I have been going down a bad road with purchasing scan tools. They claim they do all these functions, then when you buy them most of the functions dont work on your specific car. They say to email them first about your cars coverage. Okay, most never bother to even respond. So many of them have subscription fees and updates fees that are a good part of what you just paid for the unit. Then you got the issue of all the phony knock offs that look exactly like the brand and model, but when you have issues the company says it is not one of there's. Creader is a big one with this issue. So I own several scan tools. I want to move up to a bi-directional scan tool in the max price range of 800 to 900 $ But I don't want to pay un Godley, yearly subscription or update fees every year. I am just a home mechanic now that works on my cars and my adult Children's cars. I am not far from retirement. I have been looking at 2 different scan tools Xtool D8, and Youcanic. My biggest problem is a majority of the cars are Volvos. Which has been the issue with buying a scan tool that functions work on. The Autel looked like a good unit but the after free updates fees are crazy, same with creader. Which was my last purchase. The creader did not work well on volvos other then the very basics. I have the knock off Vida, but it is not user friendly and is slow. The Icarsoft does not do enough Bi-directional functions, and I have heard mixed issues with actually working on certain models even though they are marketed for specific brands. So if any of you out there had good luck with one that does a lot on volvos, or has some comments on the Xtool D8 or Youcanic , love to hear. I am nearing retirement in next several years and don't have a thick wallet. I dont know how you guys figure this out with all the marketing hype, and lack of support on a lot of these brands down the road. The vehicles, that are the harder ones to get in depth on are 2015 XC70, 2007 S60, 2005 S40. Thank you for you inputs.
Our review of diagnostic tools is in the site FAQ
Not many of us here have a lot of experience with Volvos. Your best bet might be to ask in a Volvo-specific forum what people have found works for them on the models you're dealing with.
