so recently strated back into the automotive trade. i had a dinky little tool box with the minimal tools i needed. than i bought a bigger box. just cause the other one would tip over everytime i opened it. so of course with the bigger and better box comes the oportunity to buy more tools.

i think i finally know how it feels when a women buys shoes. cause im hooked. i spent over 1500 dollars this week alone. not to mention the other tools i bought 2 weeks ago.

this is another addiction i really do not need lol.

 

Doesnt it suck? At my dealership we have Snap-on, Mac, Matco and Cornwell come on a weekly basis. My tool bill sucks.

 

Ya'll got GAS, Gear Acquisition Syndrome

 

Tell me about it. I just dropped 7K on tools through Matco and Snapon. Thankfully it was through the votech discount program so I got a sweet deal (ends up being 14K list price for what I got). Even after all that I still see stuff and think "you know, I think I NEED that".

 

I know all about that, by the time i left the automotive industry to fix people i had spent approx 20-25k on tools, not including the box (dad gave me his old snap-on box that he bought when he spun wrenches the thing is older than me.) I had 4 tool bills that totalled over $400 a month most of the time. Now i have a very impressive shade tree tool set.

 

Tool Rules:
1) NEVER sell or get rid of your tools!
2) Buy quality tools that will last
3) Be judicious with whom you loan your tools to. Or don't loan them out.
4) Be willing to help friends who don't have tools and/or can't afford them.

Tony

 

All those, and always have a "tool buddy" someone to stop you from spending way too much money on the latest gadgety tool that you will never use. Believe me that one is important, I didn't have one once and bought the Matco special forces pass through socket and ratchet set, i never did use it for it's intended purpose, it ended up being an overpriced behind the seat tool set, way overpriced, but it was cool.

 

Heck, one of my friends was the tool room NCO... He got great deals on mac and snap on. I think it was around 58% on everythink, a little more on specicalty tools... I got some good stuff...

 

Its a hard deal to pass up thats for sure.

 

One of my techs I work with just left the field to go active again in the Army. He was spoutin off about he has a man's dream tool set now. Two boxes full of everything. It's true though, don't skimp on quality when it comes to tools. Stuff really pays off.

 

I like buying quality tools, I just plain like buying tools , i have a very large tool box now , and some tools are piled on the side cabinet , because there is no room to put them in the tool box, I just bought a couple more tools in the DTR classifieds

 

You sure don't need to visit our classifieds then. Nothing there but a bigger box and more tools looking for a new place to call home.

 

I only bought what I needed to be fast at what I was doing. One tool buddy is all you need or you will not have any tools. If you borrow it more than 3 times in 2 weeks you more than likely need to buy it. I only lost one flathead screwdriver the whole time I was a tech. That's it and I was still mad because it was my favorite one to use. I always thought to put the money in the tools, not the tool box, because that is what makes the money. I personally like Mac air tools and Snap-on hand tools. I sure would love to have a bigger box. I need it but I am also not in the business anymore. Maybe later.

 

i think if i buy a top box now and a couple of extensions and torque sticks i should be good for a while. for what i am doing anyways.

 

Try buying at a auction. You get some good deals there! I got over $500 worth of Stanley's for about $156. The prize was a 8 piece Racheting SAE combination wrenchs, NEW!! just had damaged packaging, for about $50. I went and looked them up on-line. At Menards, the same ones went for $85. Nice