advice required, diagnostic reader for indy mechanic.

pred racer

An old school indy mechanic has asked me to get him a "yokey dat u plug inta de cars for readin de stuff from the engine" (his exact words )
Because I look after his computer for him he thinks that i know all about anything electronic, now the thing is i haven't a clue about car diagnostics.

Can anyone recommend one that would do the job for him?
I had a quick look on ebay but I presume these would be more for enthusiasts than working mechanics.
this man doesnt say much (getting the phrase above out of him was like pulling teeth) but his wife told me that the local ford garage is charging him 50 quid a go. He may be just looking to reset service lights etc or full diagnostics im not sure!

any advice or links would be helpful.

thanks
Ed.

beam99

You can buy them on e bay alright, but they will only read engine codes, then when he gets the code he needs the information to trouble shoot that code.
You need to find out what does he want to do, if he's not able to use a normal computor or the internet, he mite want to stay away from it.

yogimotorsport

You can get the snap-on eithos for a 100euro inc. VAT
Iv had it on demo last few weeks and im very impressed

1948Wolseley

www.obdtester.com

Just bought one of these for 70 sheets including shipping; even if you fork out for the professional licence, it should still come in around €100.

pred racer

thanks guys Ill look into those.

pred racer

yogimotorsport wrote: »

You can get the snap-on eithos for a 100euro inc. VAT
Iv had it on demo last few weeks and im very impressed

where did you find that, they are over a 1000euro +extra for updates

keithclancy

Is it just me, or is odbtester a total ripoff of VAG-Com

voxpop

I think OBD-II is a standard that all cars support but is basic enough - vag-com would give you more on top of this - like running maf graphs as you drive,upping the idle rpm, miles to empty,etc

gofaster_s13

yogimotorsport wrote: »

You can get the snap-on eithos for a 100euro inc. VAT
Iv had it on demo last few weeks and im very impressed

Your the first person I've heard saying the Snap on diag gear is good:eek:

kildarelad

The launch diagnostics tool is a very good setup .Ive used it on many occasions.Its a handheld computer and comes with all the attachments needed for nearly every make of car.Its two or three thousand to buy but its well worth it

Owen

Don't bother with the 100-200 euro code readers if he's a mechanic. They're designed for the hobby mechanic. The launch unit is probably the best I've seen and used, wish I had one.

kildarelad

Don't bother with the 100-200 euro code readers if he's a mechanic. They're designed for the hobby mechanic. The launch unit is probably the best I've seen and used, wish I had one.

Agreed if hes a mechanic then he would be better to buy the kaunch and charge people 30-50 euro a time for reading fault codes it will save him alot of time make diagnosis of faults faster and give quicker turnaround of repair jobs

pred racer

thanks guys. ill go back to him and see what he is willing to spend. I reckon I know the answer already :rolleyes: but ill ask anyway!

crosshair1

pred racer wrote: »

An old school indy mechanic has asked me to get him a "yokey dat u plug inta de cars for readin de stuff from the engine" (his exact words )

Not being smart but if that is the way he put it, I think he may be advised to get some training on modern vehicle systems before he decides to part with any money.
Having said that the Launch is a pretty capable machine and is a good starting point if a bit slow.
Other machines worth looking at are Dec Superscan, Carmanscan, VCDS (a must have at the price), Bosch KTS etc there are loads out there but you will not find one that ticks all the boxes, at the end of the day it depends on the volume of certain makes that you see as to what tools you need to have.
In his case ideally he should get reps to demo the equipment to him.
Personally I think one machine is insufficient for an independant workshop to carry out repairs without sending a large proportion of work to dealers and losing out on revenue as a result.

yogimotorsport

gofaster_s13 wrote: »

Your the first person I've heard saying the Snap on diag gear is good:eek:

I honestly thought it was good did everything i asked for it,found it better then the launch when working on Citroens,Do you think they are not good,like i said i only have it on demo so all info appreciated?:)

gofaster_s13

yogimotorsport wrote: »

I honestly thought it was good did everything i asked for it,found it better then the launch when working on Citroens,Do you think they are not good,like i said i only have it on demo so all info appreciated?:)

I've personally never used the Snap-on systems but when we were looking to update our own system I was asking around a lot of local garages and was told stay away from snap-on by 4 different garages as it was too expensive for what it was and not very good, the Nissan garage accross the road actually has a snap-on diag and they went out and bought a second system(cant remember which one) and the snap on one is just on the shelf gathering dust. We ended up going for the Texa system as it can do commercials as well.

knifey_spoonie

From my own experience the Snap-On is not great, but the up side is its piss easy to use. Updates are a horrible price for it tho, about 700 for the year, and its expensive to start with.Also the personalities key are a pain in the arse.

I went and bought an Autoboss V30, it was the best all rounder i could find, It will not do everything, but no diagnostics will. Updates are cheap, and i got two years free updates when i bought it. The one thing i like about it is Updates are regular, id say ive updated it about 6 time in the last 3 months, every time it adds more functions .

You have other options like BrainBee, Launch X431 are also popular. Its all about finding a system the balances covereage with useability

yogimotorsport

What price is on the Autoboss?Just googled it there is seems a good package

mathepac

It seems we are talking chalk and cheese here.

As above the €100 fleabay readers are fine for DIYers and hobbyists. A professional workshop needs a full professional system with a range of connectors + software (older cars won't necessarily have OBD / OBD II). Such a system will cost around €5k + training + annual licensing / maintenance / support costs.

knifey_spoonie

yogimotorsport wrote: »

What price is on the Autoboss?Just googled it there is seems a good package

Off the top of me about € 2300 + VAT

Owen

There's an autoboss on donedeal for 1500 Euro. I'd say if you offered the guy a bag of sand he'd take it.