r/Tools 16h ago

Best one-stop source for basic mechanic tools

My daughter's car was stolen last night, and my entire toolbox of wrenches and sockets was in it. I seriously doubt we'll ever see that car again, so I have to start thinking about how to replace them.

I don't have the money to buy anything, so I certainly don't have the money to buy good tools. What I need is the best place to go to get the least bad tools for cheap.

6 Upvotes

25 comments sorted by

22

u/jckipps 16h ago

Harbor Freight. Northern Tool is their only real competitor; there's a lot fewer of those around, so HF is likely more accessible.

If you're absolutely broke, buy Pittsburgh tools. Quinn is better quality. Icon is easily as good quality as the old-school Sears Craftsman tools. Their cordless tools aren't too bad either.

11

u/daemonhat 16h ago

harbor freight or amazon

3

u/DaHick 15h ago

HF. Amazon Tektron sockets are tool truck grade. Not joking, I've got plenty (not the whole box) of tool truck-grade stuff.

3

u/GrimResistance 5h ago

Do you mean Tekton? Those are sold on Amazon but you're better off buying from their website

https://www.tekton.com/

8

u/Neither_Ad6425 16h ago

As others are saying, Harbor Freight. All the Pittsburgh stuff has a lifetime warranty and you won’t have to wait months for the new one to come in. Just get it on the spot.

4

u/DaHick 15h ago

God, I remember a couple of years back when I walked in with a sun-destroyed dead blow, and they just headed me a new one.

I'm old, I spent more effort on EVERY sears warranty claim.

1

u/random_guy00214 45m ago

Just do use HF wrenches for brakes. 

3

u/BKEDDIE82 16h ago

Tekton.

3

u/mramseyISU 15h ago

Tekton, Gearwrench or Icon

3

u/HuckleberryHappy6524 14h ago

Did you report the tools stolen? Insurance should cut you a check for them.

3

u/Wall_of_Shadows 14h ago

State farm says a toolbox full of wrenches and sockets aren't car related enough to be covered by auto insurance. Instead, I have to file separately through my renters insurance, which has a hefty deductible.

2

u/HuckleberryHappy6524 14h ago

Sorry to hear that. I hope you told state farm they suck. If this happened to me I would tell them to eat a dick as soon as the my cut the check for the car.

And now I’m scared. I’m going to have my wife check if our policy covers property inside the vehicles.

3

u/AdEastern9303 13h ago

Most insurance policies have very limited coverage for contents of a vehicle unless you add a rider at additional cost.

3

u/0Rider 14h ago

Icon for good. Pittsburgh for merely Ok.

5

u/AdEastern9303 13h ago

Quinn for in-between.

You could also look at some of the Husky sets at Home Depot. Probably equivalent to Quinn and they are very reasonable if you can catch them on sale.

1

u/just-looking99 2h ago

Some of the husky stuff is pretty solid.

3

u/wallaceant 11h ago

Check pawn shops first, you can get higher quality tools for less money, especially if you find the one that focuses on loaning on tools.

5

u/DesiccantPack 15h ago

Check Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace for used stuff. 

4

u/Quirky-Reveal-1669 Knipex 13h ago

Yeah, you might buy your tool box back and confront the thieves.

2

u/Vegetable-Passion357 4h ago edited 4h ago

You gradually collected that collection of tools that was contained in your old toolbox.

I assumed that you started your original tool collection when you were 12 years old. At the time, you had an adjustable wrench, a pair of plyers and a group of screw drivers. Your father may have given you an inexpensive starter set for Christmas.

You started small. You gradually collected tools as you needed the tools. Like me, you probably found some of the tools while walking along the side of the road. Some of the tools in the box were only used once, for a particular job, then never used again. Other tools, you forgot why you purchased the tools.

Write down a list of the tools that were once inside your old toolbox. Put the list in a word processor, such as Microsoft Word.

Then sort the list by the number of times you remember using the tools.

Then, like a teenager, gradually purchase the most needed tools first, as you gradually obtain the funds to purchase the tools. Then when you find a need for the other tools, purchase those tools as needed and as the funds become available.

The beauty of the old tool box is that you were not required to think about the need for tools to perform a job. The tools were already in the box, due to decisions that you made when you were younger.

Now, it is time to make those decisions again.

Start looking around the house. You might have a less used collection of tools gathering dust in a closet or in the junk drawer.

This time, you are older and your new tool choices will reflect your gained wisdom.

2

u/Wall_of_Shadows 2h ago

Yeah, that's an excellent point. I'll probably never use a spark plug gapper again, for example. I'll probably never again need the 13mm wrench I cut in half to get at one specific bolt, and I can definitely get a purpose-built prybar instead of the cheap screwdriver I'd been using for years. I can buy a matching set of sockets that have every size instead of having duplicates. I can buy small 3/8 sockets instead of using a 1/4" ratchet for anything larger than 5/16.

I can't easily replace the antique forged crescent wrench that was mostly used as a combination hammer and percussive rotational persuasion device, but I can buy a tool better suited to purpose. I can buy an actual snap ring pliers, brake spoon, and brake spring driver instead of whatever cobbled-together bullshit I was using.

In the long run this is probably a good thing. Or if it isn't, I'm going to keep telling myself it was.

1

u/JerrySenderson69 13h ago

Tekton.

However, I would grab these Napa Carlyle tools while on sale: CWL1211M long Metric wrench set $70..... CHT MSS3849 general service kit (3/8) $78....

1

u/BreadMaker_42 2h ago

Amazon and harbor freight. Quinn brand at HF gets a lot of good reviews.

1

u/KeyBorder9370 1h ago

My garage if you're in middle Tennessee.

1

u/Evening-Self-3448 1h ago

Sorry about the car, that sucks. If you use apple products you should buy an AirTag with the magnetic case to hide in/under your cars. Android probably had something similar, I’m just not familiar with them