Which home scan/code reader that works

[RT/M]

Hi guys, I have been looking at scan tools, its an absolute mine field out there, so can anyone recommend a good scan tool what will do the majority of car makes. Also is it worth getting a bidirectional one. Max price £400
TIA

[Belle427]

I cant recommend a specific tool sorry but the Topdon offerings look good value to me and that`s where I would be looking personally.

[paul_c123]

RT/M said:

Hi guys, I have been looking at scan tools, its an absolute mine field out there, so can anyone recommend a good scan tool what will do the majority of car makes. Also is it worth getting a bidirectional one. Max price £400
TIA

What make/model/age cars will you be working on, and what kind of work? I'd say bidirectional (actuator tests etc) is a nice thing to have. Personally I have an iCarSoft CR MAX and its available for £359.

[JimM169]

Haven't got one myself but have been looking at the Otofix D1 Lite which looks quite versatile. It's based on the Autel platform, comes with 2yrs free updates and currently £299 on the AutelStore website

[Belle427]

Just to add its worth checking how much the updates are, the ones that offer free updates are a big bonus.

[Megaflow]

I have just bought a Topdon Artidiga 800 BT2. Very impressive. My only jiggle so far is it could scan a bit quicker, but the number of modules it finds and reads in incredible, so I’ll cut it some slack

[indigochim]

I have a Launch scan tool and while it does pretty much everything I need after the 2 years of updates further updates are almost the cost of the unit again. While I don't have the need to add any makes/models that I didnt download during the free update period it also stops the emailing of diag reports.

A couple of the guys I work with have top don units with lifetime updates and they seem pretty happy. I'd go with one of those if I had my time again.

[Megaflow]

I had a Launch before the Topdon, and it had lifetime updates. I made sure the Topdon did as well.

[Master Of Puppets]

Beware if any of the cars you want to check are modern Peugeot or Citreon, as far as I've ever seen the only thing that will properly
read them is Peugeot Planet and Lexia 3 / Diagbox, anyone had success with anything else?

[Shedding]

I have Foxwell NT530 Full Systems Scan Tool, bought from Gendan. I use BMW/Mini and Porsche software and find it excellent and can read and reset many car specific things. For example, I changed auto box and transfer box fluids in my X5 last year and was able to reset the calibrations in both units. Also used to read Porsche specific codes in my Cayman and reset the oil service interval. It's circa £80 to add each further manufacturer.

[bluetigerandy]

I have the Foxwell as well- I have the one that’s full system and all makes that was about £400. Paid for itself easily.
If you will only use it on one car, buying the make specific one does in many ways make sense as a home mechanic.