Hey. where can I buy or rent some diagnostic tools for my car... how much do they cost?

 

The only diagnostic tools I see you needing is:
1) home made code checker lamp (search for how to make one)
2) multimeter (digital or analog)
3) compression tester

 

there is no diagnostic tool like what you are thinking of (OBD II)

ilike2eatricers has listed the tools you can use to do it yourself, manually.

try searching, there is lots of info on this.

also, i think one of the How To articles on teamfc3s.org tells you how to make the checker lamp. its one of those fc3s sites anyway, i always get em confused

 

Don't forget the TPS adjusting LEDs either! Oh yeah, a timing light helps too.

 

tps can be adjusted with a multimeter easily. timing light is a good idea tho.

 

the same LEDs you use to pull codes in an S4 car can be used to check the TPS.

 

I personally prefer the multimeter. You can check for dead spots and spikes.