What makes ScannerDanner videos different than others?

I have been watching several automotive diagnostic/repair videos recently. Some made by professional techs, some by home mechanics and some by companies in the automotive diagnostic training or equipment fields. I then began to wonder why I tend to get more from a ScannerDanner video than many others. Why have I been watching Paul's videos for years? I am not a professional automotive tech but I have always serviced my own vehicles and serviced machinery professionally my whole life. I watch these videos to keep up with modern diagnostic techniques and because it is fun to learn new things.

Some people are better teachers than others. Some people are more instantly likeable than others. Paul is a good teacher and is a very likeable guy but I don't think these are the main reasons I learn so much from his videos. So then why are Paul's videos more helpful than average to even a humble driveway mechanic? After thinking about this for a few days it seems it comes down to he is teaching using a real world failure, and letting us watch over his shoulder. He let's us know what he is thinking, why he is choosing going certain directions, why he changes his mind, etc. We get to see the real world application of diagnostic tools and techniques on a real failure where the answer is not known in advance. When he screws up he mans up, owns it and teaches us what went wrong and what he will do to make it right. It is not a 'canned' lesson with an answer in the back of the book.

Making a video is a LOT of work. Making a good video with the poor lighting, noisy environment of an automotive workshop is 10x harder. Thanks for all your hard work Paul and for letting us tag along with you. I really appreciate your sharing all of your hard earned knowledge with us.

JeffBirt wrote:

We get to see the real world application of diagnostic tools and techniques on a real failure where the answer is not known in advance. When he screws up he mans up, owns it and teaches us what went wrong and what he will do to make it right. It is not a 'canned' lesson with an answer in the back of the book.

For me, this is it. Car repair is rarely a smooth path from broken to fixed. It's filled with pitfalls, dead ends, and all kinds of other ways to get your time wasted. :silly: SD videos don't sugarcoat the diagnostic process.

Making a video is a LOT of work. Making a good video with the poor lighting, noisy environment of an automotive workshop is 10x harder. Thanks for all your hard work Paul and for letting us tag along with you. I really appreciate your sharing all of your hard earned knowledge with us.

Agreed. Adding Caleb in has taken the videos to another level, too.