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What's Better Than Mod Money? by teknubik
December 06, 2004

What’s better than mod money? Not much but there are some things that rank right up there.

A fellow VW owner and friend of mine went halvsies on the HEX-USB VAG-COM a while back. We've used it several times on our cars to clear CELs, disable auto-door locks and seatbelt chimes, etc., but most of the time it sits in my laptop bag wrapped up with a rubber band. I added my email address to the VAG-COM finder site so that others may use it when they need to. I've had two experiences so far:

Mr. and Mrs. Audi were visiting Phoenix from Colorado. On the way down, Mr. Audi threw a CEL and claimed to have been having cruise-control problems, so he wanted to check it out with his cable...which he left at home. Mrs. Audi was convinced her husband wouldn't be able to find anyone willing to come out to them with a cable in the middle of the week. To her, it would be a $150 trip to the dealer or risk trying to limp it back home. She didn't know that Mr. Audi had sent Teknubic's first request to action. I accepted the assignment with eagerness! I was ecstatic that someone had been seeking me, asking for my assistance, which I could easily provide. A mere 12 hours later, I met them and their beautiful A4 which did not look at all like it had traveled almost 1000 miles in the last 2 days.

Since Mr. Audi owns a cable and is familiar with the software, I handed the laptop over to him. He recorded the scan to a text file and cleared the errors that were showing. He said that it wasn't serious and that they could go on with the intention of looking into it further when they returned home. They both expressed their relief (Mrs. Audi looked especially wrought with worry up until this point) and gratitude that I held to my word of coming to meet them first thing in the morning.

Mr. Audi said he didn't have any beer (the requested compensation on the locator site) but said that I could buy a 6-pack for myself as he slapped a pile of cash into my hand. I told him that I didn't do anything but show up with the cable; he did all the work. But he didn't take the money back.
I felt good that I was able to help out a fellow driver, and it was no skin off my neck. The money was insignificant comparatively so I decided I was going to handle that differently next time.

Next time was recent.

I got an instant message from a guy that was having problems starting his car. He was certain that the throttle body control module needed to be reset, so lets call him Guy Throttle Body. He seemed to have done all the research beforehand and knew what needed to be done, including all the steps...he just didn’t have the cable.

Teknubic to the rescue. I drove out to his place and again handed over the computer for him to run through his steps. Now, his dad, apparently, is an old-school auto mechanic and had a hard time understanding how a computer *somewhere* in the car could be at fault. Nonetheless, after all the steps were performed, the car fired right up. The look on Guy Throttle Body's face was priceless. The look on the fathers face was even better. I could see right there and then that this cable is more than a tool for a car. It’s a tool for the human spirit.

When asked what he could give me in return, I told him nothing. When he reminded me that this service would have cost a lot of money at a dealership and again asked me, I still told him nothing. Helping a fellow VW owner who’s down on his luck and fixing their problem is payment enough. Then a thought occurred to me. Those of you who have seen the 2000 movie with Kevin Spacey and Haley Joel Osment will know what I’m talking about. "Pay it Forward." I said. "If you ever find yourself in a position to help someone out, do it." I looked in his eyes and I shook his hand and I knew that he would do just that.

And that, my friends, is better than mod money. So, am I out to change the demented and homicidal society we are? No. Do I hope to bring about world peace and well-being to all of earths creatures? No. Am I doing this for selfish reasons, only to promote my own ego and self esteem? Perhaps. Do you think the person that "Guy Throttle Body" helps out cares or even knows?

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