I have posted to this thread BC it applies to many things in this business especially diagnostics.I have been in this business since 1974 & owning my own shop since 1993 & have seen many changes.I was a Snappy fan for many years...MT-2500,Sun-500,Simutec etc.Problem with Snap-on is they didn't support these high dollar tools & equipment when they came out in favor of new diagnostic equipment so what I had left, for my ventures, was a $50,000 boat anchor plus these pieces of equipment were built as cheaply as possible while charging high prices for them to the shops.The only tool which I still use a lot ( Although I still have them all ) is my original produced Vantage.That held up well & didn't need constant updates to work,as did the MT-2500,finally defunct, Sun-500, Simutec,Engine Tech,and the Sun machine I was constantly repairing.The Simutec system was great when it was built by Edge, but once Snappy got a hold of it, cable costs etc. sky-rocketed & main unit was cheapened !! The major problem with Snap-on is their support; as I stated earlier. I finally got discussed with Snap-on & threw them out on my shop! Now another thing to consider (And I have realized this over the years ) is a shop can become equipment starved..ie multitudes of different scanners (aftermarket & OE ) special tools,flush machines,multitudes of different oils due to OEM recommendations, information sources & on & on & on.A shop owner becomes the work force & money supply for all the tool companies ( just look at how many tool companies now produce scanners & ADIS equipment )( only had about 3 for scanners years ago ) & there is very little money to be kept by the owner due to this fact, of what I stated above, & the many areas where these shops are located.Most all shops are not in big high dollar spending cities.Many shops can't charge enough in labor to cover all their equipment costs & have enough to make a decent profit, in my view,as customers would be throwing the shop owner's the $100.00 fingers instead of $100.00 bills.This is why I have stated what I have just listed.There is much more to this, in my view, but I want people to read my post so I need to stop typing now.I have not been on IATN sight for many moons & it seems that there are many techs & owners complaining about the manufactures causing heart burn for how they are producing their high tech complicated vehicles along with problems accessing proper functioning web sights for trying to get the proper & needed info for computer flashing...& on & on & on again...not to even mention ADIS & all that costs that entails.As far as I am concerned the hay days for the Non-Dealer automotive business, in general, was mainly from 1940 through 2000 where a shop only needed a small amount of capitol to get into the auto repair business.The largest cost was the cost of purchasing a plot of land & building their shop.Tools & equipment were an after thought.Not now.Tools & equipment can almost cost as much as your shop if not more over the long run; and guess what; I didn't even mention the high costs of continued training just to keep up with all the change.Just my thoughts as a seasoned tech & owner of which I am now semi-retired.

Arthur Margotta
Owner/Technician
AJ.'s Ultralights, Automotive & Sport Vehicles
Thompson, Pennsylvania, USA