Totally Disgusted in Snap-on

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  • Global Auto
    Junior Member
    • Mar 2014
    • 7

    Totally Disgusted in Snap-on

    Long story short: 28 years in the motor trade, always supported snap-on by buying their tools but never touched their diagnostics tools as always only heard bad things about them.

    Vw and Audi specialist and for years now I have been using vcds, Launch, Abritus 72, Actia Multidiag, etc with no problems.

    Two weeks ago I bought a brand new solus ultra with 13.4 from snap-on south africa. I was assured that it has the best of the best software on it for vw and audi, was further told by them that I have access to full support and all I need to do is register my solus ultra serial number online and will have full and free access to ShopKey and SureTrack. So I signed on the dotted line and put myself in the deep end for the over priced solus ultra.

    From the word go I noticed the Audi expert funtion did not work, (could not even do a 060 throttle body adaption on a 2007 Audi A3), Plugged into a 2009 Golf Gti and froze when selecting expert mode. Plugged into a 2009 Audi A4 and it told me unidentified ecu and could not scan even in basic mode. Plugged into 2012 Polo and way to reset service inspection symbol was via body control module, no comms with instrument cluster. Connected to 2012 Ford Fiesta and it read only 1 code in engine yet Launch and Actia read 12 fault codes.

    Machine freezes up the whole time and I regard it a a piece of junk and don't even scan vehicle with it as it is dead slow and my launch and Actia do a better job. I called the national help desk about it and all I got was oh ok we will log your concerns and get back to you. (two weeks later and still haven't had any feed back about my "concerns".

    I have checked my software and clearly there are dll files missing, almost as if the software was not loaded correctly. Again I have called the national help desk to complain about this piece of junk solus ultra and was told they will get back to me. Hahaha I am still waiting. In South Africa there is such a thing in Law called The Consumer Protection Act which a government department who deals with unfair and misleading business practice and I am at the point of reporting this matter to them as I get no joy other than a hope that they will attend to this solus ultra problem when they say, "we will get back to you".

    Further more when buying this solus ultra I was told that I have free access to ShopKey and SureTrack so last week I try to register for both and guess what......a message pops up on my pc screen asking for a Authorization Key. So I call snap-on help desk only to be told, oh sorry because you in south africa you don't have access to Shopkey or SureTrack. I ask why is that and I get told oh it is because Snap-on in USA only allows access to IP addresses within the USA. (How true that is is anyone's guess). So I ask well have a bought a genuine snap-on solus ultra from you or is it some south african clone? I get told oh yes it is a genuine solus ultra from USA.

    So my big question is if this is a genuine snap-on solus ultra why do I not also have the benefit like all the other solus ultra owners to have access to ShopKey and SureTrack? I paid a hefty price for a tool which doesn't even work correctly, has software which hasn't been loaded correctly and to top it all because I live in a third world little country I am not allowed to have access to the same data bases which all the other solus ultra owners do. All of this just does not make sense. Next thing when one of my snap-on ratchets break am i going to be told oh sorry snap-on doe not warranty ratchets sold in south africa? Come on guys at snap-on your tools are meant to be great with great back-up but all I am tasting right now is lemons and a fast growing loss of respect for a brand I have been using for many years. I don't even want to talk to the snap-on help desk or management here in south africa any longer as all I get is a run around or a "oh we will call you back". It is no use taking it out on my snap-on truck guy who visits every week as he is just a spoke in the larger wheel and is no fault of his.

    I am hoping that this post will spark some positive action by snap-on USA and I hope that I hear directly from snap-on USA as I am wasting my time with your south african branch and will still be chasing my own tail in 6 months down the line. Can someone from snap-on USA kindly get back to me with regard to this faulty solus ultra aswell as arrange me access to ShopKey and SureTrack.

    I await your early reply hereto.
  • Modis500
    Senior Member
    • Sep 2012
    • 358

    #2
    Best of luck on that
    "If you aim for nothing, you'll hit it every time!"
    Zig Ziglar

    Comment

    • Modis500
      Senior Member
      • Sep 2012
      • 358

      #3
      I was not and am not trying to be a smart Alec in any way. I say this because we all have had issues/freezes/holes in our S.O. Tools and it falls on deaf ears. I don't know if they don't care or think because there are thousands of these tools out there, they think they can't fix the issues or will have egg on their face if they give in and say they screwed up....who knows, but I do hope you get some relief or help.
      "If you aim for nothing, you'll hit it every time!"
      Zig Ziglar

      Comment

      • Crusty
        Senior Member
        • Dec 2007
        • 2450

        #4
        Originally posted by Modis500
        I was not and am not trying to be a smart Alec in any way. I say this because we all have had issues/freezes/holes in our S.O. Tools and it falls on deaf ears. I don't know if they don't care or think because there are thousands of these tools out there, they think they can't fix the issues or will have egg on their face if they give in and say they screwed up....who knows, but I do hope you get some relief or help.
        Now THERE IS A QUOTE-!! It FALLS ON DEAF EARS.

        A customer is told one thing by advertising, promotions and sales, yet when it comes time to actually deliver the goods, the goods delivered fall short of the promises and assurances.

        It's really too bad because the potential is there to create and deliver outstanding tools and equipment. They really are capable of doing so.

        Sooner or later the reputation will precede the tool truck. Does anyone ever wonder why there are fewer and fewer tool trucks-??

        I sincerely hope someone at SnapOn South Africa will step up and actually call this fellow and make good on what he was originally told he would get.

        Comment

        • vipercd
          Junior Member
          • Jun 2014
          • 1

          #5
          I am new to this forum. But was really thinking of a Verus pro. I am a tool who're . I have genesis, Pegisys ****, maxi sys pro. Vantage pro. These forums helped me make the decision to not purchase a Verus Pro. and I thank y'all? Seeing the issues that don't get fixed and snap on not listening to there customers kept me from making a costly decision.

          Comment

          • markt
            Senior Member
            • Apr 2011
            • 166

            #6
            Originally posted by vipercd
            I am new to this forum. But was really thinking of a Verus pro. I am a tool who're . I have genesis, Pegisys ****, maxi sys pro. Vantage pro. These forums helped me make the decision to not purchase a Verus Pro. and I thank y'all? Seeing the issues that don't get fixed and snap on not listening to there customers kept me from making a costly decision.
            my old place i worked at have one...now ive moved to another garage with various generic scantools that put the snapon platform to shame...yes nice long pid lists and able to graph,troubleshooter, may be a nice feature but the major letdown and im sure others will agree with would be its manufacturer coverage and depth.

            lots of todays vehicles need near dealer level coverage to fully repair/diagnose and fix the vehicle youre testing,not all do though this i will agree with but the price they charge for the tool and its( my personal opinion) dismal software coverage just doesnt cut it for me our my workplace anymore

            i really used to be a big fan of snappy scantools..when i do get to use one( very rare now) i like the thing...just its a let down to find out there is a hole in the software with regards to the vehicle you are trying to diagnose.im sure its getting less of a problem now but not worth the financial outlay to find out, especially when there are other tools out thier with better coverage and backup that also do a vast amount more than the snappy

            Comment

            • David Green
              Senior Member
              • Oct 2009
              • 382

              #7
              Not sure I should say anything really, but just my tuppence worth.

              I can't say I have had problems with my old snap on solus pro carbon fibre edition, or the vantage pro, but I do fully agree that the software coverage is very poor and no depth to it at all really.

              A recent snap on tools seminar opened my eyes regards costs they charge for equipment, which happened only because my dealer is very poor at supplying tools you require when ordered, and that is nothing to do with weekly payments because I am known for paying in full for purchases with my dealer.

              The Hook, the power probe, scream'n and the ECT2000 circuit tester was introduced which was new to me, although has been around a while I had never heard of them, anyway at the seminar the tools seemed very good at what they did so we all started asking questions about the equipment and how much?

              Very reluctant to advise about prices eventually we were told for the Hook about £330. My dealer was present and I asked him have you got one of those on the van and he said yes, so I said I will buy it when you arrive next week, on arrival he had not got one, but he said I will get you one for next week, so I said I will wait then.

              Next week, the week after that and no delivery, so being fed up keep waiting I decided to start shopping around, the internet is vast now and it was not long before I found the complete master kit that included everything, and it was £325 + import duty.

              I was a little bit dubious about spending the money over the internet worried that delivery would not take place and loosing my money, anyway ebay advised that all money up to £500 paid in a single transaction will be refunded if the seller does not deliver the goods, so I bought the lot.

              It cost me £325 + £109 import duty = £434 for the complete master kit.

              My dealer eventually arrived saying he had got me one, i.e. the Hook on its own, so I asked him how much and he said £420, without power probe, without ECT2000 kit and without scream'n probe. I told him at that point that I was fed up waiting and bought the lot of the internet at the above price, and at first he said that I could not buy it all for that price and then I said well I'll show you the invoice next week, then he believed me.

              I am only guessing but probably buying the master kit through snap on I would probably have been paying up to £1500 or more, so in short it pays to look around and see what deals are around.

              European countries in law have a right to access for a price the same level of service now that main dealers have always had, the markets are leveling out more and more as time goes on, which is good for us in the aftermarket trade.

              While generic software is a good all rounder, for the professional on a daily basis the dealer level diagnostics is the way to go as my recent experiences have shown it covers so much more.

              Comment

              • markt
                Senior Member
                • Apr 2011
                • 166

                #8
                i totally agree..dealer kit is the way forward...but at the price for snapon units and software you could have a couple of way better generic scantools.

                the software subscription needs to be better thought of...penalising you if you miss an update by making you pay for the previous version aswell?? i think this is still the norm for snapon??

                Comment

                • Modis500
                  Senior Member
                  • Sep 2012
                  • 358

                  #9
                  Originally posted by markt

                  the software subscription needs to be better thought of...penalising you if you miss an update by making you pay for the previous version aswell?? i think this is still the norm for snapon??
                  I've never had to pay for previous updates that I missed.... Went from a Vantage Pro on 8.4 up to 13.4 for the same price as anyone.... And a Modis 11.2 updated to 12.4 at the same price, no penalty. Unsure if they ever did make you play catch-up, or if that was uninformed techs just making rumors.
                  "If you aim for nothing, you'll hit it every time!"
                  Zig Ziglar

                  Comment

                  • ephratah service center
                    Senior Member
                    • Oct 2007
                    • 143

                    #10
                    That is not a rumor I have had to pay double for an update due to missing one. Which I think is total ****.For the high price that they get for the tool you should not be having to pay double if you miss an update. They are big on telling you about new features in the updates but never include a list of test or features that they have removed to make the update possible or tell you what pids are missing from the list that could be made available to us.

                    Comment

                    • Crusty
                      Senior Member
                      • Dec 2007
                      • 2450

                      #11
                      Originally posted by Modis500
                      I've never had to pay for previous updates that I missed.... Went from a Vantage Pro on 8.4 up to 13.4 for the same price as anyone.... And a Modis 11.2 updated to 12.4 at the same price, no penalty. Unsure if they ever did make you play catch-up, or if that was uninformed techs just making rumors.
                      Oh yes they have done exactly that. PENALIZE a customer and double dip. Whether it is Company policy or individual Dealers I don't know, but it has happened.

                      I don't think a customer should have to pay for things that should have been there a decade ago (such as MISSING PIDS-!! or Functional Tests)

                      Comment

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