I took my wife’s car into the dealership for a warranty a few weeks ago and while they were checking stuff, they said the car needed 1300 dollars of work (piston soak and replace some transmission parts). I ended up doing the soak with my grandpa and took it to a shop for the transmission (wasnt even an issue, just a rivot replacement on a wheel well cover) and ended up saving 700 dollars after accounting for tools, jacks, jack stands, etc.
I want to start working on my own cars for things that can be done easily without expensive specialized tools, and I might be buying a house in the next year. I just want to start getting a decent collection of tools to hopefully save money in the long run.
I currently have a huge range of screwdrivers, soldering equipment, plyer set, socket set, file set, wire cutters and a small tool kit with some misc stuff.
I am mainly looking towards a torque wrench and a good spanner/wrench set, but looking for suggestions on what to get. Holding off on power tools until I wrap my head around brands and batteries.
Depending on what you’re working on you’ll end up needing more tools. If it’s something you’ll do a lot of, especially if it’s easy, then it’s easily worth buying. Like if you plan on doing your own brakes, having a caliper spreader and in doing a tune up you’ll want to grab a spark plug socket. You can also borrow tools from places like auto zone in it’s a one time tool or maybe once every few years.
Having a good set of sockets, both metric and English. Someone mentioned an impact driver. Ramps, chaulks, car jack stands (never rely on just the jack), trouble light, pliers, some wire brushes, battery terminal cleaner, can of pb blaster, shop rags, a tub for catching your oil, a couple of funnels, oil filter wrench, vice grips, pry bar, breaker bar… These are things that come to mind that I’ve used over and over again.
Some other things: A good copy of the Haynes manual for your car. Don’t be afraid to make notes in it. An error code reader is always nice. And there are some things to consider like a heat gun which you can use on hoses and honestly is just good to have around the house. Having a good space where you can continue working if it gets rainy or cold is very nice. At least having some sort of portable canopy is handy. And don’t forget to take lots of pictures along the way, especially if it’s something new. So you phone with a good camera. A creeper is nice as well.
My local library gives us access to Chilton online with just a library card. I can access it from home.
Better than the Haynes manual, buy the factory service manual - they are generally $200 or so, but they are so much better than Haynes that it is worth the cost.