STATS: MaxiSys MS906TS Location: Krum, Texas Website:auteltech.com Cost: $1,420 Uses: Digital inspection tool Training: Product manual, industry training
The Reviewer:
Jerry Spencer is the owner of Spencer’s Auto Repair in Krum, Texas. Prior to opening the business, he worked at an independent repair shop for two years and a Chevrolet dealership for 12. Today, he’s the “go-to” guy and he works on the shop floor and at the front counter.
The Shop:
Spencer’s Auto Repair employs four and has been in a 3,200-square-foot building since 2001. The shop is a full-service, preventative maintenance and auto repair center. As a shop owner, Spencer wanted to increase his collection of diagnostic tools and found the Autel MaxiSys MS906ts on Amazon.
How It Works:
Autel’s MaxiSys MS906ts is a wireless diagnostic scan tool that provides technicians with vehicle diagnostics and analysis. According to Autel, the tool is the most affordable of the brand and features a large internal memory that connects to an Android-based software. The tool also performs actuation tests, adaptations, matching and key coding for most cars.
The eight-inch LED wireless, touchscreen tablet lasts up to six hours without a battery charge. The power LED displays colors to identify the tool’s battery life: green means battery level is above 90 percent; yellow indicates battery level is below 90 percent; red means the battery level is below 15 percent; and blue indicates the MaxiSys system is fault.
The tool’s broad vehicle coverage extends to American, Asian, and European vehicles from 1996 to present, according to Autel.
To use the tool, connect the main cable’s 15-pin female connecter to the DB15 port on top of the MaxiSys tablet. From there, connect the 16-pin male connector of the main cable to the vehicle’s DLC, which is located under the dash, according to Autel.
The Review:
Before Jerry Spencer bought the product on Amazon, his friend used it and was impressed by how well it worked compared to other manufacturers, especially for the price.
A self-proclaimed Snap-on guy, Spencer was looking for a diagnostics tool to save time. The MaxiSys blew him away.
“As a general auto repair show, this one covers just about anything that comes through the door,” Spencer says. “It has really helped [the shop].”
Spencer says the tool’s communication is better than others.
“Some vehicles, we plug in a Snap-on scanner and we can’t get communication,” Spencer says. “But [now] we have a different product we can plug in quick before we can start checking fuses to see if it’s our software in our scanner or it’s a problem with the car.”
The product’s battery life is impressive, Spencer says.
“I know we’ve used it for seven hours one day and never had a problem with the battery going down,” Spencer says.
Not only has the product made an impact on the shop, but he would recommend it to others in the field, as well.
“I’ve actually recommended it to a friend that owns the shop in the next town over,” Spencer says. “I said, ‘Man, you should really check out this tool; you can really pick this up and we’ve really been impressed.'”
The ROI:
When Spencer looked for a diagnostic tool, his goal was to cut down on the time technicians spent waiting for a diagnostic tool to become available. With the MaxiSys, Spencer has seen an increase in productivity and says the tool erases at least an hour of wait time for technicians.
“Productivity is up, no doubt,” Spencer says. “For the $1,420 investment in the tool, it’s paid for itself easily in the first year, simply by my guys not standing around waiting on a tool to use. Just having that third unit, it’s cut down time tremendously.”
