Chipped in 200 bucks for a fancy diagnostic scanner and it paid off in one day

I always thought those high end scan tools were a waste for an old school mechanic like me. Then my buddy let me borrow his Autel unit last week when a 2018 Ford Explorer came in with a weird transmission code. That thing found a bad solenoid in like 10 minutes instead of me guessing and swapping parts for hours. Ended up billing the customer $400 for the job so the scanner basically paid for itself on that one car. Now I'm thinking about getting one for myself but the $2000 price tag on a new one has me second guessing. Anyone find a good used one or a cheaper brand that actually works well?

2 comments

2 Comments

rosek7315d ago

Did you look at the used market at all? A buddy of mine snagged a Launch X431 off a retired tech for about $600 and it does damn near everything his $3000 Snap-on unit does. I'd be curious to know which specific models you've been eyeing, because there's a big difference between a $500 unit and a $1500 one in terms of live data refresh rates.

anthony88315d ago

The Launch X431 is no joke for the money, I've seen a few guys at the shop using them and the live data is way faster than I expected for a $600 unit. It's crazy how far the cheaper brands have come in just the last couple years.