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Has anyone tried the Haynes on line manuals


ltljohn

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Has anyone tried the Haynes on line manuals? You can buy the print version for $49 or the on line 1 yr subscription for $29. I can't find any information on how the subscription works. I can only assume that after 1 yr you would lose access to the manual unless you pay again. I e-mailed them for their policy on the subscription service and am waiting for a reply. Link to site HERE

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I have a reply from Haynes. The terms of use were also attached to the email. Most of it is about liability and telling you that you can't share it in any way. It also mentions that they could(emphasis added) offer a lifetime subscription and by lifetime they mean lifetime of them publishing the product and only guarantee 3 years. Text of email below.

 

Dear John,

 

Thank you for your inquiry.

 

I have attached the terms and conditions to this email. Basically the subscription will expire after the year is over. At that point you can choose to renew (it will not auto renew) - usually at a discounted rate.

 

 

Please note: with the online subscription to a manual, you may print up to six (6) pages per week, not to exceed fifty (50) in any six (6) months.

 

I think I will give it a try.

 

 

 

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Looking at their page on this manual, it seems the online version adds the ability to search and print but nothing else - am I missing something? If they had a manual I wanted that offered the video features they list (but not for this manual) it might be of interest, or if they'd sell me a searchable PDF of the manual I could put on a tablet, that would be cool....but I don't know that I'd be willing to pay almost as much as the print version for something I'd lose access to in a year.

 

I would though like to see your thoughts once you've had a chance to use the online version - maybe it's more worthwhile than I'm expecting.

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It's pretty easy to find the print version for sale online for much less than $49. Here's one from Barnes & Noble, about $24 with shipping.

 

This listing on Ebay offers online subscriptions for a short periods, $12.99 for 14 days, $14.99 for 90 days, as well as $29.99 for a year.

 

I do not see a price advantage to the online version unless it is needed only for a single repair. I tend to keep my bikes for a several years, so even a three year "lifetime" subscription would be a poor value for me. How can three years be considered a lifetime for either me or my bike?

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I decided to go ahead and try the on line manual. Somebody had to try it. So far I like it.

Pros:

Easy to find things, good index

Searchable

Color pictures that you can enlarge

Color wiring diagrams

Accessible from my phone.

 

Cons:

Must be on line to access

Price can get high if you renew multiple times.

I have to bring the computer to the garage.

 

It will work but like Szurszewski pointed out a downloadable pdf would be better. I think that the printed manual would be a better value over time.

Edited by ltljohn
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Assuming the pictures are high resolution it would be nice to be able to enlarge them - I was wondering if that would be the case and it sounds like it is :)

 

It is a shame they don't let you keep it locally - be great to be able to load it on a tablet for a long/off the beaten track trip vs lugging the book.

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I think I only paid $25 or so for the online version for the wethead. I like it, I can take my tablet out to the bike, find the pertinent instructions easily, then break something.

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