Decided between a cheap scan tool and a $600 one for my side work

Been doing side jobs out of my garage for about 6 months now and finally hit the point where I needed a real OBD2 scanner. I was torn between a $45 Bluetooth dongle with an app or saving up for a $600 Autel unit. Picked the cheap one first cause money's tight. Worked fine for reading codes on a buddy's 2015 F150 but then a 2012 Civic came in with a misfire and the live data was laggy as hell, couldn't see the cylinder drop in real time. Swapped to the Autel after that and the difference is night and day, no lag and it gives me mode 6 data which helped me find a bad coil pack in 10 minutes. Still use the cheap one for simple stuff but I shoulda just waited and bought the good one upfront. Anyone else regret going budget on a scanner then upgrading?

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the_wyatt15d ago

The scan tool is just the start, the real money goes into the training to use it.