[Porsche-O-Phile]

I use one (Innova I think) from either Pep Boys or Autozone (don't recall which offhand - bought a couple of hears ago) with my '01 SLK. Works fine. I've been able to clear a couple of nuisance codes and do diagnostics (had a secondary air valve seize up and was able to identify and replace it right away). There's really nothing mystical about them. All manufacturers use one of a handful of standardized protocols anyway.

My ideal situation would be to pitch my '01 when it finally dies (hopefully many years ftom now) and never buy a post-1996 vehicle ever again (I plan on doing exactly this) just to get around all the stupid nanny-state emissions BS related to mandatory OBD-2 data dumps. There's simply way too much of this stuff going onto cars now, it's way too expensive when it breaks and one little hiccup will throw the OBD-2 computers into a tizzy and potentially leave you with a car that won't pass inspection. I've been mostly lucky but it's just not worth the headaches. Also consider that newer vehicles have hidden data-logging built into the computers that's intended to provide your insurance company and law enforcement types with evidence they can use to screw you over in the event of an accident (I believe there have been cases where this has been subpoenaed). I'm not advocating driving crazy or breaking the law, but why hand an "easy one" to people who just want to rape you for every penny they can?

Sorry for the tangent...