What's the biggest story after AAPEX? In my opinion, it's the one that will affect your wallet most: scan tools are going to disappear pretty soon.
Ridiculous you say? Launch and Ross Tech have moved over to wireless scan tools that work with tablets and smart phones, while OTC and Autel have scan tools that work on the Android operating system. Actron also sells the uScan which does generic OBDII and ABS codes, which works on a smart phone and tablet. What's the end game of all of this?
Technicians are not going to need to buy proprietary hardware that costs hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. Instead, scan tools will be software that, such as the Ross Tech VCDS, don't even need an app to run. Simply log into their website and you are live, capable of reading codes, relearning steering angles, doing bidirectional controls and absolutely anything an OEM-enhanced scan tool already does.
So, now that the cat is out of the bag, there is no chance that scan tool companies can keep on selling that expensive hardware forever. However, the downside to this is that scan tool companies will also sell DIY versions as a way of creating an additional revenue stream. Ross Tech, OTC and Launch are already doing this. Don't be surprised that more customers, with the help of Google and a smart phone, come into your shop and tell you how to fix their cars.
Nonetheless, even if software for scan tools continues to improve, you still need a brain to interpret what you are watching. This is where I see some silver lining. Perhaps when customers have access to everything we have, they will realize that fixing cars is hard work and that they have no choice but to pay us for our knowledge.
