What does a dealership tech1 do that other scanners dont

DONE

MEMBER
BUICK

I wanted to post this to a more general audience, but couldn't see how.

I stopped by a Chevy dealership that was closing its doors & asked if I could buy their Tech 1 scanner.
The shop manager stated that he was not allowed to sell the unit because it had proprietary capabilities that only dealerships were allowed to obtain. In fact, corporate closely monitors the number of Tech machines a dealership can have - smaller dealerships (like one that I talked to) may only have one unit, larger shops may have more. This dealership tried to buy a second unit a few years ago but were denied by Detroit. Seems that anybody can buy a Tech1, but it has a subset of the capabilities found in the 'dealership' model.

So, my question: what capabilities do the dealership scanners have that can't be found in an over-the-counter scanner? Any insiders out there?

As an aside, this suggests that if one has a difficult problem, its the dealership that may be able to pinpoint the problem more accurately - possibly saving money in the long run.

1 Reply

SERVICE WRITER

MECHANIC
9,123 POSTS

I'll give my 2 cents for what it's worth.
IF you can't buy one, does it matter?

There are many scanners that are very capable. The problem is that you need the training, ability, the time and the money to accomplish success with one. At our shop we use Mastertechs' Tech II To my knowledge it can do everthing the GM dealer's can. A more user friendly one is Snap-on's Modis. Also keep in mind that you can use differernt scanners on different cars for general uses, particular uses are only good on certain vehicles. Like the Tech II can run the fuel pump, command evap monitors and so on for GM, but not FOrd, chrysler and so on. With the software, this one ran us close to $10,000. This was 6 years ago and doesn't include the continual software upgrade costs or other optional accessories.