TheBestCarDiagnosticTool
Allcarsmadeafter1996arerequiredtocontainanonboarddiagnostics(OBD)port.Diagnosticcodesaresentthroughthevehicle'scomputerandreadbydiagnostictoolspluggedintotheOBDport.Thesetoolsareusedbyautomotivetechniciansandautomotivepartsstores.Partsstoreswillusuallychargeforsuchaservice.Diagnostictoolsarenotcheapbuttheyareaninvestmentthatcansavehundredsofdollarsindo-it-yourselfvehiclerepairs.Theycanalsosavemoneyandheadacheswhenbuyingausedvehicle.
CarMD
CarMDhassomegoodfeaturestoofferinthewayofautodiagnostics.
CarMDcouldbeashadyusedcarsalesman'sworstnightmare.Itcanbepluggedintoanyvehiclethatwasmadein1996orlater.Runadiagnostictestonausedcarbeforebuying.
PricesarealwayssubjecttochangebutrightnowtheCarMDwebsiteisofferingthisproductforaround$100.
Thistooldoesworkaspromisedandisavalueattheprice,consumerswillgetmoreoutofsimilarbutmoreexpensivediagnostictools.
PocketScan
ThePocketScanCP9125madebyActronisatpresentabitmoreexpensivethanCarMDbutitisabetterdiagnostictool.Itssuperioritycomesfromthefactthat,inadditiontorunningdiagnostictestsandmakingtheresultsunderstandableforanovice,itisalsocapableofresettingthe"checkengine"light.CarMDdoesnotofferthisfeature.Thistoolisonthesmallersidewhichmakesiteasiertofitintoplaceonsomevehicles.
Innova3130
TheInnova3130scantoolisatthehighendofthepricescale.Thisisavolatileandfairlynewbusinessmodel,sopricescouldchangeradicallyinthefuture,particularlygiventhecurrentcarmarket,butthecreatorofthistooliscurrentlysellingitforaround$300.Oneofthefeaturesthatmakesthisdeviceworththepriceistheall-in-onedisplayscreen.ThemanualisavailableforonlineviewingpriortopurchaseanditcomeswithaninstructionalDVD.Thisunitcanbeupdatedthroughapersonalcomputer.