Anyone used the Autel MaxiDAS DS708?

[ATLAuto]

Anyone tested this scanner out yet? $1600 and claims to do everything that a $10k snap-on can do. Too good to be true? Would like to hear from some guys that have used it for several months over a wide range of vehicles.

 

http://www.maxidas.com/features/

Edited September 29, 2013 by Wes Daniel

[ncautoshop]

It doesnt have a scope and lacked in diesel areas from my trial.

 

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[mspecperformance]

I bought one to have a generic scanner around the shop for $1250 last year. Works pretty good, no scope though. I haven't really gotten to play around with it much. We use it on occasion for the odd non German car that comes through the shop so I don't know all the capabilities.

[Pjauto]

For the money it is a rock star. It is very functional over a very broad band of different makes. I've had mine a year or so and do not regret it. Yes, no scope and it can't do everything every dealer level scanner can (but neither can snap on). Autels tpms tool is real nice too.

[ATLAuto]

For the money it is a rock star. It is very functional over a very broad band of different makes. I've had mine a year or so and do not regret it. Yes, no scope and it can't do everything every dealer level scanner can (but neither can snap on). Autels tpms tool is real nice too.

I've been hearing the same thing ... It just seems too good to be true and cannot fathom why someone would buy a $10k Snap On over the Autel. Besides the lack of a scope, do you see any other features missing?

 

Will take a look at the TPMS. Didn't know they made one.

[Pjauto]

There is no internal battery in the Autel. But you get used to it. Their customer service is so so at best. It is WiFi ready. It can print wirelessly. It might not do diesel well but diesel is not my area of expertise. If you visit Savannah before you make your scanner purchase you can try mine out. But really... For the money it is by far the best I've seen or used.

[ATLAuto]

There is no internal battery in the Autel. But you get used to it. Their customer service is so so at best. It is WiFi ready. It can print wirelessly. It might not do diesel well but diesel is not my area of expertise. If you visit Savannah before you make your scanner purchase you can try mine out. But really... For the money it is by far the best I've seen or used.

I'm going to take you up on that. We will plug my VW TDI into it and see how it fairs. I'll PM you when I'm down there next.

[RWI]

I've owned one for about a year, got it between 1200 & 1300. Lack of battery means starting from scratch if unplugged. Does do software updates over wifi and they are pretty frequent. Live data has some of the best coverage I have seen for an aftermarket scan tool. For the money is can't be beat. Can be a little interesting to get used to, seems like they copy the oem tool pretty closely. I have dealer Ford & GM tools and the Autel is an exact clone for the most part. If you do a lot of the same make but the factory scanner, if you want a general shop tool this pretty damn good. Like others have said, no bells and whistles, no scope or trouble shooter, just good basic info. I use this mainly for Chrysler as the factory tool is insanely expensive and I am pretty pleased with it.

[Cliff]

This is the only scanner I have. Just had a Denali in the shop. The owner had it at another shop in the area that uses otc products. The genysis couldn't access the drivers seat module. The ds708 was able to not only read read the module but had good bidirectional support as well. The ford diesel coverage is very good. The gm diesel support is hit or miss. Haven't tried dodge. The European coverage is excellent. Bmw support is great. Mine even works on pre obd2 models using the proprietary bmw connector. There is almost no tech support. I would not purchase through Asian sources. Seems those units aren't warranted through the Autel us division. I bought mine through aes wave. Those guys are great. I have been surprised by this unit almost everyone I use it.

Cliff

[mccannable]

Seems like I may be giving this a try at 1/2 the cost of autoingenuity

[Type S Zero]

ok so i typed a long text about Autel and my browser froze before posting......

 

 

i was saying, i used it twice and liked it, owners of DS708 i met really like it for the price, but not loving it : doesn't do eveything.

 

DS708 from US retailer : from $1300 to $1600 with Autel USA support and updates

DS708 Asia/China orders : from $980 to $1300 - no support from Autel US, updates from Autel China or something..

 

BUT, now they have the MaxiSys on the market which is better:

- quad-core processor on Android platform, with a solid state drive

- built in Li-ion battery

- Auto-VIN detection

- Bluetooth connectivity with VCI, so you walk around the car with the scanner - no wire from screen to DLC

- J-2534 reprogramming comes with Pro model

- remote access from Autel tech

- and has SCOPE !

 

prices i've seen lately

Mini MS905 : $2200 (only has OBDII 16 pins connector)

MS908 : $3000

MS908 Pro : $4000

 

with today's technologies and low cost productions, i don't know how competitors justify those $8K~$12K scan Tools, and even less prices of Euro packages and updates.

i was thinking the release of MaxiSys would make a price drop of MaxiDas....but not yet.

 

so i was aiming at MaxiDas, but getting tempted by MaxiSys..

[ATLAuto]

Wow. Had not seen that the MaxiSYS was released yet. Great news. The scope, the battery, wireless, and J2534 are HUGE benefits. Here is a comparison sheet between the two. Thanks for the news.

 

http://www.autel.us/pdf/MaxiSYS_Comparison.pdf

MaxiSYS_Comparison.pdf

Edited December 9, 2013 by Wes Daniel

[Sean]

The maxisys looks like a great tool. I don't see any literature about the scope. It does say it has scope capability though. Either way perhaps this tool and a four channel pico scope would be the way to go and both could be had for thousands less than a verus or verdict

[ATLAuto]

I don't see any literature about the scope. It does say it has scope capability though. Either way perhaps this tool and a four channel pico scope would be the way to go and both could be had for thousands less than a verus or verdict

 

Agreed. Would like to test one of these out myself prior to buying.

[5 Star Auto Spa]

We just got this scanner dropped off for a test drive for 2-3 weeks from our local Advance Auto. Will let you all know how it does.....

[mccannable]

So advanced is a dealer for them? I'm very interested in these.

[ATLAuto]

So advanced is a dealer for them? I'm very interested in these.

 

That surprised me too. I'll stop by Advance tomorrow morning and ask.

 

Did you get the maxiDAS or the maxiSYS?

 

EDIT: I went by Advance this morning. They had no idea what I was talking about and took me to look at their $30 generic OBD-II scanners. I left fairly confused. They must not be a nationwide supplier but more on a store-by-store basis.

Edited December 17, 2013 by Wes Daniel

[ncautoshop]

 

That surprised me too.  I'll stop by Advance tomorrow morning and ask.

 

Did you get the maxiDAS or the maxiSYS?

 

EDIT:  I went by Advance this morning.  They had no idea what I was talking about and took me to look at their $30 generic OBD-II scanners.  I left fairly confused.  They must not be a nationwide supplier but more on a store-by-store basis.

You need to speak with your CAM. The trial program is through the commercial portion of advance only and its pretty likely the in store commercial folks wont know much about it.

 

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[5 Star Auto Spa]

We're currently testing out the maxiDAS. It definitely is the commercial side of Advance that is letting us test drive the scanner and the individual is the regional commercial sales manager (not the one from the local store).

[mccannable]

How do you recommend we go about contacting the regional account manager? I assume you already had a relationship. I see autozone is a distributor for them as well. I am very interested and would love to try before we buy and buy locally if possible and affordable.

[5 Star Auto Spa]

Hmm...not sure about how to contact the individual for your area. You are correct in that we already had a relationship with our regional sales manager as he stops by our shop once a month to check on things.

[ncautoshop]

If you cant give me your location I can likely find who you need to speak to.

 

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[mccannable]

Central fl (34748)

[ncautoshop]

The CAM’s name for that area is Tony Ingram.  His phone number is (407) 816-3051

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[mccannable]

Thank you good sir. He will be getting a call.

[ncautoshop]

Thank you good sir. He will be getting a call.

anytime bud. He actually sente an email saying that was the wrong nukber. Pm me your contact info and I'll email you the email with all his contact information and email.

 

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[mccannable]

I met with the rep for the Autel and a few other items. I am pretty much sold on the scanner but I cant get it out of my head that its about $200 cheaper online. I am going to call autel's us number tomorrow to see if the support is the same. They also are giving away their TPMS tool with the DS708.

[ncautoshop]

I met with the rep for the Autel and a few other items. I am pretty much sold on the scanner but I cant get it out of my head that its about $200 cheaper online. I am going to call autel's us number tomorrow to see if the support is the same. They also are giving away their TPMS tool with the DS708. 

You should speak with the rep and see what he can do. Maybe he can set you up with some type of stocking pricing or something that could benefit you over the long term.

 

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[Spence]

I looked at the MaxiDas and others. I am not sold on the MaxiDas. What vehicles are you looking to service with it?

[Alvin]

had the scanner for about a month so far and i love it,
it does everything the genesys and the high end snap-on scanner do for less then a quarter of the price.

http://www.obd365.com/wholesale/autel-maxidas-ds708-1213.html

they always have new updates, which i consider a very good thing.

the only downside to the unit is that it will take some getting used to and the menu is not unified, for example, if you want to check the ECU, under some manufactures it will be listed as ECU unit, others PCM units, others something different. also for certain cars, like an 01 f350 diesel (they just recently released the update to support ford diesel)you will not find the diesel option under the F350, instead you have to look for the engine model in the menu where you select the car model, those are minor things for and for me and they dont bother me much

i have used it on 2001 mercedes S500 (W220 body) and it scanned a total of 41 different systems, i didn't even know the car had that many systems, it scanned everything from AC to Radio, Navigation, Insturment cluster, ABS, Airmatic, Airbags......etc

overall im very happy with it, and highly recommend it, especially considering the price

(UPDATE)
------so far had the scanner for about 6 month and i am happy with it, no major problems and as i mentioned earlier the only annoyance is searching the menu's sometimes. i have used it on many different car models and it worked great on all of them. there is no ECU programing in this device, you can program keys and security systems on certain cars but not all, i was able to program the key on 01 infiniti I30 but not on a 2003 Saturn L300, the device only workes on cars 96 and newer and some models have to be 97 or 98 and up (had an 96 mercedes c220 and for that model it would only read regular obdII codes, but for the 97 and up it does everything). --------

(update #2)
had the scanner for a couple of years now, still works good, i just wanted to add that the cost to sign up for software update after the 1 year thats included is about ~$600 (total care package for 1 year, update and warranty) which i thought is kind of high, especially concidering the current price of the model. but on the plus side the updates are not mandatory, i haven't purchased any update packages since i first got mine and dont find the need to yet (don't really have any cars that are newer than 2014 that i need to work on)

also another thing they recently not too long ago released their newer model maxisys which looks really nice but is more expensive, its just another option to consider if you are a mechanic

[CMillet86]

had the scanner for about a month so far and i love it,

it does everything the genesys and the high end snap-on scanner do for less then a quarter of the price.

http://www.obd365.com/wholesale/autel-maxidas-ds708-1213.html

 

they always have new updates, which i consider a very good thing.

 

the only downside to the unit is that it will take some getting used to and the menu is not unified, for example, if you want to check the ECU, under some manufactures it will be listed as ECU unit, others PCM units, others something different. also for certain cars, like an 01 f350 diesel (they just recently released the update to support ford diesel)you will not find the diesel option under the F350, instead you have to look for the engine model in the menu where you select the car model, those are minor things for and for me and they dont bother me much

 

i have used it on 2001 mercedes S500 (W220 body) and it scanned a total of 41 different systems, i didn't even know the car had that many systems, it scanned everything from AC to Radio, Navigation, Insturment cluster, ABS, Airmatic, Airbags......etc

 

overall im very happy with it, and highly recommend it, especially considering the price

 

(UPDATE)

------so far had the scanner for about 6 month and i am happy with it, no major problems and as i mentioned earlier the only annoyance is searching the menu's sometimes. i have used it on many different car models and it worked great on all of them. there is no ECU programing in this device, you can program keys and security systems on certain cars but not all, i was able to program the key on 01 infiniti I30 but not on a 2003 Saturn L300, the device only workes on cars 96 and newer and some models have to be 97 or 98 and up (had an 96 mercedes c220 and for that model it would only read regular obdII codes, but for the 97 and up it does everything). --------

 

(update #2)

had the scanner for a couple of years now, still works good, i just wanted to add that the cost to sign up for software update after the 1 year thats included is about ~$600 (total care package for 1 year, update and warranty) which i thought is kind of high, especially concidering the current price of the model. but on the plus side the updates are not mandatory, i haven't purchased any update packages since i first got mine and dont find the need to yet (don't really have any cars that are newer than 2014 that i need to work on)

 

also another thing they recently not too long ago released their newer model maxisys which looks really nice but is more expensive, its just another option to consider if you are a mechanic

I have a Maxisys and the speed of it blows the older maxidas out of the water. My only issue is at less then 2 years old I can't use it unplugged. And they want $900 for a new tablet. I believe I'm going to pick up a OTC Encore for day to day, and keep this thing for when I need to do something oddball like program immobilizer on a honda or nissan.

[lmcca]

we have the MaxiSYS and its great. I had a 2016 ram 1500 in here with a check engine light, updated the MaxiSYS on the fly and poof, 2016 coverage, love it.