What Is Snap-On's Most Expensive Tool?

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Founded in the early 1920s in, ironically, Milwaukee, Snap-On Wrench Company would soon become Snap-On Incorporated, one of the leading manufacturers of just about every type of tool. Sure, Snap-On is still mostly known for its wrenches and other hand tools, and while they're relatively high-priced, most come with a lifetime warranty and are proven high-quality tools.

From wrenches to drills and caulk guns, Snap-On's tool lineup spans hundreds of categories, each with significant price differences. With these price variations, you might be wondering: what is the most expensive tool Snap-On currently offers? That would be the top-of-the-line ZEUS+ Intelligent Diagnostics and Information System, which, at the time of writing, retails for $11,792 on Snap-On's website. If you know anything about vehicle diagnostics, you'll know that you can buy any number of OBDII scanners on Amazon, like the BlueDriver Bluetooth Pro OBDII Scan Tool, for about $80. What makes Snap-On's diagnostics tool worth around 150 times more than that?

A car diagnostics tool should be, in theory, a relatively cheap and simple item. With a price tag of almost $12,000, you're likely thinking that the ZEUS+ is a little bit more involved and has a larger, more unique feature set, and that is mostly true.

The ZEUS+ is a standalone device, so it doesn't require a smartphone app like most other code scanners. As well as being able to detect the exact problem, it can also give the technician the steps needed to remedy the problem, while also avoiding any unnecessary steps that can become monkey wrenches, no pun intended. It also has a built-in web browser, so you can do further reading about the issue you've encountered. One other really important benefit of the ZEUS+ is that it can recalibrate advanced driver assistance systems.

Even then, $12,000 is way too much for most DIYers who want to do their own scans. The ZEUS+ is really a specialty tool meant only for certified mechanics and shops, and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for regular consumers. Snap-On is a proven tool manufacturer, and most of its lineup justifies its price tags, but the ZEUS+ is the definition of a specialty tool. If you're just a regular car owner or a home mechanic, the aforementioned Amazon diagnostics tools will be perfectly fine for you.