So far had the Autel MaxiDas DS708 scanner for about 6 month and i am happy with it, no major problems. I have used it on many different car models and it worked great on all of them.
Autel DS708 does everything the genesys and the high end snap-on scanner do for less then a quarter of the price.
They always have new updates, which i consider a very good thing.
I have used it on 2001 mercedes S500 (W220 body) and it scanned a total of 41 different systems, i didn’t even know the car had that many systems, it scanned everything from AC to Radio, Navigation, Insturment cluster, ABS, Airmatic, Airbags……etc
For the price this Autel DS708 scanner does not only scan but is a diagnostic tool. You can reprogram keys after getting the key code from the dealer and providing proof of ownership for free. Also you can reset ABS and re-program certain module’s on some cars although not all. You need a J2534 tool for that to get complete re-programming capablilty. However for what you pay for it, it can do idle relearn’s, calibrate the right seat Occupant Classification System module, and do deep body scans of your entire car/truck. You will be amazed how many items you have for it to scan. The radio on the newer cars are VIN coded and this can reprogram a replacement to work. Every thing newer then 2010 is getting very VIN specific and very detailed and difficult to replace a part without a tool like this. A basic OBD 2 will not do the job anymore. It does what it needs to do and does a very good job. For some cars/trucks older then 2010 it sometimes needs you to tell it what car it is, yet other times it finds it automatically. Not much of an issue but some things don’t work on some cars becasue they are still working on the software and updating it alot. For the price however you are getting a smoking hot deal. I just wish it was cheaper then $800 per year to update. I think that is too much. The first year is free. The fact that this scanner comes with all the connectors needed to work with older 1996 vehicles is awesome. You get basic OBD 1 codes easily displayed with this scanner.
This tool is perfect for me because I do a little bit of everything on everything in my small shop. So far I have reset air bag lights on Ford, Nissan, and Toyota. I fixed ABS and PCM on Honda, I’ve diagnosed new body BMWs with bi-directional tests, the list goes on and on.
The only downside to the unit is that it will take some getting used to and the menu is not unified, for example, if you want to check the ECU, under some manufactures it will be listed as ECU unit, others PCM units, others something different. also for certain cars, like an 01 f350 diesel (they just recently released the update to support ford diesel)you will not find the diesel option under the F350, instead you have to look for the engine model in the menu where you select the car model, those are minor things for and for me and they dont bother me much.
Overall im very happy with it, and highly recommend it, especially considering the price (less than US$1,000 in obdii365.com)