My tools are ****. Couple cheap tool sets in BS plastic cases with half of each set lost, some cracked sockets and a random selection of single tools I bought along the way like a breaker bar blah blah you know the story. I've invested in a good jack w/ stands, oil pan and funnels, cordless drill and work light so I'm good on some of the more basic stuff.

It's time to get a decent kit. I don't do work that much so I'm not ready for air tools but I'd like to be able to tackle some bigger jobs like struts and things down the line.

Here's the plan:

Decent electric impact driver that doesn't suck and is $100ish.

Craftsman set w/ ratchets, spanners, sockets, extensions, adapters and universal joints.

A toolbox that I can pick up and carry out to the driveway that's not crap with some organization for the sockets and spanners.


Questions:

Buy a tool kit with impact sockets or buy them separate?

6 pt or 12 pt sockets?

What advice can the sages give me about avoiding the pitfalls of buying crappy tools?


I'm gonna start cruising pawn shops.

 

1. Be wary of pawn shops. sometimes those guys charge more than new prices for stuff. just know what you're looking at before you buy it.

2. Sears sales are your friend. If you can wait a few months, hit the Black Friday sales at Sears and you can get some damn good deals on tools.

3. gearwrench is your friend. I have several sets and I LOVE 'em. they'll save your butt working in tight spaces, but don't expect them to hold up to a regualr wrench on strength. (don't use them to break loose/torque suspension parts. break stuff loose with a regular wrench, then use the ratcheting wrench to spin the bolts off.)

4. Search Sears.com for all-metric toolsets if all you want is stuff to work on your car. you'll save a shload of money over SAE parts you'll never use.
If you work on other stuff, then buy one of their "mechanic's tool sets" in the $200 range and it should have almost all of the regular stuff you need from 3/8" (10mm) up to about 1" (25mm). you'll need a few more larger sockets to finish the suspension on a Maxima, 27, 32, 36mm but you can buy those in singles. no point in buying a set of huge sockets for 2 or 3 you might eventually use. plus you can just rent those sockets from the parts store when you need 'em.

 

Matt is 100% right. Look for the sales at sears. I got this set:



For 47% off. I paid a little over $1.00/tool.

Then I found this set that was returned and I got it brand new for 2/3 the original price




If you want a decent tool box, check out harbor freight. If you like their "us general" tool chest, buy any car magazine for $5.00 and make sure it has a 20% off coupon and use that $5.00 you spent, so save millions!!! Well, not really, but it's definitely a wise investment.


BTW, I have some craftsman wrenches for sale if you're interested.

 

The other good thing about those Craftsman sets is many of them come in their own plastic toolbox. you can use that for another little while until you're ready to buy a "real" toolbox. if you work on the car in the driveway, buy a used Matco/cornwell/Snap On roll cart off craigslist or ebay or something. if you get one with 3 drawers, you can probably store all the tools in it and then just roll it out to the car.

If you want more storage and less portability, get a rolling cabinet with more storage. but PLEASE spend a few extra bucks and get one with ball bearing drawer sliders. I have a couple of each, and the one with regular sliders sucks ballz after using some with ball bearing sliders- especially after I used the non-bearing box daily as a mechanic for several years and wore out the plastic bushings in the sliders. now I have to hold the back of the box while I push the drawer closed. grrr.

so spend your money wisely- shop used on craigslist- and buy something that's a couple years old but isn't bottom of the barrel on quality for a toolbox.

 

Solid advice. Thanks

How about 12pt vs 6 pt?

And your saying since I can probably stick with metric only sets and be in good shape for working on imports?

I don't think I'm ever gonna buy an American car again and I've still got some standard sockets.

 

12pt give give you more options when working in tight spaces. It wide open areas 6pt is preferred.

 

I prefer 6 point for everything except 12 point for the box end of combination wrenches.

12 point sockets for certain sockets (some flywheels and CV shafts have 12 point heads).

Slowly, as you work on your car, you will find the need to purchase other specialty tools.

Buy only Fluke for DMMs. You may want to invest in an air compressor in the future. Craftsman makes crappy pneumatic tools.

 

Fluke is 1000% overkill for electrical testing. I work with scopes and meters all day and nobody in our company owns a Fluke. You don't need it for what you're doing in a car. A $35 Radio Shack, Greenlee, or Mastech multimeter will do everything you need unless you're an electronics tech working on logic-level, high voltage (above 600V), intrinsically safe stuff. almost nothing at home falls under those categories.

Craftsman pneumatic tools are fine and dandy if you buy their better stuff- which is usually made by Ingersoll-Rand. Their $29 impacts are Harbor Freight quality crapola. stay away.

Agreed on the sockets/wrenches though. I don't really pay attention to 6 or 12pt sockets- I have several sets of both and have never run into an issue where I HAD to have one or the other, except on the flywheel bolts. The number of teeth in your ratchet is way more important for being able to work in tight spaces than the socket itself. (Which is why I don't use Craftsman ratchets. Pick up a Kobalt swivel-head ratchet from Lowe's for about $35 and you'll love it.)

For wrenches, you're way better off with 12pt though due to the clearance issues.

 

I'll give a +1 on the Craftsman.

My dad was an ASE Master Tech and owned/ran his own auto repair shop for 30 years, so needless to say I've got a garage full of Snap-On tools and speciality tools

Even at that, I got this set at Sears a few years ago for a fantastic price (though my box is red/black, but it's the same thing):

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...60000P?prdNo=1

And have been more than pleased with it. I use it most of the time working on my Maximas and Honda - mainly because it's so convenient. It's not super ultra portable (it's decently heavy), but it's portable enough and very, very handy. This set is pretty exhaustive for alot of the work you'll do on a Maxima and is perfect for carrying into the driveway. Buy a couple of nice screwdrivers and keep them in the top and you're pretty much set


When I go to the junkyard I carry a small bag with rachets/sockets/wrenches I think I'll need, and I put the Craftsman set in the trunk in case I need to go back out and get something. Really handy in that regard and really a good "starter" type of kit. Plus, if you ever break one (I've only ever managed to break an extension), there's always a Sears (or other Craftsman dealer) around. It's not always so convenient to quickly get a Snap-On replacement.

IIRC the kit does NOT include a certain size common wrench. I want to say it was a 17mm or something around there. I just bought one at Sears when I bought the kit.

One caveat though! The drawers are heavy when full of tools, and they'll pull all the way out really easily! If you're not careful, you'll pull the whole drawer out and spill the whole contents of the drawer all over the ground.

 

I've been eyeing the whole Kobalt set they sell at Lowes - and I think that will be my next set of tools.

 

If it's your first set and you're just a hobbyist or DIY.....Sears, Lowe's, Home depot's large group set's are a bargain.....Here's another trick!!!!! Buy Snap-On or Craftman loose sockets from pawn shops ( for pennies) and exchange them for new sockets....I did this to restore my home set since my Professional tools & Big Roll-Away was at work....and my home tools were stolen out the back of my truck!

 

Check out http://www.wrenhandtools.com/ for awesome tools at great prices.

Mike is the US distributor for the company. There is a lot of discussion about the brand at www.garagejournal.com (another good forum).

I can say from person first hand experience that TopTul is nicer than craftsman and pretty damn close to Snap-On quality.