Threw $350 at a snap-on scan tool and it sits in my box collecting dust

Bought a fancy scanner off the truck last year thinking it'd save me hours on diagnostics. Turns out my old $80 bluetooth reader and a laptop with free software does everything I need for 90% of the jobs I take. The snap-on thing won't even talk to some of the older fords I work on. Anyone else got a tool they bought that turned out to be a total waste of cash?

2 comments

2 Comments

terry_hayes181d ago

Yeah I gotta disagree with you on that "total waste of cash" part. That $80 reader with free software might work for 90% of your jobs but that other 10% is where the Snap-On pays for itself when you're stuck on some weird electrical gremlin or a car that won't even talk to the cheap stuff. Plus it holds value way better than that bluetooth dongle if you ever sell it.

green.jenny20h ago

That's the part people forget when they just look at the price tag. The cheap reader will leave you standing there with your thumb up your butt while some 2018 BMW decides it won't speak to anything but a high end tool. I've seen guys burn three hours swapping parts on a hunch because their dongle couldn't pull up a body control module code that the Snap-On found in thirty seconds. Resale is a legit point too, I've watched used Snap-Ons sell for almost what the guy paid five years ago, that $80 reader is either broken or in a junk drawer by then.