For car enthusiasts and DIY mechanics in 2018, accessing the full computer system of modern vehicles required more than just a basic OBDII scanner. A simple Bluetooth ELM 327 dongle paired with a phone app, often costing around $13, wasn’t sufficient for tasks beyond standard OBDII diagnostics. These basic tools couldn’t read non-OBDII systems or access data like oil level, which isn’t part of the standard OBDII parameters. While OBDII could report issues with a faulty oil level sensor, it wouldn’t provide the actual oil level reading itself. Tools like VeePeak scanners, while excellent for OBDII, explicitly state their limitations to OBDII scanning only. To truly delve into your car’s diagnostics and interact with non-OBDII systems, you needed a more specialized automotive scan tool.
At the entry-level for advanced diagnostics in 2018, options like Autel’s DiagLink, priced around $90-$100, emerged as contenders. The DiagLink offered a significant step up by interfacing with non-OBDII communications. However, it came with a notable limitation: it primarily worked with only one car brand. Each DiagLink unit included a single, “free” brand-specific software download from Autel. This software was essential to unlock the tool’s capabilities for that chosen brand. If you needed to use the DiagLink’s advanced functions on vehicles from other manufacturers, you had to purchase additional software licenses from Autel, typically around $10 per brand. Despite this brand-specific approach, the DiagLink presented a cost-effective solution for owners dedicated to a single vehicle brand, especially considering its ability to perform tasks usually reserved for more expensive tools. For a focused user, it could handle oil change light resets and even put electric parking brakes into service position – functions often unavailable in similarly priced generic scanners, at least for the programmed brand.
For those seeking broader compatibility across multiple car brands in 2018, scan tools like Autel’s MD806, available for approximately $200, became attractive. While internally similar in hardware to the DiagLink, the MD806 utilized software designed to support multiple brands without requiring separate software downloads for each. Furthermore, it boasted “lifetime” free software updates. It’s important to understand that “lifetime” in software terms usually meant the practical support lifespan of the device, but for the foreseeable ownership period, users could expect updates. The Autel MD806 represented a strong value proposition. It delivered a comprehensive feature set suitable for most home mechanics and DIYers, without the prohibitive cost associated with professional-grade equipment. For individuals who anticipated frequent use across various vehicles, the MD806 was arguably among the best automotive scan tool options in 2018, balancing capability and affordability.
