Steps you should take so that you don't get caught making a bad purchase decision?
1) Don't let the Marketing efforts of a company be the reason you purchase, look at the total package from Tool to Support.
2) Talk to more than one shop about what they use and why, reason is every shops capabilities are different.
3) Don't look at only the price, sure everyone doesn't want to overpay but service after the sale is everything.
4) Repair info in scan tools is typically basic and becomes out dated quickly. Also aftermarket companies that offer repair information can be confusing and also generic. This can sometimes lead to issues when the information provided doesn't match the tool you are using.
Analyzing your current scan tool offering and what is a good first line of attack?
1) A High quality general purpose to specialty aftermarket scan tool - Must be quick, easy, and dependable in most situations.
2) A OE Scan Tool based by car count to justify the expense. We usually start with the Big 3 USA Automakers, Big 3 Asian, then European.
3) A J2534 device and a computer built for automotive shops. This would be a rugged Laptop with a partitioned hard drive for multiple car makes and no virus protection plus enough power to be quick and reliable for years to come. Remember this computer is for automotive repair not an ebay or Amazon machine.
Who should I align myself with to help my shop be the best it can be in the Diagnostic arena?
1) Just like when a customer is looking for a shop to work on their car when a shop is looking for a supplier to purchase their diagnostic scan tools they should be looking for someone who really understands the tools and their capabilities. Also the supplier needs to have aggresively good technical support so that the shop can get full benefit of the scan tool.
2) Look for a supplier that offers the best aftermarket scan tools and also factory oe scan tools. We will never see an all-in-one scan tool be able to do every function, relearn, & reinitialization so having a factory OE scan tool bridges this gap for the shop.
3) Shops need to understand that even manufacturers of tools don't understand how to repair cars. Their engineers are challenged to do one thing typically and that is to write code inside of a tool to populate and poll data plus actuate any components that are available. This is far from understanding how to repair the car, so aligning yourself with a supplier who does understand how is instrumental in getting the most out of your tools.
This is just a broad overview of what to look for... Questions and comments welcomed and encouraged!
Thanks
OEST
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