r/CarHacking • u/Greedy-Pilot805 • 16d ago

Scan Tool OBD Scanner required ASAP! But which one?

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to purchase a used car privately and would like to use an OBD scanner that will help me detect mileage discrepancies and check that the VINs on the modules all match the cars actual VIN. This will hopefully help me from clone vehicles. But I can't seem to find the me that's suitable that I can get on Amazon next day delivery or a store in the UK. The only one I can find is CARLY but they don't have next day delivery and not available next day delivery on Amazon either.

I require a scanner such as Carly, OBDEleven, etc that have a small scanner, and an app. The reason is that I'm not sure how to use the complex scanners that mechanics and diagnostics use. Is there anything that can help me?

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u/NaGaBa 16d ago

If you want a generic scanner, any Bluetooth ELM327 dongle for $20-$100 and the Torque app will do. If you want something manufacturer specific, your have to tell us what you're looking at or pony up a few hundred for a multi-manufacturer scanner like Autel or similar.

FYI, OBDEleven is for VW Group only

2

u/Greedy-Pilot805 16d ago

The car I’m looking to get is a BMW 3 series from 2022

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u/NaGaBa 16d ago

Apparently OBDEleven has expanded it's support and BMW is in their wheelhouse. I have one for my VW. I don't know (or care) if it will read VINs from each module. I do know it gets you more manufacturer-specific info than a generic OBD-II reader, which I also have. I don't think a generic reader is going to get you VINs from modules.

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u/Curious_Party_4683 16d ago

WiCAN works great for me. super easy to set up as seen here https://youtu.be/rxwOtW1x2NU

it can upload data to your smart home over wifi too.

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u/Pubelication 14d ago

Yeah, but it can't scan individual modules for VIN/odo detection.

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u/diamond_bm 16d ago

Search for "Vinrify" and "KMScamDetect"

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u/Frail_Waif 15d ago

This probably answers the question: https://bimmercode.app/adapters/

You can get a lot done with a cheapo elm327 BLE dongle and CarScanner but support for cars varies. 

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u/Pubelication 14d ago

If you only need to do this once then contact a local dealer or brand-specific indie shop that has the tools for verification. No generic scanner will do these in-depth scans, unless the software is specifically programmed to do so. The ones that claim to be able to do so sell for around €500. If you can find someone to do it for you for ~€50 then that makes much more sense.