Which Vagcom to buy?

Groovy

Member
Joined
Jan 25, 2017
Location
Edmonton
TDI
2005 Passat TDI 2.0l
I'm new to VW cars. I am thinking of buying myself a VagCom VCDS. Not sure which one to buy. I would use it on the car I have and have other family members that have VW's and various other cars. I could utilize it a fair bit. Any suggestions for a beginner who would move up to intermediate quickly from using it and learning about it?
 

BobnOH

not-a-mechanic
Joined
May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
TDI
New Beetle 2003 manual
Well you wont have much luck with other cars.
The best value right now is the HEX-V2 Enthusiast. Limited to 3 cars for $200, or 10 cars $300.
You really just want to go to their website (ross-tech.com) and look around. You may even find a used one, just be sure you get a proper license.
I don't think the more expensive pro models contain more software functions, just lots of hardware.
Windows OS 7-10 is a system requirement.
 

DerekG

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2013
Location
Oklahoma
TDI
'13 4dr Golf TDI 6-speed manual
I vote for HEX-V2 as well, just got mine last week and it's going to be a very useful tool.

One thing I wanted to mention/ask is it seems you can scan/diagnose/remove fault codes without having to use up 1 the the 3 VIN #s. Someone feel free to clarify/correct that as I'm curious as well. I was able to autoscan and clear faults without using up 1 of the 3 allowed VINs even after I registered.

I bought the enthusiast version and it didn't ask for my VIN until I tried to mess with the coding (gauge staging)....from there it documented my VIN and now shows 1/3 VINs used.
 

jef@rosstech

Associate Ross-Tech Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jul 19, 2010
Location
knoxville
TDI
2004 Dog hauling, wood towing, pinball stashing Jetta wagon
Groovy, it really boils down to how many VW/Audi vehicles will you be working with?

The VCDS software may do some non VW family cars via the OBDII function:
http://www.ross-tech.com/vcds/tour/obd-2.html

If the OBDII function works on a non VW/Audi vehicle, then consider that a free gift with purchase. :)

Please feel free to call up our sales department if you have any questions.
http://www.ross-tech.com/contact.php
 

jef@rosstech

Associate Ross-Tech Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jul 19, 2010
Location
knoxville
TDI
2004 Dog hauling, wood towing, pinball stashing Jetta wagon
One thing I wanted to mention/ask is it seems you can scan/diagnose/remove fault codes without having to use up 1 the the 3 VIN #s. Someone feel free to clarify/correct that as I'm curious as well.
With the HEX-V2, you will have limited function of the VCDS software without locking down a VIN. So running Auto-Scans, clearing fault codes or looking at live data is fine. It is when you go to do certain advance functions that a VIN lock will get triggered and a pop up message will appear to confirm the locking of the VIN.

More details on this from my Benevolent Dictator (boss) can be found here:
http://forums.ross-tech.com/showthread.php?8869-VIN-Limited-Interface-FAQ
 

DerekG

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2013
Location
Oklahoma
TDI
'13 4dr Golf TDI 6-speed manual
With the HEX-V2, you will have limited function of the VCDS software without locking down a VIN. So running Auto-Scans, clearing fault codes or looking at live data is fine. It is when you go to do certain advance functions that a VIN lock will get triggered and a pop up message will appear to confirm the locking of the VIN.

More details on this from my Benevolent Dictator (boss) can be found here:
http://forums.ross-tech.com/showthread.php?8869-VIN-Limited-Interface-FAQ

Awesome, thank you for clearing that up.

Also for the info of the OBDII funtions "possibly" working on other vehicles....beats un-routing and re-routing my Scanguage II wire behind the steering wheel every time I want to scan one of my other cars as I don't have a regular OBDII scanner.
 

turboboost1

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 12, 2010
Location
NH
TDI
None, Did the buyback
I'm new to VW cars. I am thinking of buying myself a VagCom VCDS. Not sure which one to buy. I would use it on the car I have and have other family members that have VW's and various other cars. I could utilize it a fair bit. Any suggestions for a beginner who would move up to intermediate quickly from using it and learning about it?
I have done the buyback with my car, but I have the HEX-CAN version cable if you're interested in buying it. Send me a PM
 

eMak

Vendor
Joined
Dec 5, 2016
Location
Austin Tx
TDI
00 Jetta, 81 caddy
So will the HEX V2 will be enough to cover me on timing belt changes and possibly IQ adjustments? New here as well and looking for a basic setup that will cover me on these and other adjustments as I build/maintain my daily driver.
 

jef@rosstech

Associate Ross-Tech Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Jul 19, 2010
Location
knoxville
TDI
2004 Dog hauling, wood towing, pinball stashing Jetta wagon
The HEX-V2 will give you full dealer level diagnostics on VW/Audi from 1995 up to current year models. With the VE class of TDI engines, the VCDS software comes with the TDI Timing Checker:

http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-scope/TDIGraph.html

With our current hardware (interfaces), it isn't a question of "will this work on my car", they all do. It is a question of "how many cars do I plan to work on?"

The $199 HEX-V2 3 VIN gives you full function on up to 3 vehicles. The $299 HEX-V2 10 VIN gives you full function on up to 10 vehicles.

You only have that one VW, then the $199 HEX-V2 3 VIN will be just fine.

Regards.
 
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