Scan tool for repairs and troubleshooting?

[2025 deleted member]

Most scanners will have those basic functions. I'm talking about actuating modules, motors, lights, solenoids etc.

Yeah my buddy has a small indy shop, his scanner was 3 or 4 grand. I go to him for anything else.

 

[pugslyyy]

Yeah my buddy has a small indy shop, his scanner was 3 or 4 grand. I go to him for anything else.

Yep, $3-4k is about right for a professional scan tool (like SOLUS), not the $500 mentioned earlier. That gets you something that will do a lot of things on a lot of vehicles, but still is no substitute for the vehicle specific diagnostic devices which will set you back another $5-10k per brand.

Depending on the vehicle you can sometimes buy a consumer version of the vehicle-specific system at a good price but it will be only activated for a single VIN. It is an option that is worth considering for the enthusiast (for example, I have one for my Triumph Tiger)

 

[kidphc]

Maxme from Matco (made by Launch, prepare for a lot of chinglish and a terrible ui) is a viable option. It cost about 849 can have individual lines (makes) activated via monthly or annual subscriptions. IT was designed for a small shop or individual owner (aka freelance mechanic) whom wanted a more capable scanner like a full blown shop scanner just without the cost. I had a Maximus from Matco, which is an fully unlocked version or the older brother of the Maxme. It will have bi-lateral capabilities and is pretty usable. From playing with the Maxme it is has slightly slower hardware, couldn't use the borescope from the Maximus, entry point and stuff was the same in both. Some PIDS were not available with it. I like the Versus pro better, but you could almost buy a 3 year old car for as much as it cost not including annual subscriptions.

I personally, wouldn't carry either shop style scanners on the road. I use Torque and my cell phone to monitor vitals and look at any codes. Really wish it could read the wheel speed sensors on my truck.

Just Saw this might be promising Easy Diag 2.0 Plus

 

[Wilbah]

I have a scanner that I got when I had an airbag light.... $100 on Amazon. I know it's an OBD2 scanner but forget the brand. It saved me the purchase px that day as the stealership wanted $100 just to scan it. I have used it for every light since and a bunch on friends vehicles. It gives me the code and I can look it up and find the aoecific issue (with the airbag light it was a $25 (iirc?) sensor behind the grille). I have no doubt that it's not as robust as the top of the line mechanic versions but I would check the model specific forums and see what folks use for the same vehicle as you drive. You may find one of the cheaper ones (like mine) solve 90% of your problems and it will pay for itself pretty quickly.