Newsletter from CAS! (November 2015)

Ford announced in October that they were raising the price on the IDS annual subscription fee. The new price has been set to $849.00 for a 365 day subscription. This latest increase, which represents a 20% price hike, will be reflected in both IDS annual subscription renewals and all new 'first time' purchases.

When CAS questioned the Ford folks as to why the price increase, a Ford representative stated that... "It put us in line with the other OEM tools subscription fees...".

In comparison, some of the more popular tools charge as much as $1,547.00/year (Honda's HDS) to $995 a year (Toyota's Techstream Lite) down to $575.00 a year (GM GDS-2). In the case of Toyota, their subscription fee includes access to the Toyota Service Information database, GM's and Ford's fee do not.

However, some shops will be exempt from paying this higher price. Any shop currently under the CAS TAS B/B program ( Total Annual Support w/ Balance Billing) that has an IDS renewal scheduled to be auto-renewed, will not be subject to paying this higher fee. Those 'TAS shops' have 'price protection' and any cost increases are covered by CAS!

For further information on the CAS TAS program, call your local CAS Rep or the main offices at 1-877-263-4897 Monday-Friday 8:30AM - 5:00PM !

Three 4th Quarter Promotions To Know About!

Call it 'Black Friday', 'Cyber Monday' or '4th Quarter Promotions' but whatever you call these promotions, they might be worth your time to look into! Below are three 4th Quarter Promotions that are running on some of the more popular products we offer.

Promotion #1- By the combined efforts on the part of GIT and Ascentium Capital, we have announced a 4th quarter promotion on the G-Scan handheld scan tool. They're calling it the 'The 24-24-24' Promotion...

The 'G-Scan'

A great multi-line scanner

Here is a scan tool promotional package that includes 24 months of software updates, 24 months of hardware warranty and 24 months to pay with no interest.

The G-Scan has very strong Asian coverage along with great coverage for both Domestic and European car lines. It should be mentioned that the Hyundai/Kia factory tool is built by the same company that supplies us the G-Scan. In most other countries the G-Scan is the factory tool for Hyundai/Kia dealers. In the USA, the Hyundai/Kia OEM tool is a laptop based version that also includes the dealers service information database and calibration files. Either way, here is great deal to get a great scan tool!

Promotion #2 - Get a $300.00 Rebate on the MDI. If you have been toying around with the idea of getting the next generation GM Factory tool...This end of the year promotion may have you decide that now is the time!

GM's MDI

Interface Device

Order an MDI/GDS factory tool package from CAS and you will be eligible to receive a $300 Re bate back direct from Bosch. The rules are quite simple. Buy the tooling before December 30th, then once the tool arrives, fill in the supplied rebate form with your new tools serial number. Bosch will then mail you a $300 Visa Gift Card!

A nice way to get your shop updated and then receive a '$300 Christmas Gift' for yourself in January!

iScan-II wt

A super 'Euro' tool

Promotion #3 - Own an older European scan tool and want to get it updated? This promotion just might ring your Christmas Bells! Autoland Scientech, in coordination with Ascentium Capital, is offering a Zero Interest 12 Month lease on their flagship Euro scanner, the iScan-IIwt.

To add to this promotion, Autoland Scientech has also authorized CAS to take in a number of older Euro scan tools in trade to reduce the sale price of the iScan-IIwt. Autoland will provide up to $4,000 in discounts and incentives to those shop owners that update before the end of December. Your old trade will never be worth more then it is today...So act now!

For additional details or to take advantage of any of these 4th Quarter Promotions, you can call your local CAS rep or one of our inside sales reps at 1-86-OEMTOOLS. (866-368-6657)

After hours? Go On-Line to www.OEMTools.com and send us a message!

OEMTools website passes 300,000 visits!

Who would have guessed! ...The CAS website; www.OEMTools.com 'Site Visits Odometer' just past the 300,000 mark and is climbing....

The word Traffic on a road rising up to represent increased activity on the web or transportation system such as freeways and highways

www.OEMTools.com

Started almost 10 years ago, the CAS web site of www.OEMTools.com has seen an ever increasing amount of site visits pretty much every year. In the early years the 'hits' were fairly low and stable. However, over the last few years we are seeing the site experience higher and higher volume with each passing month. Today the site averages over 1,000 visits every week. Site visitors are a mix between current CAS customers, folks searching the web for a new scan tool (Hopefully from a legitimate source) and even the CAS employees who have reasons to visit.

Looking at the site's 'analytics' it seems the top three most popular pages in order of visits are the ' GM Tab' followed by the ' Chrysler Tab' and finally the ' Ford Tab'. Doing a Google search for any of these 'Big Three' OEM tools results in the OEMTools site appearing on page one. This would probably explain why these web pages are so active. That and the fact that a number of shops are looking at the need to upgrade from GM's Tech-2 to the MDI/GDS package. Chrysler OEM tool changes also has a number of shops looking into their next OEM tool move.

We'll check back with you after we pass the half million mark! In the mean time, if you feel it may be time to add another OEM tool to your shops inventory, call your CAS rep or contact us by clicking here.

Toyota TechStream Lite Security Increased

Toyota TechStream Lite just had a security update that you might not have even noticed....But it could affect you!

Hand rotating a button and selecting the level of security. This concept illustration is a metaphor for choosing the level of security. Three levels are available low medium and high.

'TechStream Lite' Security

was Turned up a Notch

Cyber security, hacking, data breach and out right theft of services all tie back to one thing...The unlawful use, production, sharing or duplication of protected software applications. Toyota recently tightened up their security for all TechStream Lite (TSL) users to prevent theft of services. Between July and September of this year, Toyota advised all the current TechStream Lite users that they were implementing new security changes involving the sign-on process. By September the changes were completed and implemented for all current subscription owners....So if you wonder what changed, read on...

Two things were affected, first the User Name (U/N) acceptable protocol was changed. Prior to this update TSL would accept basically any user name one wished to use. A shops name or a techs name were two very popular choices. Under the new system the U/N had to be a legitimate e-mail address.

The second change involved Password (P/W) protocol edits. The new system required all P/W's to have 8 characters and at least one of the characters now must be a digit. Additionally, P/W's have to be updated (changed) every 90 days.

So, how could all these have taken place and you weren't even aware of them? First, if you purchased your TSL through CAS, we keep a database of all U/N's and P/W's so we updated all our shops records for them. But, how can it be I haven't needed the new P/W you ask?...Simple, you really only need the new P/W when signing in to code a new key or access a TSB for reflashing.

If you receive a notification about problems with your TSL password or for further information on obtaining your updated U/N or P/W call CAS Tech Support toll free at 1-877-263-4897...

If it's a fter hours and you're looking for additional information...You can go on-line to our web site www.OEMTools.com/Contact Us and send us a message!

Tech Tip of the Month - Upgrade to Windows 10?

CAS Tech Support

This months 'Tech Tip' from the CAS Tech Support guys revolves around the newest Microsoft Operating System, Windows 10....

Every shop owner knows that for things to work correctly, they have to be maintained. From doing timely oil and filter changes for an engine to loading software updates into a scan tool, these 'routine maintenance' actions are really necessary to avoid having unnecessary problems.

However, in the case of the laptops that are used to run OEM scan tool applications, doing all available software updates is not always the best course of action. Downloading and installing the latest JAVA update can cause a currently working scan tool to malfunction. Or an update to the latest version of 'Internet Explorer' can find one with the inability to work with an OEM's web site when trying to find and download a flash file or view service information. As a matter of course, when CAS Tech Support sets up a new Dell or Panasonic Toughbook, Windows 'Automatic Updates' are turned off for these very reasons.

The latest major O/S update available now is the recently released Windows 10 O/S (Win10). Microsoft has introduced Win10 and they are really pushing to get everyone to upgrade to it. There are reportedly lots of cool new features and security enhancements to attract one to this upgrade. In fact, Microsoft is so focused on getting the world of PC users over to Win10 that it is being offered as a free upgrade to Windows 7 users. Additionally, any PC running Windows 7 has a little Windows icon in the lower right corner that is teasing you with a pop-up saying; "Get Windows 10".

CAS Tech Support recommends you do not upgrade your 'Scan Tool Platform' PC to Windows 10. Our currently recommended O/S for all automotive apps is Windows 7 Professional....Why?...Simple, there are almost no OEM's that currently support Win10 but they all support Win7Pro. Does this mean some apps won't work on Win10? Not necessarily, but the OEM's haven't tested their apps to work with Win10 and because of this they won't deal with Win10 related issues. So resist the urge to click on that little Windows icon, it will take you down a road that can cost you downtime, lost time, frustration and lost revenue.

If you or one of your techs have succumbed to the urge and done an update which has caused operational issues, call your local CAS Rep for assistance or CAS Tech Support. They won't pick on you for your falling victim to the update urge, we all are a little guilty of this from time to time!....

CAS Tech Support is at 1-877-263-4897 M-F 8:30am - 5:00pm Eastern Standard Time. We're here to help!

If it's after hours and you need to reach us, click here and leave us a message.

Providing Tools, Information and Training to the Automotive Aftermarket