A Fluke 85 Multimeter, this is the original version not the later mkII/mkIII versions
Good points:
- Normal 'Fluke' quality and snob-factor
- Replacement parts are easy to come by
- Auto-ranging, makes operation dead simple
- Has basic recording ability (peak & min/max) as well as frequency counter
- Great battery life
- Dead clear to use compared to lots of multimeters
Bad Points:
- Uses 'Bussman' type fuses, which are pretty unique to Fluke monitors and priced accordingly (expect to pay £10 for a fuse change)
- It'll get pinched if you leave it laying around.
- Displays can fail, these will cost about £20 to repair.
These are fantastic meters and well worth tracking down if you plan to do much automotive electrical fault finding/work, personally I believe a decent meter used in conjunction with OBD will pin-point the majority of electrical/electronic faults on a vehicle.
Bank on paying around £75-100 second hand, I paid £80 for mine from the famous auction site about three years ago. Cheaper meters will be 'out-of-cal' but this is hardly vital for 'crude' automotive work.
Quality - 4/5, I don't have the original 'Fluke' leads with mine, I use a generic lead set but they hold up well, mine is a 1998 model and still going strong and I use it a lot, and I can't vouch for its history.
Value for money - 1/5 if you rarely use a meter, 5/5 if you do.
4/5 overall, VFM letting it down for 'occasional' use, and this is a rather old product now.