snatchman

For the people that are on the fence about purchasing the diagnostic cable from Ross Tech for your vehicle, I am here to tell you it is well worth the investment. The rear brake job on my 2006 A8 L was quoted at $780.00 from my stealership, I replaced those brakes myself for a fraction of the cost.

So to make a long point short, between the Vag-Com and the Bentley manual, I have saved thousands on the four Audi's I own.

uberwgn

VCDS = priceless

jakematic

Brake job on the A6, mods on the A8's, retrofitting NAV on the A6, diagnostics on all, helping friends... untold thousands.

I think Misha said it best "Without VCDS scan, it's like performing surgery over the radio"

mishar

If one plan to take car to the shop VCDS can save it's value in just one visit. One planing to do things himself can just forget it without VCDS. Belonging to this forum is crucial if both cases.

snatchman

I forgot to thank the countless people in this forum that has help me out.

THANKS TO YOU ALL!

MP4.2+6.0

+1 on all the DIY assistance comments already. I use it in spades for that. So far in about 3 years and 30K post any warranty, besides parts, the only work I have paid for on my W12 (!) have been for alignments, an A/C service and a tranny reflash. All require dedicated equipment. Meanwhile, I've done brakes, diagnosed bad O2 sensors, pre tested the rest of the A/C system, and probably 20 other things. Literally right now, I know that my O2 sensor change up against a deadline of today for the smog check worked, that I turned off the CEL of course, but ALSO that the readiness codes have fully reset so I can take it in for the check and not get bounced for not ready readiness codes even if the CEL is off. CA checks readiness codes, as do a fair number of states now. I also just used it to help my brother in law get my now three generation old 1996 Audi A6 with well over 200K on original motor and tranny through its smog check. So old that now some running parts are starting to get "NLA"--no longer available.

To me, the other whole interesting track for VAG COM is on NEWER Audis. Not the ones we own now on this board, but ones under warranty. They don't market cable this way, and guys on boards like the Q5 one whine about the cost of the cable to do things like rear brakes or "just to reset the service light." This same hidden value also applied to my W12 too for years when it was under 4/50 and then CPO. It easily finds things you may never find otherwise, and perhaps never fix yourself or be willing to pay for. Also, if you read the fine print of what Audi service now covers, I do not think it includes FULL scans any more. It once did-- not that they actually did them (or at least acted on them) from my own experience, but that's another story. For example, on my W12 it found the headlight washer system was acting up on only one side. I thought it was a "feature" originally actually. When pointed out Audi dutifully repaired it. Hundreds of $ just for that; just one example.

On my 2013 Q5 that with normal 4/50 new warranty, if something acts up, you can scan it, see exactly what the issue is, and then be sure the dealer actually gets to the same conclusion and fixes it. Avoids the multi trip, lack of satisfaction run around. More broadly, every time any Audi I own goes in for a regular (AudiCare) service, I scan it. Then I i.d. any warranty issues to flag as part of the same trip. Not the reason for doing that scan, but it typically also gets you a free loaner if it has any warranty issues and a loaner isn't already provided for the regular service visit.

Estimated savings on this approach--only things I may not have ever found otherwise, as opposed to the shortcutting of the diagnostics to be sure dealer is fixing same item--$1,000 plus. Besides, VAG COM BTW, the old manual climbing all over the car top to bottom (especially underneath) has saved me many thousands, literally. Radiator on the W12 with a tiny, damp only type leak in lower corner. Better part of a grand at dealer prices. Front motor torque mount, lower links, front upper control arms. Literally thousands of $ in that group alone; thousands more between VAG COM and manual inspections on my prior purchased new 2000 A6 (which used the pre-CAN cable).

viper04

All true, guys.

Oneplank

I'm a cheap German-American, but the VAG-COM is worth every penny!