New Mechanic Advice: Tools

When first starting out your career as a mechanic, the best advice I can give you is to stay off the tool trucks. They are convenient, however you will want to get the most tools for the least amount of money at first. Later on, when you become more established and are sure this will be your career, you can invest in high quality professional tools like Snap-On or Mac. If you absolutely can't resist buying from the trucks, try to only buy from one vendor. Trust me, having to pay 3 tool trucks a week at $30 per payment can get old very quickly. Most tool salesmen are very persuasive also and will offer you all kinds of credit. If you can avoid them during your first 6 months, you'll be doing yourself a big favor.

If you have the money, Craftsman (Sears brand) tools are the way to go when starting out. Like the tool trucks, Craftsman hand tools have lifetime warranties. The only real downside is that you have to go to the store to return your broken tools, as opposed to the Snap-On truck coming to you. The 5 most important items are ratchets, wrenches, screwdrivers, sockets, and pliers. At Sears, a decent set containing most of these items will cost about $200, whereas on the tool truck you would be paying close to $1000 for the same items.

Some of us don't have quite that much money to spend right away. If you're a little short on funds, I would recommend buying your tools from Harbor Freight, Wal Mart, or K-Mart. These tools are low quality and will break eventually, but will work until you can afford better equipment. Don't be embarrassed. A lot of us started out this way. If you truly want to make the world of mechanics a way of life, you have to start small and work your way up. As a mechanic, I will tell you that buying tools is a never ending process. It seems like every week new technology arrives, and along with it a new tool is made to repair that technology.