"Thou shalt not steal." I can't remember which commandment that was, but I'm sure many overseas counterfeit manufacturers don’t remember that one either. I am not going to defend the practice of using cloned scan tools. These counterfeits are of lesser quality, can damage vehicles and are just theft by a different name. Yet, I know a lot of people that buy and sell cloned equipment. The question is, why? Many technicians are very proud of their big purchases. The huge toolbox, scan tools, the line of electric power tools and so on. I think buying tools is like buying a sports car. In a sick sort of way, it feels good to spend money on them. It just makes us happy for some reason. So, I don't think people have cloned scan tools...

Would you go to a doctor's office with blood splatters on the wall? Would you feel comfortable with the dentist working with his Bahamas t-shirt on when it is hot out? Then, why do so many of us work in dark, dirty and disorganized shops? When I see pictures of brand new shops, I am amazed at the photos that show how clean some of them are. Granted, they are doing a photo shoot, so they are on their best behavior. Even yet, I can never make my shop that clean. I have a normal three-bay garage in a suburb of New York City. I don't have those shiny floors that resist dirt. Yet, people still compliment me on my shop's cleanliness. I think my region has low expectations for these things. Nevertheless, people can tell when you do the...