Anyone know about the New Snap On Verus

[Joe Marconi]

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[gravysuckinpig]

My Snap On rep left me the new Verus scan tool. It appears to be really nice and has a lot of nice features, does anyone have any knowledge of it?

 

i used one briefly for a few months- it was nice in that you could save the vehicle and make notes that would be helpful if it came back - try using it on a chrysler and see if you can go directly into the pcm or if you need to load the global obd2 to read it - for some reason the one i had only read chrysler through global- other than that it was good - wireless internet etc. didnt think it was worth the 10k they were asking for it .

[Gary A]

Joe,

We use the Sanp-On Verus, the new software that they just came out with was a big improvement and it can be used with the online version of mitchell repair I believe. I also think it will integrate with Mitchell Manager in the future which would be good for tech to SW communication. the price is ridiculous like everything else ethey sell but if you upgrade from a modis or something else its not as bad.

Gary

[Junior]

We have had the Snap-On Verus for a year an a half now and I have to say that I don't recommend it. It has been an unstable platform since it was new. Our Verus was replaced twice by Snap-On. I have until recently been very patient with Snap-On tech about this tool. It was new when we got it, we were the first in the area to have one. Some 6 months ago they redesigned the entire software platform and although the interface is easier on the eyes and easier to touch reliability went down significantly as well as performance. I have gone through a dozen contact with Snap-On support and even had a dialog with their development team. They talked to me about Beta testing due to the feed back I supplied. Unfortunately though I supplied detailed information about countless bugs and how to reproduce them I got little response from Snap-On and a year after much of this dialog started most of the bugs are still not fixed. We are shopping for another scan tool and will never purchase from Snap-On diagnostics again.

 

The good about the tool

• Its ability to retain information on every car you scan for an unlimited period of time. If a customer returns you can pull them up and add to that record. The search function here has been buggy depending on the release and there was a bug that would delete data when you pulled up a previous car but its been fixed.
  
• It has a very broad range of supported vehicles and supports pre-obdII stuff. We have the full Asian and Euro package. Many of the new tools we are looking at have no support for pre OBDII diag. Our next solution will probably include an MT2500 for these old cars.
  
• Has a scope/Multimeter built in (also see the bad) The scope has many built in component tests to automatically setup the scope for what you're testing. Its pretty broad and covers most sensors that are out there. If its not covered though you might have trouble.
  
• Troubleshooter, Snap-On boasts this as a great tool. I've rarely found it helpful but other guys in my shop like it.
  

 

The Bad

• Very poor performance. Boot time is very slow, power management is poor and the Snap-On software does not react well to the tool going into suspend or hibernate (Runs on Windows XP).
  
• Unreliable, the tool will crash often, it has to be restarted often also.
  
• Keys, the key setup is very cumbersome. For example I had to scan a Dodge stratus this morning and had to change keys three times just to log into the engine ECU.
  
• Scope, the scope is often very slow. If you want to see a waveform respond to an event it may take several seconds for the scope to respond (it is setup correctly and I had a Snap-On tech here a whole day to try and prove me wrong, they replaced the unit saying it was defective and it has the same problem)
  
• Scope, configuration of triggers is very limited. If the scope does not auto-detect the timing of the waveform you're pretty much SOL. I've had simple injector waveforms not come up because it it could not detect the trigger timing. Pull out my old BluePoint scope (which I would use if I could buy a new battery for it)
  
• Support, Snap-On has a terrible support system, their level one techs can't help with anything, go up the ladder and you get people who are experienced but can not offer answers. Many of the problems I have (I see one almost every day) must exist to everyone using the tool but most Snap-On techs will act like you are crazy and they never saw that problem before. I had one contact that was truthful to me about the issues I was having and was the only worth while feedback I got from Snap-On tech. He's not my contact anymore and now I get no response at all.
  

 

That's my $0.02 your mileage may vary

Edited May 2, 2011 by Junior

[Junior]

Case in point on poor design. This morning I need to scan a car, I pickup my Verus and it has automatically started installing an update. It doesn't ask if you would like to install the update now or not, just starts installing it, forces you to exit the Verus diagnostic application and wait a half hour for it to finish. I don't have time to wait that half hour right now, I have a car in the bay that needs to be worked on. So I'm forced to grab another tool and use OBD generic to get into this car. There is no way that Snap-On got any feedback from anyone operating a shop when developing this tool. It is the most cumbersome thing I have to deal with getting through the day and the worst investment we have ever made. Almost $9k down the toilet.

[MattW]

Back in school we had a couple of Vantage Pro's, A Solus, and a Modis. The Modis is the last Snap-on scanner I'd use. As Snap-on progresses with their scanners it seems they focus more on form and less on function. "Oh, shiny" is nice, but I'm looking more for power and efficiency. I'm strongly considering buying a scan-tool from AutoEnginuity, and being able to hook it up to my shop laptop. And a PicoScope 4423 automotive kit as my diagnostic multimeter.

[Moonlight]

I have purchased the Verdict and traded the Modis, Never used the Verus but I have liked the Verdict, many nice features but we have had a few issues with the wireless communication and the battery doesn't last as long as i would like.

[RWDragoon]

I bought the Sanp-On Verus as soon as it was released, and I think I have the 1st or 2nd one in Alberta, Canada. Compared to the Modis it sure seemed like a super powerful system, that could expand and grow as my new shop needed. Boy was I disappointed.

My shop usually works on Japanese cars of all sorts, with occasional domestic as well. I needed a scan tool with the capabilities of all so I could obtain my out-of-province inspection license even though I never work on Euro. I am a specialty shop that focus's on high performance street and race cars. We are not the average high volume shop. The 4 channel scope appealed to me as it would be useful when paired with my chassis dyno.

I think the first version I had was 8.4? It was brutal. Buttons were tiny and very difficult to press with the crappy touch screen. We had communication problems from day one with Subaru vehicles (One of the most common vehicle I work on) Tech support was useless and never solved a problem... ever. After using the unit for more then a year, and pretty dissatisfied with the $14,000 unit (had to upgrade to Euro/Asian, COP adapters, and a few other accessories) I then tried to bleed a transmission on a Mitsubishi Evolution X we had in the shop. No such menu's to do so. I phoned tech support and walked through exactly what I was trying to do, and I had a factory Service manual for the car I was working on. My question was simple, with a software upgrade does this allow or enable the ability to service the transmission on the Evo X? Tech support went through the available options and menu's and said no it wasn't supported, but perhaps in a future release it would be. Again I'm dissatisfied with my very expensive purchase, and cant even upgrade it to perform a simple task. Randomly a friend of mine from another shop stopped by and was using my dyno on his car, and he brought along his own Verus to do some monitoring. His was a newer version then mine 10.something I borrowed it for 2 minutes and went through the menu's and sure enough it clearly listed the ability to bleed Evo X transmission(my Tech support phone call was the same week!) Now I am pretty pissed off and called my local dealer, who conveniently had a conference in town with the "head guy" that handles sales, questions related to diagnostic equipment. I went to the conference and they were explaining the release of the new wireless version without personality keys. After it was over I had a good discussion with the diagnostics guy, explaining that I am not the most typical shop, I dont use it more then 10 times a month, but when I try and use it, often it just doesn't work or communicate. He tells me that my problem is my software is very old and out dated, that many fixes have been applied, and the machine in general will run much faster! All for the low price of $1200cad with no satisfaction guarantee.

I bite the bullet and go for it, spend the money and they update my tool. My local dealer picked it up and returned it in 1 or 2 days updated. It blue screened of death the first time the dealer tried to show me how great it was. The second boot up it seemed to work ok.

It was a pretty large improvement, the buttons were large so you could usually click on what you intended, it used scrolling similar to an Iphone (but not nearly as smooth or good) and the menu's were cleaner. I dont think it really was any faster, except you didn't waste as much time clicking on the wrong menu's!

8 months ago the head diagnostics rep stops by my shop as my dealer has asked him to, due to my dissatisfaction. The rep listens to all my complaints and problems, we have normal 2008+ Subaru's at the shop it doesn't work in front of him, he suggest something wrong with the cable or key, we borrow one, same exact problem. It doesn't work on any of the new Nissan GTR's, 2008+ Subarus, and most other cars we work on. The rep doesn't care, doesn't do anything to help, doesn't even try to scam me into trading in on the new hardware.... nothing

It's now 3 years since I bought it brand new, I'm running version 11.2 and I cant communicate with any Subaru's 2008 or newer it just endlessly wont connect. I have borrowed new cables, keys, everything and it never works. If I use OBDII Generic it works ok, with bare minimum support. It has the ability to work a little bit better with Evolutions and is able to bleed the transmission and reset TPMS. Tried it this week to connect to a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee with a CEL on, doesn't work, cant connect. Generic mode, works fine.

All in all I think its a pretty crappy product, not what I would expect from the "Legendary Snap-On" Poor product, poor support, poor choice to buy

I'm located in Calgary, Alberta and if anyone would like to try it out I invite it. Dont make the same mistake as me!

[Brianp]

We have a verus and it has been good so far not quite a year. I have heard lots of horror stories. Even from locals who own it.

[tourer]

Joe on my second Verus not much better than the first.Have always used s.o. scanners never had a problem until I got rid of my Modis .and got the verus the first one on the 13.2 update the dealer downloaded a virus after 6 mos of trying to fix it and threats of a class action lawsuit they replaced it with a verus pro d10 not much better then the old one it ws 1 year old.lots of comm.problems with vehicle have to keep restarting seems like it worked okay for a few weeks .Never hooked to web afraid it will make it worse snap ons pat answer is to tell me no one else seems to have problem.May still try a class action seems like a lot of owners are having same problems.The best part is its made in Taiwan and only cost 10.7k good luck to you if you buy one mike

[ATSAutomotive]

Never been a big fan of Snap On but I looked in to the Solus and I have to admit for the price it works extremely well. I think I paid $3k for a brand new Snap On Solus Ultra a year or two ago. I looked at the Verus, it's definitely a flashy product but just couldn't justify $10k.....

[ncautoshop]

Im using a modis and I've had great luck with it.

 

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Edited November 23, 2013 by ncautoshop

[mspecperformance]

@ncautoshop, the new modis ?

[ncautoshop]

@ncautoshop, the new modis ?

No.

I looked at it but its only a 2 channel scope. I think as long as the tool stays updated theres no need to invest big money like that. Big investments in my mind really need to be something that increases your abilities or gives you a return on investment that cant be achieved with what you currently have. Whats the point of buying a new tool just because of some new features that may be nice but the old tool still does the job?

 

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