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Show me where I can legally buy a Tesla scan tool? I can buy a legal scan tool for real cars. But show me where I can buy a scan tool so I can do routine stuff like bleed the brake lines. Program TPSM modules. Or just read diagnostic codes.

You can’t because it’s fucking illegal.

Automakers dealerships have a machine that reads the cars' repair codes. Not you local repair shop.

So does your local repair shot retard. They can buy them from: Snapon, Autel, Luanch, OTC. But a scan tool doesn’t tell you what the problem is. You still need to diagnose the problem.

Chevrolet doesn't sell tools? https://gmtoolsandequipment.co...

Audi doesn't? https://audi.snapon.com/Home.a... (Ok, they outsource their specialty tool business to Snap-On, but that's who sells them to Audi dealers too.)

Look, the reality is that virtually all car manufacturers have a tool sales channel that will sell you the specialty tools you need if you want to work on your own car or set up your own car repair business.

So why should Apple not be forced to do the same?

Snapon makes mm sockets too: http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=hand&Group_ID=674835&store=snapon-store

Its hard enough as it is for repair shops to work on engines and electronics without adding security, which would make repairs even more proprietary and expensive.

No offense intended, so please don't take this as such. Mods, please mod offtopic:

You haven't worked in a shop before, have you? Whether you have a cheap OBDII scanner or a full-blown diagnostic tool, so long as the car uses OBDII, you can pull codes from it and subsequently replace the fouled O2 sensor, know which cylinder had a misfire, etc. The full-blown diagnostic tools are useful for crazy-hard problems to solve, but your average scanner bought at Autozone is sufficient enough for the vast majority of code-related problems you would encounter.

Also, I got news for you: electrical problems have been a bitch to deal with for literally decades. There isn't really anything that could make them more frustrating to deal with...they are already at that point due to the nature of electricity and the amount of wiring in a car.

If you take your vehicle in because your check engine light is on and you need the diagnostic code pulled, and the shop tells you it's difficult...take your car to another shop. Sure, there are some brands (BMW, for example) that have propriety connectors, but for most of the cars out on the road, their ECU can be accessed using the same tool.

Really????

my Snap on Solus Pro http://www1.snapon.com/soluspro scan tool cost me $2700.00 and can read everything as well as log all sensors and even trip functions in the car. Hell I can read the tranny codes.

it costs more than most cars headed to the junk heap or are winter beater cheapies, but nowhere near the price of any new car. and it's what MOST garages use.

Direct from manufacturer you're looking at $348.65 for the 20 piece and $610.80 for the 34 piece.

I was going to make a joke about a them having a lifetime warranty (as though that would explain the ridiculous margin), but they don't tell you what the warranty actually is.

A Snap-on 22 piece ratchet kit is over 500 bucks. Hell a tool box from them is over $300!

I didn't believe you so I checked.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=all&Group_ID=103&store=snapon-store

Direct from manufacturer you're looking at $348.65 for the 20 piece and $610.80 for the 34 piece. I now believe there could be a 22 piece set that I couldn't find thats around $500 with shipping, as you claimed.

I knew they were outrageously expensive but I didn't expect $20 per socket level of expense. They better be made of solid silver for that price. For that kind of money I don't just expect a socket set, I expect the Chinese guy whom made it to fly out here and pull the wrench for me.

My first metal lathe was about $500. Somehow I think I get "more" out of that than I would out of a 34 piece socket set.

This type of tech has been in use for twenty years (or more) to find leaks in coolant lines and radiators used in air conditioning systems installed in everything from homes, businesses, and vehicles.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?store=snapon-store&item_ID=68182&group_ID=3201

With that being said, even with decades of improvements - it's still a tedious task that can be time consuming and prone to false positives. This new implementation with multiple sensors will give the system a much higher success rate in less time - and when you're in an aluminum can a few hundred miles from the nearest breath of air, you want to find the source of your air leak as fast as possible.

$50 is not too much to spend on a screwdriver. Especially when you want it to work 100% of the time and work smoothly. I can't count the number of bogus $25 "ratchet" screwdrivers my bosses used to buy from Home Depot. I've had my Snap-On for 10 years and I'll probably have it many, many more.

Plus, if you have decent tools, there's a chance people won't destroy them first chance they get and not replace them.

I think you might want one of these.

True, but do they use Snap-On Tools? http://www.snapon.com/

Here's an example of something close.........

Also know an a lighter.

You could also carry an oxy-acetylene torch around, with the little spark maker, too. :)

The only tool I always keep nearby is a Snap-On ratchet screwdriver. Sure, they're a bit more expensive than your Home Depot Ratchet Special, but they're much smoother and not made out of some crappy aluminum looking alloy that's easily gouged up.

They're meant to work, hard, consistently. And they do!