Downloadable Service Manuals

I was wondering if anybody had an opinion about the manuals you can download via ebay. I assume they have been scanned and turned into a huge PDF.

I also assume that this is a massive rights infringement. But for $15 and I can have it now.....

Thoughts?

Link, http://www.ebay.com/itm/1990-1993-Mazda-Miata-MX-5-1-6L-Service-Repair-Manual-cdrom-workshop-mx5-bonus-/130942875412

Well, Mazda won't sell you that one anymore. And it's the factory one. So your option is a scanned one or a used one...

I don't think you can generalize. Some are just collected crap off the internet or slightly inaccurate Alldata ones. But a real factory piece like that is awfully useful.

Thanks Keith!

i have no qualms going grey market if the original is not made available to me

I bought one on eBay once from a seller in The Great White North. It was listed as for 2000-2012 Elises. It came and the disk said it was for 2000-12, but the actual pdf was for 2000 to 2004 Elises, 90% useless to me. Repeated emails started to go unanswered after an initial "Oh, well, we'll get with our 'developer' to get that addressed..." Eventually, given no other choice, I left negative feedback and all of a sudden my emails started to get answered again and I got a refund. I didn't know you can now change your feedback, but I did find out when he asked me to do just that after giving me my refund. I changed it to neutral.

What I did finally figure out is that with some proper google-fu, the same or better PDF's are available for download for free. That is all these people are doing.

I would love to get a digital one for my cutlass for in the shop. I now have a 32 inch screen out there for entertainment and reference stuff on the computer

I know there are some off-brand ones floating around for the Miata - Alldata, maybe? But I know what the real factory ones look like, and that's what's on the CD Sultan found. I haven't seen them in the wild before.

We bought a CD of the Mercedes 280 manual when working on a friend's old MB. Did exactly what I hoped to, it was a factory product as well.

FYI - for fun, I started looking. I found the 1990 factory manual in a PDF (usually locked with the password "loftladderman") that's not a scan - I think it's one that Mazda Competition used to distribute. Not that I need it, I have two copies in my home garage

I also found a scan of a 1999 factory one.

We've bought CD versions of the BMW-TIS for older BMW's and MINI's. In those cases, they were somewhat less user-freiendly versions of Bentley service manuals - right down to using the same pictures. The navigation is pretty much identical to using RealOEM.

We also got one for the VW B3 (Passat) although that was less user-friendly, but had some diagnostic procedures not shown in the Bentley versions.

I still prefer paper manuals - they're just easier to thumb through to me, but if I ever get a large (24"+ diag) touch-screen control monitor/computer that I could wall-mount in the garage which would allow me to quickly flip through pages of a PDF without a keyboard or mouse, then I could see converting to a digital format. Finding a home for all of my various manuals is definitely a problem.

The biggest down-side I've found with a lot of factory service manuals (especially for German cars) is they assume access to factory tools as well as a given level of training on how to use those tools. It'll tell what tool you'll need, and if you're lucky maybe a graphic of the tool in use, but often even if you buy the tool you're on your own.

Sometimes even online DIY's don't help - I found a DIY for using the factory tool to replace the LCA bushings on MINI's and after my first attempt, I quickly figured out the DIY write-up was wrong. Despite being written by a BMW tech, he wasn't a MINI tech, and thus was never actually trained how to use the tool.

Most online DIYs are written by someone who has only done the job once, and who may not have been 100% successful at it

I prefer paper manuals myself. I'd rather get a smear of grease on paper than on a piece of electronics regardless of screen size.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

If I had a larger shop with shelf-room for a couple dozen shop manuals, I'd agree with you.

Of course, what was more eye-opening was talking to a real MINI tech and he let me in on how they did the LCA bushings... completely different and not in any manual and allowed them to do both sides in well under an hour.

I scanned my HD and Lotus factory shop manuals to PDFs. Then when I need to do a job, I just print out the relevant pages and bring them to the shop. When done, pitch them or use the backs for scratch paper. I do have a laptop in the shop with the manuals on it as well. Only the mouse gets gunky, so, big deal.

Ian - if you've got room for a couple dozen cars, you've got room for a couple dozen manuals They don't really take up that much room, maybe 2" of shelf space each. I've got them for the old Land Rover (by appointment to the entire British royal family), the 1966 Cadillac, the MGB - everything I can get my hands on. Haven't got a real one for the Mini yet.

Nothing beats a paper FSM, scans/digitals(if you got em for free/cheap) work ok, just print what you need. With American cars and euro cars old enough the manual is in British, Haynes/Chiltons works.

So I downloaded the manual. I compared it to a factory manual I borrowed from Chase Race (awesome shop in the Seattle area) and it is a scan Out is the same. It was $15. I thought about printing it out but it is over 1200 pages!

Thanks everyone for your input!

Now I need to figure out why the Miata has lost so much power under load.....

If the original hard copy is unobtainium, I'll do it, but if I assume that ownership will stick, I'll hunt down a good used one. In the case of my early NA MeeOtter it wasn't cheap, but it's a massive binder and it has about every addendum they sent to the dealer in there.

I bought the e39 books on amazon, and I realized it was so freakin' expensive 'cause it's 2 books totaling more than 4" of shelf space...

In reply to motomoron:

I had similar experience with manuals for my 1990 E series van. Four volumes that were a PITA to find (I only managed to find 3), damn expensive used off eBay, but were worth every penny.

Keith - well that's my problem. I barely have room for two cars, less so the five I actually own...

The solution is obvious. Put the manual in the car.

Sultan wrote: ....Chase Race (awesome shop in the Seattle area) ...

A race shop in downtown Duvall??? If I had known about them earlier I would have had them mount & balance my the tires from TireRack on my E36 instead of the forgettable Firestone in Redmond. (Sorry for the hijack.)

Keith Tanner wrote: The solution is obvious. Put the manual in the car.

That's often where they live... except forthat minor detail about British cars and weather-tightness... maybe if I find some really big zip-lock bags...

Get the Hefty 2.5 gallon size. Wally World was carrying them, but I haven't looked for a while.