Best Scanner for General Repair

[Extracareman]

Hello, 

We're in the market for a new scanner and figured I'd ask fellow shop owners their ideas and experiences. I did search the board archives and didn't see much within the past year or so. 

We are a general repair shop servicing most anything, according to customer attitude. Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance 🙂

[mastertechlex]

I have the snap on verus pro, the snap on ethos edge, Snap on modis, autel maxi sys pro, a cheap harbor freight $89 code reader and the bosch mastertech j2534 passthru. If i could start all over again i would probably ONLY have a few obd2 dongles that work with smart phones, a j2534 pass thru and a pico scope. 90% of the time obd2 dongles would be used, when i needed deeper capabilities the j2534 would come out and the customer would understand the NEED to pay more and in about 2% of the cases the pico comes out and the customer REALLY understands they need to pay more! Its been my experience with the big aftermarket scanners with updates and maintenance, well they just are not worth the investment.

Edited September 11, 2018 by mastertechlex

[Junior]

Don't even both with a snap-on, they are decades behind in development. I had a verus for a few years, I would have been better off throwing the 10+k in the scrap bin. I get calls from other shops all the time that can't do basic tests on european cars or swap modules and need them programed.  I stop by to do a favor and sure enough, they've got a snap-on, worthless.  Best overall that I've used is the Autel Maxisys elite.  Does most everything and comes with a J2534 passthrough adapter for when you need the OEM diag tools or need to do flash programing. I also have dealer type VCIs for the brands I use the most like BMW, Mercedes, VAG cars. I have a vag-com which is fast and capable for vw-audi. Most other manufacturers software work pretty well with J2534 passthrough like Jag/Rover, volvo. I have a laptop setup just for using these tools and swap hard drive trays to change software. Each one is setup for a manufacturer just like the dealer would have (subscriptions are required). This gives the broadest capabilities but takes a lot of time and technical investment. If you want to actually diagnose and fully repair problems though its the best way to do it. We can update software on all modules and even program keys on most vehicles.

[alfredauto]

We use the cheapest autel code readers and plug into identifix or sure trac then test the old fashioned way. I own a Maxisys elite and it works well for bidirectional testing and the coding. We’ve used about every scanner out there these tool trucks try to sell magic but there’s no avoiding hands on component testing. 

[Extracareman]

Thanks for the information everyone. After a lot of research we ended up getting the Autel Maxisys Elite, just got it today. I'll report back.

Edited October 6, 2018 by Extracareman

[autobodyguys]

We use this one: https://www.matcotools.com/catalog/product/MDMAX2A/MAXIMUS-2-0A-TABLET-SCAN-TOOL/