Quote: Originally Posted by MINI-Morgan (original)
How much on diagnostic tools??? a code reader is £30! And an advanced one is under £100 or even £30 if you have a laptop
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A simple eOBD fault code reader can be bought for around that price now (were at least 4 times that price a few years ago!!!) but they ONLY read eOBD codes... and usually only the generic engine managment codes (P0 and P2 codes... no use if you get a manufacturer specific P1 code or a body (B) or chassis (C) type fault code) and the "live data stream" if available at all on these tools is notoriously slow... simply c**p for finding intermitant faults. These code readers have their place... and I am glad they are becoming so cheap, but when it REALLY hits the fan... its a bit like asking a painter decorator to paint your whole house with a half inch brush... its theoretically possible, but you know he is gonna tell you to get on you bike!!!!
What about SRS and ABS/
DSC /ASC/ESP system faults... they are rarely read by these cheap scanners.
Then what about equipment to test the offending system/circuit... a decent test lead set can set you back £200-300, an ACCURATE multimeter that can be relied on will cost around £100, then a decent hand held scope meter (NOT a scoping multimeter... they cant work fast enough for alot of modern systems) they cost anywhere between £650 to £1300. Then there is the "make specific" stuff, these have come down in price with the use of ebay... Sure you can get VAG and BMW stuff for a couple of hundred quid, but the likes of the Merc and mitsubishi stuff will still set you back at least a grand... with or without a laptop!
And you cant code ECUs to cars without these things these days... and there is no point being able to diagnose a fault, if you have to tell the customer to take it to the dealer to finish the job.
If I thought for a second I could get away with selling the whole lot and getting by with a £40 eOBD scanner... I would punt the whole lot on ebay!!!!
Not meaning to get on my high horse... just think people should know a little of what goes on in the motor trade, and what is involved in keeping up with all modern cars.
That said, my trusty hammer cost me a tenner 15 years ago, and has fixed loads since
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