As vehicle technology advances, more safety elements need to be checked when completing a repair. Using an OEM scan tool is an expensive cost to add to your service, so technicians may opt to use an aftermarket tool in its place. While this can save money in the long run, you risk missing essential module tests that could compromise your repair and put your customer in danger.
While scanning tools have mainly been used in mechanical repairs, they are increasingly important in the collision industry and are vital to repairing a vehicle to pre-collision condition.
“In the mechanical world, a customer comes in with a specific complaint to fix specific issues,” said Andy Noyes, senior vice president of sales and strategic accounts at AsTech. “In collision repair, when you're scanning a car, you're not looking at a particular issue. You need a health check across the entire network of that car. While these gaps don't cause an issue as much in mechanical repairs, not all scans are equal in collision repair.”
While having an accurate scan is crucial to completing a quality repair, collision repair shops are often faced with the added pressures of insurance reimbursements and other outside factors, so it can be tempting to pursue alternatives to an OEM scan.
“This issue really came about because every customer wants to fix the car correctly, but because of reimbursement pressures, time, and staffing, not every car gets a scan or a proper scan,” said Noyes. “Especially around reimbursement pressures. People are saying, ‘I want to fix the car right, but I just can't get paid to use an OEM tool every single time.’”
This is where asTech’s patented and proprietary Rules Engine comes in. The Rules Engine compares aftermarket scan tools to OEM for your specific make and model. It can tell you when an aftermarket scan will return the same quality results as the original OEM scan tool for the same year, make, model, and trim. It designates these aftermarket scans as “asTech® OEM Compatible.”
When a shop uses the Rules Engine and selects an asTech® OEM Compatible scan, they’re getting an OEM quality scan at an aftermarket speed and cost. A fact that asTech is so confident in, they back every OEM Compatible scan with their industry-leading warranty.
“It makes it easier for them to do business and feel good about the cars they're delivering to know that they do have a safe and proper repair,” said Noyes.
Rules Engine’s data come from real-life scenarios with trusted technicians who have taken the time to compare aftermarket scan tools to their OEM counterparts and provide you with the truth on what the best scan is for your repair.
“Customers can run this and recognize that it's factual and based on real data. It's not based on an aftermarket scan tool company telling us what their scan tool works on or what coverage they have,” said Chris Chesney, VP of training at Repairify and asTech. “Those charts are marketing charts. Ours comes from live people connected to real vehicles with real problems, comparing them side-by-side on the same day with everybody else's tool. That’s the truth factor we've put into play that I think will serve the industry well.”
asTech hopes to eliminate gaps that may come from using an inaccurate scan tool and keep drivers safe on the road by providing a valuable resource the industry has been missing.
“This resource doesn't exist anywhere in the industry. Only the Rules Engine can identify true OEM Compatible scans,” said Chesney. “The feedback I've heard is great. They can trust they’re going to get the same result as an OEM report every time, no matter if it's a factory tool or an aftermarket tool. That's the feedback I've heard, which is exactly what we hoped for, that this resource becomes a tool people count on.”
To identify and use the right scan tool for every vehicle, check out asTech's Rules Engine.
