This Week's Top Advanced Vehicle Design News

May 12, 2021

Take it from this shop owner and do your homework before investing in scan tools.

May 12, 2021—Scott Brown, owner and technician for Connie and Dick's Service Center Inc in Claremont, Calif., entered the industry during the time of the population of computer controls on vehicles.

"At that time I made an observation where a lot of guys that were in the industry at that time were basically not interested in learning these computerized controls. So so I saw that as an opportunity and I began taking every bit of training I possibly could," Brown says. "Primarily from General Motors in their Los Angeles training center. I took probably every class they offered through GM AC Delco."

Brown also went to school about 15 years ago to learn how to do engine calibrations on race cars. 

He outlines what you need to know when it comes to choosing a diagnostic scan tool.

Most of the OEM scan tools that the dealership technician uses are available to the aftermarket.  Now, they can run on your own PC and the technician just needs an interface to connect the PC to the vehicle. Due to OBD regulations, most of that can be done through the standard scan tool interface. 

"Most of the time they can access everything the dealership technician has," Brown says.

Read more about working with OBD data and the aftermarket and OEM tool differences by reading the full story at ADAPT.

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