Experience with ALLDATAdiy.com?

Post by **prwood** » 11 Jul 2017, 06:17

I'm considering getting an ALLDATAdiy.com subscription for my 2001 V70. I've seen Alldata mentioned a number of times in this forum in reference to diagrams, specifications, and repair instructions. I'm not sure if these folks are talking about the full-fledged Alldata product used in mechanics shops, or the ALLDATAdiy aimed at single-car home DIYers. In any case, there are a few samples on their site for Ford/Nissan cars, but it's hard to tell how comprehensive and useful they would be for repairs on my Volvo.

Anyone care to comment on the usefulness and value of ALLDATAdiy?

flukey · Post by **flukey** » 11 Jul 2017, 07:54

I had it for many years for previous owned cars and it was pretty good.Then around 2002 I got a subscription for my 98V70LPT.It was not satisfactory at all.In fact,I contacted them and asked for a refund and they did so for me.
I strongly sugest getting Vida/dice. There is a guy on FB that sells refurb laptops with Vida loaded and ready to go.I have one and it is excellent.
Go on FB and search Vida.The guys name is Dave.

Post by **jonesg** » 11 Jul 2017, 14:04

Vida, the only way to fly if you have the cash handy.
Got mine installed and tested on a used laptop for $185, added a dice interface $90 and it was plugnplay.

ALLData was ok if you already know what the problem is and just need reference how to get things apart.
My first yr I used AllData and haynes service manual, both give some good info. But its not enough.

Post by **abscate** » 12 Jul 2017, 14:03

Ive been happy with Alldata for my fleet, which covers all of them except the BMW. I actually don't think I will buy another BMW because I can't access repair data at reasonable cost.

I keep cars a long time - so I get the 5 year car plan for mine, which works out to $5 per car per year...I think I spend more on used oil than that.

It is the DIY product of course - all web based, no software needed...

The info in Alldata is from Volvo and duplicates a lot of VIDA info - of course you don't get the OBD access functionality of VIDA.

Post by **prwood** » 12 Jul 2017, 14:25

Not sure why I didn't remember this before, but my memory was just jogged, and I realized that I actually *did* buy access to AlldataDIY at one point. It was just after we had purchased the car in 2015 and we were trying to replace the high pressure power steering hose. We bought access hoping that they would have good instructions, but it turned out at the time that they didn't have *any* instructions for the high pressure hose. So we asked for a refund and canceled our account. We did eventually find a diagram of the procedure online, but it took a while and I have no recollection of where we found it. In any case, I'm wondering if it's just a fluke that this procedure wasn't available, or if I just didn't know how to find it in Alldata, or if there are other holes in their documentation. It would be nice if they had a free trial or a short term pass so you didn't have to hassle with refunds if it didn't have what you needed.

Post by **abscate** » 13 Jul 2017, 02:42

I just logged in for my 2005 and found that there was a reference for stuff missing from Vida!

The database is not static and updates and. tSBs are added over the years. I do find I have to hunt for some things, I agree..

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