I understand where Adam is coming from and thereby automatically making myself a non-average user. For me the Faultmate was a necessity living in a place that could as well be a desert. When I bought the FFRR in Lagos, I knew the reputation of workshops there and the Lagos dealer charges a fortune (4000 GBP) just to get yourself registered.

So to me it was a no brainer since the cost of a Faultmate Extreme with laptop is far less than the rego fee to start with. Plus that our company there had their own mechanics to do the "dirty" work when I supplied the parts and instructions. It worked a treat for me.

Living in Malaysia with only 4 official dealers and none within hours from where I live, again the desert comparison crops up (OK I'm also 10 mins from the Singapore border). Parts can come from Dan or my old supplying dealer in the Netherlands who so kindly shipped all my parts to our depot in the Netherlands from where it was included in the weekly airfreight to Lagos. That way I will be (and was) sure of original parts.

Also travelling around, like Craig mentioned, the IID tool allows you to check whether a fault is a big issue or a simple reset removes the annoying EML or other warning light that was triggered by low voltage or a bad bout of fuel etc.

Another advantage of the Faultmate (and soon the IID) is the reflashing of the ECUs. I have done it extensively on the 2006, resolving various issues.

Coming back to average user, I think the definition average user needs to be made clear first. Is it the average FFRR user/owner or the average FFRR forum user (lets be honest we are a bunch of FFRR geeks and quite a bit removed from the average FFRR owner/user in the wide world). For the average FFRR user/geek, IID or Faultmate or the likes is almost a must since reading the codes and resetting faults can help us resolve each others FFRR issues. For the average FFRR owner "in the wide world" I'd say the fault code readers are pretty useless for 99% of them (please don't quote me on this actual percentage, it was merely intended to make a point).

Above is my opinion from my point of view and what I perceive is happening on the forum i.e. a bit of fun and a lot of helping each other keeping our toys moving along the roads happily !! MY 2010 5.0 SC Galway green and sand interior!!
Have the Faultmate MSV2 Extreme to be tinkering with the settings etc. !!

Here here Eugene

Well put Eugene

Cant add any more to that thread, my iid tool is as useful to me as the socket set in the tool box.
For 6 months I ran the FF with no problems at all, until eas started to show an issue a few months back the iid tool saved the days temporary and has paid for it self in just resets alone.
With a bit of research on here the answers will follow and you make new friends along the way too

Not all FF owners have the mechanical knowledge to fix a motor so iid or other diagnostic tool will be as useful as a welding torch to a carpenter.

Thank heavens for this forum I say.  If it dont work.......burn it!

If the IId tool cant fix it.......burn the FF.

If the FF cant be fixed......buy a Land Cruiser!

If the LC cant be fixed..............................................BUY a horse !!

For a long time I thought that the IID sounded like a 'must have' for the hard core forum DIYers & techies and a 'nice to have luxury' for the rest (counting myself as one of the rest).

From a forum member, I've just bought a used, non BT version IID tool as it was an opportunity too good to miss. Even at that, I've still wondered if it will be a rarely used 'luxury' as the car is LR warrantied until 2016.

I'm sure that when it arrives, I'll get myself into confused states at times but I'm also sure that along with input from forum members, I'll actually be able to make good use of the IID tool and importantly, be able to speak from a more confident and informed position when the car needs to go into a garage for repairs and/ or when a garage tells me that they've 'diagnosed' a fault on the car (i.e yes I suppose that sounds consistent with IID readings taken before the car went into the garage - or - no, that doesn't sound right at all).

The many interesting replies to this thread suggest it will be money well spent... touch wood

Aside from the previous sound reasons for buying the IID tool, I also intend to use mine to do some health monintoring on the FF, hopefully to pick up potential problems before they develop into failures. One example of this are the EGR valves (TDV8) - as the valves age, they stick and in certain conditions unwanted exhaust gases enter the turbo, eventually causing premature turbo failure (and possibly consequential engine damage from the shed turbo parts).

Since the car senses the demanded and actual position of the EGR valves, it should be possible (once the GAP guys enable live data logging) to record the live value data and establish a 'normal' time for the valve to move position. If one then monitors this, say every few thousand miles, it should be possible to see when the valve is getting sticky, at which point it will be time to change both EGR valves.

The concept of system health monitoring is very well established in the aircraft industry, and is used to save money and improve availability through pre-emptive maintenance, based on recorded trends. I think the IID guys would be very well placed to automate this function for the FF and other complex cars, as it is a technique that can be automated and then alerts only when an adverse trend is noted. All the necessary data is on the CAN BUS, it's just a case of working out which trends are worthwhile monitoring, and automating the means to do so. The interested reader can find out more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_and_usage_monitoring_systems.

fanders

To be honest I just like knowing whats going on so I don't get bitten on the arse when least expecting it

Yes, if you just like to drop off the car at the main dealer and tell him to "fix it and bill me" then the IID is of less value.

I'm not very mechanically inclined - I wish I was! I found the IID useful for a couple of things:
1. CCF changes. You will get charged a good bit for these and the IID offers some features you can't get at the dealer.
2. Preliminary diagnostics. I can talk to my mechanic on the phone. He can have parts waiting. I'd still want him to diagnose but "Yep, you're right" is usually cheaper than starting at square one.
3. You're in the middle of nowhere, something goes wrong and the local mechanic starts off by saying, "Ah never seen one of dem lil Eengleesh cars before." With a generally competent mechanic, an IID, FedEx and Google, you've got a fighting chance to get mobile again.