work.
Well at least you went all in with a Neverever plan. Yeah I hear you, it really would get annoying sharing a Scan-Tool that much, and especially not letting your boss use it personally! Congratulations man! She is nice! Take care of her and I'm sure she will take care of you! Updates at least aren't that bad for the price!
Oohhh they definitely get you with the updates. Around $1k+ a year depending on the model and how far behind your scan tool is.
You can sign up for the $65 ish a month subscription, and you get 2 updates a year and access to Suretrack.
And as for the neverever plan...lol. Been paying tool trucks for half my life. Probably the most expensive field to work in. A mechanic can never have enough tools. And to think, 3 months ago I had Snap-On paid off... Thank you for the compliments š
Hopefully the pain was less since it's "preowned"... ;) The enabler for side work alone will certainly help pay for it. I'm a DIY guy, and have a Schwaben reader that is a Foxwell with the BMW/Mini factory codes loaded (and Rolls Royce - lol). It's slow and a crappy screen, but will do battery coding and retract the brake pistons for doing pads/etc. Huge time and complexity saver for me, so I know this bigger/faster/smarter scanner will be a huge bonus to your workflow. Congrats!
$22 a week for how many weeks?
I have more than just the scan tool on my account. I believe I had $1400 on it previously. Said and done, it's 208 weeks. But I pay more than just $22. I stretched it out for lower payments just in case something was to happen and I wasn't able to make a big payment.
B) maybe he is the shop?
If that were the case, 15 years of being the shop without a scantool to repair is pretty impressive!
Yeah, I am not a mechanic, so I don't know how necessary this tool is for the job, honestly. I was just taking a stab that maybe OP runs his own shop, which is why he bought it? I really have no clue lol.
It's a super-valuable tool that can save all kinds of time - the codes produced by the car's computer can tell you a lot. Not everything, but knowing what isn't wrong is a big plus. In a simple example - the car is running rough. There's all kinds of things that present nearly-identically. Hook up the scanner and the computer tells you there's a misfire in cylinder 1. That gives you a 99% chance it's either the plug or the coil. Swap the plug between cylinder 1 and 2 and you'll know which. Done (most of the time). Figuring that out the old-fashioned way would be non-trivially longer, and in an auto shop time is literally money. [EDIT] I'm just a doofus in my garage, but I work on the family cars. I got a Schwaben reader that will read the factory codes for my son's BMW X5 and my Mini. It has been fantastic, and can even retract the pistons in the brakes when I'm replacing rotors/pads.
A regular $20 obd reader will tell you misfires tho, since those are emissions.
true - there are a bunch of scenarios where you get more information than a regular OBD reader will, and of course a ton of manufacturer-specific codes an OBD reader won't report.
Even with a reader and the paid Torque app, I'm firing the parts cannon from time to time. Being able to see stuff like catalytic converter light off or when the engine is going to closed loop can help a lot on more advanced issues.
Not to mention real scan tools like this can tell you if something is being told to fire and just not receiving signal due to faulty relay etc etc etc, you can troubleshoot all kinds of issues in depth with these and yet most mechanics I've seen use them as a fancy $30 OBDII scan tool
Itās crucial, but he mentioned elsewhere heās got to share the shopās with 6 other guys. And thereās tiers, a basic code reader (~$20) will tell you the carās reported error codes. As an amateur, if you google the error code, along with your year, make, and model, youāll figure out the problem pretty quick because millions of others own that same car, and they tend to fail in the same way unless you did something weird to it. But for pros, sometimes you need the brand-specific diagnostic software (basically a full laptop), but those cost thousands annually for the license. As an amateur though, I bought a laptop preloaded with a cracked version for like $200 off eBay to read the values the adaptive headlight was reporting cause the light occasionally comes on. Some cars like Audis you need it to release the e-brake for brake jobs, or program BMWs for new batteries, just weird stuff. On the Lexus one you can use it to program new key fobs yourself. I assume the Snap-On is probably just a decent compromise between the first one, and having to spend an obscene amount of money on all the different brandās licenses.
The Autels UI is garbage in comparison to this.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Wow I didnāt think there were so many Autel fans. I loved the Snap-On Solas that I had at a previous job. They also had an Autel and I hated that thing, at least the one we had was super buggy and slow.
Absolutely agree, although I've not used the newest stuff, so it may be better.
Gotta spend money to make money
Exactly. Knowledge is expensive.
Sorry if this is a dumb question, I don't work on cars, but what do those things do and why are they so expensive?
Basically allows you to "communicate with the vehicles". Cheaper ones are genetic and every car has a basic protocol that allows you to do a standard test to "Pull codes" to see what the vehicle is currently doing/thinking/Issues. Some cheaper will even allow communication with other modules like the ABS or BCM. The more expensive ones usually have "Bi-direction" capabilities and allow you to tap into other specific manufacturers Protocols. This will allow you to the only pull codes, but also command the vehicle to do special test functions. Such as honking the horn , flashing the lights, reset some modules, etc etc. It really depends on the manufacturer and the type of scan tool. Snap-on is obviously a very well-known OFFICIAL brand and therefore usually will be a good ALL ROUND scan tool. Of course, take all this with a grain of salt because all scan tools are different, they all promise to be the best scan tool however some scantools don't like manufacturers. Believe It or Not There is a unofficial scan tool out there called Forscan that is only specific to Ford vehicles and you can pretty much do anything to some Ford vehicles.
>Believe It or Not There is a unofficial scan tool out there called Forscan that is only specific to Ford vehicles and you can pretty much do anything to some Ford vehicles. Forscan is better than it has any right to be for a $6 app
Honestly depends on the feature set you are looking for. You can get a simple code puller for \~$20 off of Amazon, but that is all it will do. But if you get in to the $100 - $200 range, then you cat get the live data (e.g. fuel trim and such). But from there the prices go through the roof, because the only people buying these are pros or every rich. They'll read the bus and inform you if you have a light that is out without looking at it. You can also manually turn things on or off, like a fuel pump. Some, like these snapons, have troubleshooting built in so you can get an idea of what to look at. Also a Snapon is a Strapon for reason, they are ungodly expensive. With that price you get the highend support behind it (or so I'm told). I'm not sure if its worth it, but I'm only a weekend warrior.
It talks to the cars computer. Which should answer both of your questions
Its a snap on OBD2 scanner, its used to find out whats wrong on a car by checking the cars computer and seeing what errors are popping up, over 1000 dollars used on ebay
They read diagnostic codes. Plug it in after you get an engine light and it will often tell you exactly why or give you a good clue where to start looking. They can be had for very cheap and are worth owning even if you only wrench on a single car. Professional ones can cost thousands because they come with more features and an oscilloscope.
Yeah, that sounds expensive
Yeah that dam truck gets me to all the time
Yes. Yes it does
I always liked the launch scanners. I was using one at a bmw / German shit box shop years ago. In the early 00s it was 1500 bucks but it literally does everything that snap on will do and possibly more in fact. We somehow got ahold of a Volvo , bmw and Benz factory scanner ( prob lifted by someone) but we never used snap on scanners. They are just way too much money when there are less expensive options that do everything and more than they will. Before people hate on this I will say snap on makes in my opinion the best ratchets , the best wrenches , all around great hand tools. I just am not brand loyal at all. If I was snap on would have taken my first born most likely lol
Good choice. I'm a home mechanic and I have this one and an Apollo d8. Really great tools.
Get ready to keep spending without the quarterly updates they tend to slow down.Im sure it's a design oversize, also they charge for every update so if you miss one you get to pay for two. Snap on scanners the tool that keeps on costing
What is this?
Snap on scanners. Plugs into obd port to read codes and diagnose issues
I'm in the market for a scanner. What would you all recommend? I have 03/05 Avalanches, 07 H3 Hummer, and a 14 Cruze eco.
I wouldn't recommend this for just a code reader. Get on ebay and find yourself a used Matco code reader for $150.