seans
Member
I just purchased the Autel MD802 MaxiDiag Elite Full Systems and already own an iCarSoft i980 MB-II.
The MD802 has dropped a LOT from its original price and more than 10% from just a few months ago, which puts it in the ballpark. The iCarSoft currently runs about $167 on eBay. I found my Autel on Amazon at $205, sold and fulfilled by Amazon, so you can get things like same-day delivery and Amazon customer service.
The reason I got the Autel in addition to the iCarSoft is because the Autel supports vehicles from all over the world while the iCarSoft MB-II only supports Mercedes, Smart and Sprinter. I had an SRS (airbag) warning light on another vehicle that neither my OBD2 reader nor the iCarSoft could read or clear because the SRS ECU isn't at the same address as the OBD2 ECU. The Autel showed me codes with useful descriptions, and live data like current when the seat belt was inserted and removed. Without it, I would have had to pay the dealer for this.
Another difference is that Autel provides updates for only a year, while iCarSoft currently has no limit on how long you can download updates from its site. I believe that Autel updates regularly; not sure regarding iCarSoft. The Autel update currently costs $100. At the rate the price is dropping, it will be cheaper to buy a new Autel every two years than purchase annual updates.
The Autel has additional features like being able to save codes and print. I have not tried the print function yet; it appears to requiring tethering the unit to a PC and running an Autel print application.
The Autel is able to plot graphs of live data in the vehicle-specific menus, something the iCarSoft can only do in the OBD-II menu.
The iCarSoft seemed to be a little quicker and if you know what system you want to test, it seemed to be able to get to it faster.
Other than that, there don't seem to be any major differences. The devices operate similarly and seem to have roughly the same systems coverage, and do not appear to be clones.
The MD802 has dropped a LOT from its original price and more than 10% from just a few months ago, which puts it in the ballpark. The iCarSoft currently runs about $167 on eBay. I found my Autel on Amazon at $205, sold and fulfilled by Amazon, so you can get things like same-day delivery and Amazon customer service.
The reason I got the Autel in addition to the iCarSoft is because the Autel supports vehicles from all over the world while the iCarSoft MB-II only supports Mercedes, Smart and Sprinter. I had an SRS (airbag) warning light on another vehicle that neither my OBD2 reader nor the iCarSoft could read or clear because the SRS ECU isn't at the same address as the OBD2 ECU. The Autel showed me codes with useful descriptions, and live data like current when the seat belt was inserted and removed. Without it, I would have had to pay the dealer for this.
Another difference is that Autel provides updates for only a year, while iCarSoft currently has no limit on how long you can download updates from its site. I believe that Autel updates regularly; not sure regarding iCarSoft. The Autel update currently costs $100. At the rate the price is dropping, it will be cheaper to buy a new Autel every two years than purchase annual updates.
The Autel has additional features like being able to save codes and print. I have not tried the print function yet; it appears to requiring tethering the unit to a PC and running an Autel print application.
The Autel is able to plot graphs of live data in the vehicle-specific menus, something the iCarSoft can only do in the OBD-II menu.
The iCarSoft seemed to be a little quicker and if you know what system you want to test, it seemed to be able to get to it faster.
Other than that, there don't seem to be any major differences. The devices operate similarly and seem to have roughly the same systems coverage, and do not appear to be clones.