Well seeing as how the majority of the cars I work on are VW's I can assure
you that I see probably 4-5 Vanagons every couple of weeks. So it pays off.
Not to mention the fact that I seem to recall needing the internet at least
to register the manual. I must just be old school and feel more comfortable
with a book. I dont have to worry about having a charged laptop in the shop
or having an extension cord. I used to work at a shop where the power would
go out every couple of months. Many times I ended up using flashlights,
vehicle headlights, and nay other sort of lighting to finish a customers
vehicle. Well, if I had the CD rom I wouldnt be able to look anything up. I
just dont like the idea of having to rely on electricity to read about
important stuff like that. Many times I have found it useful to have the
manual in the car. What if something broke on the road? On one of my own
cars? I dont think I would be packing around a laptop in the car to gain
information to help me.

my .02$

Chris DeLong
Fine Tuning
206.427.4777
www.finetuningperformance.com
Seattle, WA USA

>From: TJ Hannink <tjhannink@yahoo.com>
>To: Chris DeLong <green536@hotmail.com>, tjhannink@YAHOO.COM,
>vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Re: Anyone use Bentley on Virtual PC?
>Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 10:18:21 -0700 (PDT)
>
>You don't need an internet connection to use the CD-ROM, only a web
>browsing program. I use mine in my garage and on the road without any web
>connection.
>
>Want to flip to another section? Open another browser window with the "Open
>in New Window" command then flip back and forth with your mouse or a
>keystroke. I can also copy photos and wiring diagrams, paste them into
>other programs and make them as large as I need them. I can use editing
>software to make changes to the new documents, then print them out and add
>them to my service records.
>
>The CD-ROM is worth the money just to find the correct wiring diagram and
>current track for a particular circuit with a simple search command without
>having to page through the other wiring diagrams that don't apply to your
>particular vehicle/system.
>
>When you search for a particular item, you get every page that the item is
>mentioned on including tables, photos, wiring diagrams and test procedures.
>
>Unfortunately, you are in the minority when it comes to 'techs'; you will
>find very few who are willing to spend $80.00 for a manual for a 13+ year
>old vehicle that they might only see one or two of a year.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Tim
>
>Chris DeLong <green536@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Well seeing as how I AM the mechanic (I prefer the term tech over mechanic)
>I have first hand experience on the usage of the paper manual AND the CD.
>In
>order to use the CD you need to have an internet connection. What happens
>if
>you need to flip to a different section? You get to run back to the
>computer
>and randomly hope that the term you use to name component or test procedure
>is actually on the CD. I would prefer to spend extra on the paper manual
>than the CD.
>
>Oh, and I dont expect the customer to provide the necessary literature to
>fix their car. If I dont have it, I should, and I will buy it and put it on
>the shelf with all the other books.
>
>
>
>Chris DeLong
>Fine Tuning
>206.427.4777
>www.finetuningperformance.com
>Seattle, WA USA
>
>
>
>TJ Hannink
>Goldibox - 1987 Vanagon Camper, Wolfsburg Edition
>Winter Park, Florida
>http://home.earthlink.net/~tjhannink/
>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wolfsburg_campers
>http://photos.yahoo.com/tjhannink [Vanagon] Album
>FAVOR website:  http://home.earthlink.net/~clubvanagon
>
>---------------------------------
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