Does anyone run a car diagnostics business only

[IATM]

Hi All,

Just trying to guage an idea I guess I have had for a while.
Is there enough of a market to warrant getting VAG dealer level diagnostics IT and providing it as a service to people.

I know of so many people who would like to work on their own cars however the first and main hurdle with cars these days in trying to pin point or even get close to where the problem might be due to the tech involved.

With this in mind - could I set up a service to say yes for £20.00 flat fee I will plug in the diagnostics machine - read the fault codes and provide a print out.

I know this really is a limited service and quite a few people will just go to the garage and get it hooked up and fixed as well but I keep thinking if there is a space in the market for this type of thing too.

It may be the case that the uptake is so small that it doesnt warrant paying for the expensive IT to even do the diagnostics but just wanted to see if anyone even does something similar.

[Countdown]

My Indy does it or free probably because he knows he'll be fixing it(tbh owning a Honda doesn't tend to require too many calls for diagnostics).

I don't think it would be sufficient as a stand alone business but I think if a garage offered cheap diagnostics (or free if it included the repair business" it might be worth it.

[DuraAce]

Limited scope IMO. Many people who DIY spanner will invest in VCDS. I know I did. I know it can't do everything the VAS machine can but it's not far away. (That's if you we're thinking of investing in that)

What if your code read leads someone to replace a component that didn't fix their fault? How would you deal with that?

I think most people will want a fault diagnosing and fixing at the same time.

[JimmyConwayNW]

What happens when you find a fault they replace the component but the fault needs clearing to completely erase that fault?

[Vaud]

Countdown said:

My Indy does it or free probably because he knows he'll be fixing it(tbh owning a Honda doesn't tend to require too many calls for diagnostics).

Mine too. I just drop him a text and he tells me to drop down at lunch time or end of day. No charge. He gets all my work...

[crazy about cars]

I've seen a few mobile coders/ on other forums I frequent. For example there's a guy doing custom coding to VAG cars (mirrors folding when locking, upgrade software etc). Pretty sure there's a market if you build up good rep.

My mate who has a garage recently bought some serious hardware and now does diesel remapping. It's add on profit as some people who comes in for servicing ends up getting a remap too.

[voicey]

I recently bought a very expensive Ferrari/Maserati diagnostic machine for home use. I was hoping to recover some of the outlay by offering to do reads/clutch resets etc for a small fee.

So far I've done one chargeable job. Most people use their usual servicing workshop for such things.