well my ultimate plan was as follows. get credit card maybe sears or something and buy all the tools on it or most of what ill need. after i know when and how much student loan money im getting should be 3500. then use the loan to pay payments thus giving me much needed credit and ill have the money to pay the bill to guarantee good credit. i want to get them while in school so i get the discount. also i want good tools most expensive doesnt mean best but good quality. ive worked on cars enough and have broke my fair share of tools and cheap stuff chinese and taiwan junk doesnt last but tools like stanley are good for their price. i actually prefer my 1/2 stanley ratchet over my snap on or craftsman because it has the dial on the back to manually turn it is also better than the craftsman quality wise the snap on is better because it can easily be taken apart but for the price i like stanley tools.
what tools should i buy
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At the OP's young age and wishing to pursue a career in auto repair, I'd suggest purchasing quality tools such as Snap On or a like quality, stay away from cheap tooling, you will be much more satisfied, IMO.
Completely different situation as I have.
Completely different situation as I have.
A credit card will not help your credit much. I have a few cards and charge accounts, my credit score is 772 and I still cannot finance a car. I have never really bought anything I couldn't pay for and never had an installment loan, so my 772 basically = 0 when it comes to financing.
The way you jump around from project to project the very last thing you need to do is go into debt for some tools. Chances are, in a month or so you'll have decided on a different career altogether.
If you do feel you need to purchase tools, purchase used tools from Craigslist or at an auction. I frequently see them from mechanics who are getting out of the business, and they generally sell for a fraction of the cost of new. Local pawn shops could be another source for decent used tools. With a little work you can easily put together a respectable mechanics tool set for a small fraction of the cost of a new set. If you really decide to follow through and make a career out of being a mechanic, when your career begins to advance you can consider investing in some new tools.
With your history I highly recommend you stay out of debt for tools and school unless you have a guarantee of a high paying job when you are finished. I simply don't see you as responsible enough to manage a large amount of debt.
If you do feel you need to purchase tools, purchase used tools from Craigslist or at an auction. I frequently see them from mechanics who are getting out of the business, and they generally sell for a fraction of the cost of new. Local pawn shops could be another source for decent used tools. With a little work you can easily put together a respectable mechanics tool set for a small fraction of the cost of a new set. If you really decide to follow through and make a career out of being a mechanic, when your career begins to advance you can consider investing in some new tools.
With your history I highly recommend you stay out of debt for tools and school unless you have a guarantee of a high paying job when you are finished. I simply don't see you as responsible enough to manage a large amount of debt.
uhmmm pop rivet considering you really dont know me at all i really dont think you have any right to say that. i have wanted to be a mechanic for a long long time. and not that it matters but im very responsible . and my history??? i must be irresponsible because i like to fix my cars and keep them nice that is just so irresponsible!! i will be taking out a student loan i will have no issue repaying it. so unless you have valuable info about tools please refrain from the off topic wish wash. i also will have little issue finding a job that will be easy . i know several people that would hire me. so can we please talk about tools? and not my irresponsible tendencies or your incorrect fallacies about my my pretend immaturity. o anf just to explain how wrong you are i am 20 yrs old with a son and fiance i have a job so does she we both are doing school and i have a decent car she has a cheap car that has also needed nothing and we have a savings. we dont have mommy or daddies help like most people our age. and everything we have we have worked hard for. so please explain to me how in the world im not responsible enough to handle a small loan that i will paid off right after my 2years of school is up?
Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
i also will have little issue finding a job that will be easy . i know several people that would hire me.
Talk to these guys. Find out what kind of work position they have available. You'll be fresh out of school and without experience in the field, so knowing someone is a great thing as far as getting a starting pay rate that you can live on. If someone's got room in their shop and the work sounds like what you want, try to get a sort of informal promise of employment. Talk to the guys who work there and find out what they recommend. Don't be too shy. If the climate is such that tools tend to grow legs, that's also a consideration.
i also will have little issue finding a job that will be easy . i know several people that would hire me.
Talk to these guys. Find out what kind of work position they have available. You'll be fresh out of school and without experience in the field, so knowing someone is a great thing as far as getting a starting pay rate that you can live on. If someone's got room in their shop and the work sounds like what you want, try to get a sort of informal promise of employment. Talk to the guys who work there and find out what they recommend. Don't be too shy. If the climate is such that tools tend to grow legs, that's also a consideration.
Congrats on starting school! I'm starting my 2nd year of automotive school this fall. If you're like me, and you KNOW this is the career for you, and your going to be using your tools to feed your family, you'll want nothing but the best. And with the 50-60% student discount on snap on tools, a person would have to be a fool to not buy those. Even if you buy them and quit school, you will AT LEAST be able to break even when you go to sell them all. The other brand that comes to my school is MAC. their student discount is 50% on everything (except the really expensive stuff, of course.) They also make extremely good tools.
Just remember you will NEVER get discounts like this again in your life, (even the tool truck guys dont get them that cheap) so dont pass it up
Just remember you will NEVER get discounts like this again in your life, (even the tool truck guys dont get them that cheap) so dont pass it up
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MAC, Matco, and Snap-On all offer excellent student discount programs, IIRC. All are excellent quality tools. Most auto techs I've known would recommend these 3 brands above all others.
Craftsman Professional is also OK but doesn't hold its value and won't last as long.
I argued the 'lifetime warranty' Craftsman issue a few times with my brother, who has been an auto tech for about 5 years now. He says the lifetime warranty is nice, but (a) he can't leave work and head to Sears every time he breaks something, and (b) after going through two or three 3/8" Craftsman ratchets his first year or so on the job, he finally just bought a snap-on. Hasn't had a problem with it yet.
One other thing to look at - I was surprised how many auto techs use cordless power tools. 12v Li-Ion impact drivers seem to be popular (Makita and Milwaukee, from what I've seen). Why? They are more convenient than 1/4" air ratchets, better suited when removing small screws, and Li-Ion batteries last a long time.
Craftsman Professional is also OK but doesn't hold its value and won't last as long.
I argued the 'lifetime warranty' Craftsman issue a few times with my brother, who has been an auto tech for about 5 years now. He says the lifetime warranty is nice, but (a) he can't leave work and head to Sears every time he breaks something, and (b) after going through two or three 3/8" Craftsman ratchets his first year or so on the job, he finally just bought a snap-on. Hasn't had a problem with it yet.
One other thing to look at - I was surprised how many auto techs use cordless power tools. 12v Li-Ion impact drivers seem to be popular (Makita and Milwaukee, from what I've seen). Why? They are more convenient than 1/4" air ratchets, better suited when removing small screws, and Li-Ion batteries last a long time.
If you are going to buy sears follow the garage journal sales announcements. They have stuff 60% off list fairly regularly. Wait for the right "module" to come along, a 361 piece kit probably has 100 allen wrenches, driver bits, and teeny tiny "ignition wrenches" that noone ever uses. Then you'll find a 12 point 14mm deep well 1/4" drive socket in there you'll never use. Patience will help you between now and August.
JHZR2
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Originally Posted By: danthaman1980
MAC, Matco, and Snap-On all offer excellent student discount programs, IIRC. All are excellent quality tools. Most auto techs I've known would recommend these 3 brands above all others.
Yeah, Id be looking for top quality, US made tools from one of these, taking advantage of the student deal.
But Id try to cash flow as much as possible, no need to buy everything at once.
I might go with better IR tools for air tools
MAC, Matco, and Snap-On all offer excellent student discount programs, IIRC. All are excellent quality tools. Most auto techs I've known would recommend these 3 brands above all others.
Yeah, Id be looking for top quality, US made tools from one of these, taking advantage of the student deal.
But Id try to cash flow as much as possible, no need to buy everything at once.
I might go with better IR tools for air tools
I worked with a master tech way back and most of his stuff was Craftsman. He said he didn't need to show off his tool bills. He saved the tool trucks for the specialty stuff that you couldn't get at Sears. There was no craigslist or internet back then.
I took his advice, and have a hoard of craftsman tools, only broke 1 ratchet and gently stripped the pawl on another. But the main rule..have a set of backups ready to go.. extra ratchet, common wrenches & sockets.
But I'd definetely check ebay, craigslist and even pawn shops.. they're loaded with tools and you can usually bend them on the pricing.
I took his advice, and have a hoard of craftsman tools, only broke 1 ratchet and gently stripped the pawl on another. But the main rule..have a set of backups ready to go.. extra ratchet, common wrenches & sockets.
But I'd definetely check ebay, craigslist and even pawn shops.. they're loaded with tools and you can usually bend them on the pricing.
JHZR2
Staff member
Originally Posted By: EricF
I worked with a master tech way back and most of his stuff was Craftsman. He said he didn't need to show off his tool bills. He saved the tool trucks for the specialty stuff that you couldn't get at Sears. There was no craigslist or internet back then.
I took his advice, and have a hoard of craftsman tools, only broke 1 ratchet and gently stripped the pawl on another. But the main rule..have a set of backups ready to go.. extra ratchet, common wrenches & sockets.
But I'd definetely check ebay, craigslist and even pawn shops.. they're loaded with tools and you can usually bend them on the pricing.
If it were a year ago, Id agree. With Craftsman now Chinese, I dont know about that.
And at 50% off, I have to doubt that the snap-on or mac is much more $$$.
I worked with a master tech way back and most of his stuff was Craftsman. He said he didn't need to show off his tool bills. He saved the tool trucks for the specialty stuff that you couldn't get at Sears. There was no craigslist or internet back then.
I took his advice, and have a hoard of craftsman tools, only broke 1 ratchet and gently stripped the pawl on another. But the main rule..have a set of backups ready to go.. extra ratchet, common wrenches & sockets.
But I'd definetely check ebay, craigslist and even pawn shops.. they're loaded with tools and you can usually bend them on the pricing.
If it were a year ago, Id agree. With Craftsman now Chinese, I dont know about that.
And at 50% off, I have to doubt that the snap-on or mac is much more $$$.
Quote:
I worked with a master tech way back and most of his stuff was Craftsman.
Some of the old Craftsman stuff was excellent but today most of it either Chinese or bottom shelf US.
These tools are just not good enough for a pro or working mechanic.
I worked with a master tech way back and most of his stuff was Craftsman.
Some of the old Craftsman stuff was excellent but today most of it either Chinese or bottom shelf US.
These tools are just not good enough for a pro or working mechanic.
If the leftover US-made craftsman ratchets are anything like the Danahar-Kobalt I picked up a couple years back, with sticky 36 tooth mechanism, they should just grind their names off and dump them at Dollar tree. It literally felt as awful as the one in a Chinese "40 pc for $4" kit I bought in a pinch when I was literally on the side of the road.
Try the action out in the store. Some of the mega packs particularly those around father's day and xmas have really cheap ratchets locked behind the blister pack.
Try the action out in the store. Some of the mega packs particularly those around father's day and xmas have really cheap ratchets locked behind the blister pack.
I have heard pawn shops are good places to look for Snap On or Matco.
Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
well my ultimate plan was as follows. get credit card maybe sears or something and buy all the tools on it or most of what ill need. after i know when and how much student loan money im getting should be 3500. then use the loan to pay payments thus giving me much needed credit and ill have the money to pay the bill to guarantee good credit.
Sounds like a recipe for disaster in my opinion.
Immediately max out a credit card, that you don't have yet, with an unknown credit limit, (probably around $1000 or less), then pay off that loan with funds from a student loan?
Also, maxed out credit cards do not make for good credit scores, issuers get nervous you're going to default, hence the low initial credit lines.
If you have savings, as you say, buy a mechanics tool set from some poor guy on craigslist who changed his mind and is trying to liquidate it, often at a loss, or so they claim.
I've seen quite a few.
well my ultimate plan was as follows. get credit card maybe sears or something and buy all the tools on it or most of what ill need. after i know when and how much student loan money im getting should be 3500. then use the loan to pay payments thus giving me much needed credit and ill have the money to pay the bill to guarantee good credit.
Sounds like a recipe for disaster in my opinion.
Immediately max out a credit card, that you don't have yet, with an unknown credit limit, (probably around $1000 or less), then pay off that loan with funds from a student loan?
Also, maxed out credit cards do not make for good credit scores, issuers get nervous you're going to default, hence the low initial credit lines.
If you have savings, as you say, buy a mechanics tool set from some poor guy on craigslist who changed his mind and is trying to liquidate it, often at a loss, or so they claim.
I've seen quite a few.
im not just going to max the card out i will buy slowly overtime with student loan money. that way i build up credit. i may buy a bunch of tools from old mechanics ect but i am going to get a credit card to buy some on that way i can build credit
When you're first starting out, you should buy the lowest quality tools you can find. Get you some sloppy Indian
made tools. If you can't find Indian made tools, get you some nasty Chinese made tools from Harbor Freight.
made tools. If you can't find Indian made tools, get you some nasty Chinese made tools from Harbor Freight.
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