Vag-com

[schaefer101]

hi

I want to get a Vag-com. On ebay they list alot of Vag-com
cables. Are all these cables good? Do I just need one of
those cables and then purchase the Ross-tech software?

Any help would be appreciated.

(I want to do the TPS setting and check the Thottle adaptation.)

Thanks\

Jeff

[noR]

What do you want to accomplish w/your Vag-Com?

[Audiophil]

I bought my VAG-COM cable from e-bay. It works great on my Bug. I think the seller's name was *something*-shopmanuals.

[Smileybug]

Originally Posted by noR

What do you want to accomplish w/your Vag-Com?

That's really the biggest factor. Generic cables can read codes just fine but if you go with the Ross-tech, you have the ability to tweak settings and reset the codes. Its more expensive but it pays for itself in about 2 uses, if you consider that a dealer would charge you $90 for a scan. My bf's dad has one and between him, my bf, and me, its been a life saver to have. Really worth the extra cost.

[strorg]

i bought a generic cable, but never could get my laptop to recognize the cable. the other benefit to buying from ross is you get the software support.

[robbovius]

I bought a PC serial cable, OBDII connector, and the freebie V 3-112 (old version, not quite the original) of the VAG COM SW online back in 2002 (when I bought my beetle) for $90, and even though I didn't have all the VAG-COM funcitonality, it was very worthwhile, and paid for itself quickly. aroundthe same time, I bought an old (1997-vintage) IBM thinkpad 380ED for $150, and dedicated that as my Beetle diagnostic tool. finding fault code definitions was never an issue, as there are several sites around the net where they xcan be found.
in '05 I coughed up the $100 for an official VAG COM license, got full functionality, and never looked back.

unfortunately, the thinkpad CMOS backup battery died recently. hopefully, it won't screw up my VAG-COM license activation.

whichever you get, it's really worth the money.