Okay I have a chevy aveo, my question is does anyone know a way to get the...

[Momof2boysn1girl]

...diagostic code by yourself? I know you can go somewhere and have it read but I did this already and the person was a prick and did not tell me the code because I TOLD him I had no money.. Anyways I know on dodges you can just turn the key. i tried this but it did not work please someone help. I have kids and need to know for sure if they are in any danger being in it

[AlliKatAveo]

The only way I know of to get the diagnostic code read rather than someone else is to get an OBD which is the scanner console or tool they use to read the on-board diagnostic computer. A code pops up and they can check it on the reference like guide and figure out what the code represents.
For some reason repair shops charge a fee and usually expensive like you saw and even smaller type of technicians are not even allowed to work with the complex equipment.
You can buy a scanner on your own and some are simple to very complex. The most expensive are the easier to connect and software usability of course.

I looked a little on ebay and they have some for $65 and up but I didn't look into if they were good or not. Basically any car made during or after 2006 has to have the computer that the OBD connects to it's just understanding how to do it and then be able to read it.

After all that work maybe it's best to just pay a mechanic???