CarMD - Your Greedy Mechanic's Worst Nightmare

If you're driving a 96' or later Two Ton Paperweight, you may want to take a look at the CarMD, one of the best user-friendly innovations we've seen at CES all week. Just plug it in to your ODB II port and it will display a diagnostic code, along with one of three lights to let you know the relative status of your car. Green for all-okay, yellow for issues that you may want to have it looked at, and red for better take a life insurance policy. More after the jump.

For a better idea of what exactly is wrong, just plug the CarMD into the computer and watch as it directs you to the CarMD website with a full report full of technical jargon specific to your code, the most common fixes, and occasionally a few other fixes that may solve the problems. What's more, each fix lists the parts required, the average price for the parts in your region, and the average labor time to finish the job to prevent your seedy mechanic from taking advantage of you. If no likely fixes are listed, a CarMD tech is automatically notified and will investigate it, emailing you any new details typically within 72 hours. Up to 3 cars can be registered per CarMD, with 6 free diagnostics per month (to prevent mechanics from abusing the system). Considering just how much money this could potentially save you, the $90 sticker price is a bargain.

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