Did my taxes yesterday and made out like a bandit.

So I'm thinking that VAG-COM may be a wise investment. Couple of questions, though:

1) Is this the kit that most people use? http://www.ross-tech.com/Merchant2/m...tegory_Code=IC

2) Is VAG-COM overkill for a relative newbie for me, even though I plan to do most/all of my own repairs in the future?

3) Would a cheaper, more generic scanner that can scan and erase codes be sufficient?

 

Those are expensive,type this in ebay "USB Cable KKL 409.1" you'll come up with vag-com cables,cheap as $9.00 from Hong Kong,i ordered my first one from hong kong,i traded it off but i got a another one from ebay but in the states for about $15.00 Happy shopping ^_^

 

The one that you link to is the one that I have. I feel that it is a definite necessity if you are going to own an Audi. I know that there are a lot of different opinions on whether you should use the genuine Ross-Tech cable or use a generic ebay cable. A lot of the people here that do their own work are perfectly happy with the generic cable and the freeware version of the software. There are others that have "cracked" the software to have the full version work with their generic cable (I'm not really a fan of that option).

Either way its a small price to pay for the options it gives you on diagnosing problems and maintaining your vehicle.

Finally, you can probably find a cheaper genuine cable than ordering direct from Ross-Tech. Ebay, and forums are good for used cables. I've seen them new on reseller websites for about $220.

 

Trust me,save yourself some money and don't play the name game,they do the same thing,i used my 3rd party vag-com cable to do everything the more expensive ross-tech cables can do but with a cheaper price tag.

There is nothing wrong with a cracked version of the software,they work just the same as the licenced software but for the low low price of free!

Let me know when your 3rd party cable arrives,i'll hook you up with the software,just send me a pm,so you don't forget my screen name.

 

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it. I'm leaning going this way, but the only remaining question I have is the difference, feature-wise, between the "lite" version and the fully paid version. Huge difference? I assume so.

 

Thanks for the advice, Morpheous.

I'm not really into the name game, but it might be a better deal financially to purchase their cable since I'm leaning at buying their full license.

I appreciate the offer to set me up with the cracked version, but I can afford to buy the licensed copy. I'm looking forward to being able to clear my CEL that is on right now, and to find out why it's on in the first place. I could bring it to Autozone, I suppose, but I'm going to end up buying it anyway so I may as well pull the trigger.

Funny, the car is running the best it has in years since my recent work on it, but I suspect something related to the CC breather replacement has something to do with the CEL being on. I disconnected the negative terminal on the battery for about 3 minutes yesterday to see if that would clear it, but no dice.

 

jdahlen, your my new best friend (well wen u get ur vag com)

 

LOL, and I'll only be 100 miles away! How convenient.

 

Hey Morpheous...
Im interested in getting a vag-com cable from ebay. Do you know which seller you got it from(the one you paid 15$ for)??

and can you also provide me the cracked version of the software??

 

you're missing the big picture here.... i have a reason to go on a small road trip in my audi!

besides its only an hour and 20min drive, and its like 79miles.