Recently purchased VCDS and as I repair cars in my spare time it will come in handy when I get VAG cars in.

 

Question is how much do others charge to plug in non member cars?

 

 

tough call really 

i only use mine on my own vehicle plus friends who over the years have always had my back or let me sh** their sister(s)  (unwritten rule usually with a mates sister even the good looking ones ) 

 

anyway back on topic 

 

most dealers charge £40-50 so half that and your well in depends how long you spend on it really 

It's a mate of a mate so he won't have my back and the wife would kill me if I sh***ed his sister

 

I was thinking a nominal fee of £10. My mate runs a garage and charges £20 to plug in with his Solus pro.

I purchased the VCDS mainly for my cars but knew it would come in handy for other VAG cars. I've already plugged in a Bora, A4 and a Fabia which I didn't charge for as I knew them.

 

Was just wondering what others charged if at all really.

You do the work  Terry and let malcster sh** your mates sister, sorted   :yes:

Maybe I could pimp her out to members

Pictures are requires first of any sisters in leiu of payment

Never been to bed with an ugly bird but I've woke up with a few

tends to depend on what you're offering.

A dealer for instance will charge anywhere between £50-£100 just to read the codes.

A novice user may only be able to scan for codes and charge accordingly.

An intermediate user may be able to check the codes and read live data

An expert user who can offer any service should charge more than the other 2 but far less than a dealer.

personally I charge £30. there's not much I can't do. For that I offer a full scan and any adaptions requested. that 30 quid also includes any expert advice I give from my 10+ years in the trade and 6+ years of vcds ownership, even minor repairs at times such as fuses etc

I've heard of people charging £75 in the past and they know nothing about vcds let alone how to use it.

Said I'll scan for £10. No idea what the fault is on the car, I was just asked how much to scan with VCDS. I'm still learning the full scope of VCDS at the moment but there's not much that can't be researched online.

 

If it's more involved than a simple scan and wiping of codes then the price will rise.

If the car has not been scanned for a while then its possible the car will have rogue codes stored, if this is the case then scan and save the results. Clear the codes and then rescan after a week or so and see which ones come back as these will most likely be genuine issues. £10 sounds about right for a simple scan and clear.

If the car has not been scanned for a while then its possible the car will have rogue codes stored, if this is the case then scan and save the results. Clear the codes and then rescan after a week or so and see which ones come back as these will most likely be genuine issues. £10 sounds about right for a simple scan and clear.

 

That's how I usually do it, I like the fact you can log the reg and mileage of the scan for future reference. I'm assuming it's for a fault light and not coding on the car in question.

It's good practice to do a full scan first and save it. that way if you alter coding and it causes problems you can search and flash the original back in to rectify it

I've been charging between £10-20 depending on how long I'm on the car over the last few years. Most I've charged was £25 but that for logging that took a bit longer and i got dirty pulling sensor plugs off on a golf that had no under tray, it was filthy!

I always do a full scan save that to word and any adaptions I do, I screen shot the soft coding or long coding before and after and include that I the file I send them. I don't clear faults I'm unsure of unless the "customer" agrees to.

I feel my my charges are fair, it in my own time mostly evenings, and probably provide them far more infomation than they would get from taking it to a garage, well obviously with the exception of therevrendjr!

I don't insist on being paid, but voluntary contributions of Jim Beam, good quality red wine or £20 don't go amiss

 

I have done plenty of members cars for free, I think the best I have had is £40 (offered, not demanded).

 

Most people seem to feel that something to the value of about £20 is about right for a scan and coding and adaptation changes. Bear in mind that a lot of the work 18 months ago on the MQB platform involved me spending 2+ hours with members cars and pulling all the adaptation maps, so I could build up a full picture of differences between models and options, so that everyone could benefit from the findings. Others helped out with this journey, and they know who they are, so a big thanks to them from me.

 

For anyone that is new to this it takes a while longer for the MQB platform cars, especially finding the adaptation channels on the BCM unless you know roughly where they are in the 1000+ available channels. At least Ross-Tech have now added an option to do a soft reset on controllers after making changes so that they actually take effect!

 

About to do my first dual rear fogs on a FL O2 this weekend (thanks Eddie-NL for confirming my thoughts), but that is with VCP, not VCDS.

 

I can also enable VIM on the MQB platform cars, and I will insist on a voluntary contribution for that, as purchasing VCDS and VCP makes it an expensive hobby after leaving the motor trade 15 odd years ago .........

If my universal code reader will do it, 4pk of beers doesn't go amiss.

Recently purchased VCDS and as I repair cars in my spare time it will come in handy when I get VAG cars in.

 

Question is how much do others charge to plug in non member cars?

 

How good are you i need some HIDS coding in and wanna see what i can activate

If I like someone I scan & code stuff for free. If I don't like them then I don't scan & code. I leave the finance side to their conscience. Sometimes I get beer, sometimes I get cash, sometimes I get tyres fitted free etc. On the odd occasion when I get nothing I make a mental note to be busy next time they ask.

If I like someone I scan & code stuff for free. If I don't like them then I don't scan & code. I leave the finance side to their conscience. Sometimes I get beer, sometimes I get cash, sometimes I get tyres fitted free etc. On the odd occasion when I get nothing I make a mental note to be busy next time they ask.

I know what you mean

 

Personally, I have put in many many hours research in for the benefit of all, and if someone takes the **** it will be the one and only time I help them out.

 

Those that have benefited from my services, knowledge and experience are usually decent enough to make a suitable contribution, but I never ask.

 

Karma, my name is Earl.

I never charge as such, but when asked ‘a drink’ never offends  :cocktail:

 

I hate to think how many hours days I have spent researching and experimenting (on my own cars I hasten to add!) to get adaptations to work this knowledge I am happy to give to others (likewise I have also shown how to use VCDS to several newbies).

 

In all the years I have been using VCDS I have had less than a handful of people not offer anything, I have even refused payment if I am unable to clear a DTC or activate something when the car is at fault (sometimes this means they return when the fault is fixed, sometimes you never see them again)

Likewise there are a couple of members who I have not taken anything from as they were financially struggling to run their car let alone give me a drink for helping them out.

 

Despite spending several hundred £’s on VCDS (HEX+CAN and the new HEX-NET) I do not do it to make money, inevitably eventually I do recoup my outlay, this is not done overnight however! 

 

Yes there will always be the odd p*** taker (one complete stranger wanted me to travel a 100 mile round trip to scan his car and then diagnose why it wouldn’t start, he said he would make it worth my while.... by giving me £10 to cover my costs... WTF? funny enough I was to busy tot fit in with HIS busy schedule!)

 

The vast majority of people though are really grateful... these people make it all worthwhile (and I’m not talking about financially) 

Likewise I would not take the p***, several people have offered me what a dealer would charge for scanning their car, I politely refuse and only accept what I consider fair for the work I have done.

I never charge as such, but when asked ‘a drink’ never offends  :cocktail:

 

 

 

Just for reference: Guiness is Gizmo's preferred, er, "lubrication" ;)

Just for reference: Guiness is Gizmo's preferred, er, "lubrication" ;)

^^^ Thanks for the tip.

As a complete novice on Skodas I asked him to help me understand a few things about my new Superb, and he very kindly gave up some of his Saturday afternoon time to go through some points with me, and used VCDS to change various things. He declined to accept anything for his time and expertise, but if (when) I need some more support, I know what I might "happen" to have in the boot!

I usually ask for a fiver to randoms to scan clear and do bits of coding. People I know are not charged.

I usually ask for a fiver to randoms to scan clear and do bits of coding. People I know are not charged.

 

Wow, you're cheap.

 

How many packets do you want?

 

Wow, you're cheap.

 

How many packets do you want?

 

 

Five pounds worth!  :P

Five pounds worth!   :p

In cash!

In cash!

 

Good call!