Decent Tools for decent price

Greyhound_Man

A few years ago I bought a really cheap socket/spanner set, and while it has done me ok, they are starting to frustrate me as they are really not that good.

I am starting to do a reasonable amount of basic/intermediate car maintenance and want to start building up a reasonable set of tools.

I do not have a particularly large budget, but i am happy to build up a set over time rather than going out and spending hundreds on the whole kit!

A friend of mine suggested Halfords own brand are fairly good and not too expensive, but I was wondering whether anyone had any suggestions for what is good and what is not.

Cheers in advance,
James

Tom_Jones

For basic car maintanance I would say a good set from Halfords would suffice, but have a look on Screwfix as they offer good car mechanics tools

https://www.screwfix.com

jake_bullet_2

I'd take your time and buy good stuff, years ago I had some mid price stuff and it wasn't bad, I made the switch after trying to remove a particularly stubborn propshaft bolt and the spanner snapped in half causing the very sore knuckles! I went out and bought Britool, the difference was remarkable, 10 years on and it's still great.

I bought a spanner or socket every week, took a bit of time but it really was worth the extra.

I chose Britool but there are several comparable brands. I think Halfords have a pro range which might be made by SP and they also have Facom which I think are the same group as Britool these days.

N9eav

A bit of a stupid reply, BUT. Go to the USA and buy a set of Craftsman tools from SEARS. Best tools I ever bought at Sunday market prices. But then again you need Air tickets first. Over here just get a few new every week and avoid the huge sets full of stuff you will never use. The above advice seems good. (Facom is the French Snap-on quality stuff)

Party_Animal

There are some things you just can't get cheap and cheap socket sets can do more harm than good. A good set will last for ever and you'll never see a mechanic using cheap tools.

basill

I would recommend a look at the Halfords professional range, very good quality, there is a huge range and its guaranteed for life of original owner.
To allow for a little moneysaving, rather than buy a huge set just go for the ones you know you use often first then top up a few bits at a time at a time.

Everyone has a Halfords nearby and at the monemt they seem to be having a bit of a clearout, you might get a nice toolchest or something cheap too.


Basill

Baz_Bee_2

Good sockets sets are a must. I have had mine for over 30 years and still going strong and it has taken some abuse in that time.

For some advice you may want to check out the Auto Express web site. They do product tests every week in their magazine and they have featured sockets sets. The link is:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/

Then on the menu on the left hand side click product tests and then on the right hand side of the screen scroll down the list of all products to socket sets.

Greyhound_Man

Thanks for all of this - is much appreciated.

My brother has actually just today given me a set of Elora sockets that he picked up for a fiver at a boat equivilant of a car boot sale. He seems to be able to pick out bargains like that - jammy bloke!

Think I will start to invest in the best I can afford a little at a time. Think it is not worth buying a full set of everything as some of you have pointed out (as tempting as a shiney new set is...).

Will look into the makes people have mentioned. Are there any others that folks recommend.

Cheers again
James

Malestrom

I've had some good experiences with Draper Expert and Teng Tools. We get supplied Teng stuff by work and it gets a lot of abuse from some of the chimps there but takes it pretty well. My personal favourite is SnapOn and i've bought a little of it for my own personal use but its ridiculously priced. However, it is superb quality. Don't ever buy Kamasa though, its the stuff of christmas cracker reputation and horrible to use.

katiepops_2

Greyhound Man, have you tried Toolman?? It's on the Coventry Road, about halfway between the Swan Island and the Wheatsheaf. Their prices and the quality is excellent. We always look there first when we need anything - tool heaven!

Kate

BobRobUK

Try Clarke tools from http://www.machinemart.co.uk/.
Very cheap with bonus of a lifetime warranty, the Pro range is best.

Regards
Bob