hello i have audi a4 quattro 1999 and i would like to cut out the high prices of mechanics and false diagnosis by getting my own VAG-com or diagnostic tester to check my car to see if there is anything wrong with it. which is the best tester out there or also the best one for a reasonable price??

 

VAG is by far the best ( as long as you have a laptop ) if not go to eBay and type in " diagnostic ", loads there look for one that is CAN ( control area network ) ready and dont go for high priced stuff some go for less than £30 and are very good

 

He doesn't need CAN, it wasn't used in 1999.
I use this which I paid $40 including shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VW-AU...mZ260045718200

 

Most people say Ross-Tech (www.ross-tech.com). You can buy the cable for $150 and download the free software. This will give you part of the program. You can pay $100 to registare it and get the full program. Although part functionality may be all you need (reading and deleting most common codes). You could even buy a cord on ebay for alot cheaper and download the free software from the ross-tech website (alot of people would tell you to stay away from the ebay cables, and alot of people would say they bought them and couldnt be happier)

 

CRAZYHAWK, I am thinking about purchasing the one you noted. How well does it work?
What can/cant you do with it? Is it just "plug & play"?

 

It is plug and play. It reads over 700 VAG codes from 4 areas.

1. ECU
2. Air Bags
3. ABS
4. TIP

It reads one code at a time in hexidecimal. It comes with a book for code lookup.
While the code is displayed you can clear it.

http://www.bentleypublishers.com/tec....dtc.table.htm