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Hi All,
Forgive my ignorance but is this software that good and worth the money..? What does it do exactly..? I'm quite good with understanding engines etc but just want an easy life so would this be worth me having..?
Can I demo this product and what actually do I need to buy...?

Sorry the stupid questions.

Thanks in advance

Sorry for the short answer, in a bit of a rush.

But yes, it is worth it

www.ross-tech.com has all the info and shows what you can do.

Basically you can interrogate the ECU etc and get readings. I find it invaluable as having a modded car you should keep a closer eye on it.

As an example, when I got my S4 I found an error which was a knock sensor intermittently not working. There was no dash warning and so without VAG-COM I would have waited for the first service which was 10k miles away. It might not have harmed the car too much but it wouldn't have done it much good either. It was also holding the car back but I didn't know as it had always been like it.

It's also handy for tweaking options like alarm beep, etc.

Cheers guys but what do I get for my money..? I know I need a notebook but what sort of spec...?

Cheers again

I take it you didn't look on the link I posted then.

Yes Scotty I did but must have posted my question the same time as you posted the link. It was very helpful thanks mate.

Shagga,

Had my VAG COM 3 weeks - it's the muts nuts in my opinion. Just put a post up on the S4 B5 forum after I logged some real-time data. It's a good way to understand what might be going on under the bonnet and can give some reasonable clues as to any problems that you have. When you are talking a couple of grand for new turbos it may prove to be the best money you can spend.

Thanks to the knowledge of the guys using this forum and there willingness/helpfulness in sharing that knowledge you can soon get good feedback by posting your results.

I believe (not entirely sure) that the VAG COM will work with a Toshiba Libretto which is a very small notebook - handy for using in the car. Think this will only work with the serial interface. New Laptops will use the USB interface - not sure if a parallel/serial adapter would work.

Dazzer

I bought the serial adaptor as this seems to work with other ODB II programs more readily than the USB cable. Not that I have used it with any others. Lemmiworks and APR's ECU explorer might one day work with Euro ECU's...

I find it comforting to plug in VAG-Com and log some data runs every month or so just to make sure nothing untoward is happening.

I've just had both turbos replaced under warranty and the bill was £ 4,800 odd plus VAT. Plus the cost of the hire car for the duration.

I know the turbos are £ 850 odd each but add on the labour etc. OK a non franchised garage might charge less than a franchised dealer.

Thank *** for the warranty.

Indeed. But that is truly an excessive charge for new turbos. I agree that the "couple of grand" mentioned by dazzer is actually low for fitted, but only by about a grand, not £2800!

I believe (not entirely sure) that the VAG COM will work with a Toshiba Libretto which is a very small notebook - handy for using in the car.

I am running VAG-COM on an old Tosh Libretto (P1 266Mhz I think) - runs fine.

Nige.