Like tinkering on cars? Start young.

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Apr 15, 2010
Messages
11,698
Location
Atlanta,GA
For the younger members.

Start acquiring tools/equipment bit by bit when you're young because taking up the hobby when older is an almost impossible task. You don't want to be like me sitting here knowing that you could save some money on maintenance but only if you amortized the cost of tools/equipment over the years.
 
Good advice. Firstly, purchase a good socket set and combination wrench set in both English and Metric sizes. Also get ramps, change pan, filter wrench, oil funnel and a set of safety wheel stops. Purchase a repair manual for the vehicles you're interested in. I'd recommend you start with your own oil changes.

Seek out friends who are dong the same.
smile.gif
 
Watch DIY YouTube videos. I can watch 2 or 3 videos on how to do something and learn more than any Chilton or Haines book I have. For the price the maintenance shops get these days you can buy the tools and do it yourself and still come out ahead. Buddy of mine just spent $900 on a brake booster and master cylinder repair. He crapped when I showed him he could of bought the parts for $150 and done it himself. Decent diagnostic tools cost $250 and will pay for itself in no time.
 
Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
Good advice. Firstly, purchase a good socket set and combination wrench set in both English and Metric sizes. Also get ramps, change pan, filter wrench, oil funnel and a set of safety wheel stops. Purchase a repair manual for the vehicles you're interested in. I'd recommend you start with your own oil changes.

Seek out friends who are dong the same.
smile.gif


I use bricks for wheel chocks . Source some jack stand & screw drivers .
 
Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
For the younger members.

Start acquiring tools/equipment bit by bit when you're young because taking up the hobby when older is an almost impossible task. You don't want to be like me sitting here knowing that you could save some money on maintenance but only if you amortized the cost of tools/equipment over the years.



I started young and am now replacing some of the tools I got years ago with better ones, mainly from Wright Tools.
 
For a wedding present my Dad got me a set of Craftsman tools. Combo wrenches. Sockets and deep sockets with drivers. I still have most of the set after 40 years. I have acquired a lot more tools but I still am grateful my dad thought to gift me such a great set of tools. Better than a set of pans or a toaster he could have got me.
 
I started out at about 12, helping around a repair shop that wasn't far from home. I rebuilt the engine and transmission (with guidance of course) on what would be my first car at 16. I had become a master tech by my early 20's. Without posting an autobiography, I eventually got out of consumer automotive repair.

That background has served me well in my hobby.
 
Last edited:
I still have my grandfathers' tools. And those of my late father.
Was frequently helping dad out in the garage whilst in grade (ne elementary) school. Never grew out of that.
And now each new car in the family begets another stash of specialty servicing tools, particularly the German marques.

Originally Posted by BMWTurboDzl
For the younger members....
Touché.
Alas, much beyond laptops and OBD-II readers our hobby seems to have escaped many of the next generation.
 
Sorry, my bad... The OP addressed this to younger members and I replied with how tools last a lifetime... I've asked the mods to delete it.
 
Originally Posted by RayCJ
I'm early 60's and my dad was an old-school tool & die maker. I grew-up in a machine shop and was using lathes & mills etc at an early age. If a parent allowed an 8 year old to run a 14x60 LeBlonde now, they'd go to jail for child neglect. Anyhow, I started collecting my own tools in the 6th grade.

Originally, I wanted to take machine shop class in high school but, the teacher (Mr. Mellman) and my father said no. I would be wasting my time. I was already journeyman-ready for mold-making and fully employable as a machinist. Instead, I took 4 years of auto mechanics and worked in a local Texaco repair shop after school the whole time. I worked at a dealership full time when I got out of high school and was later accepted into engineering school. Took night classes for years and went into a niche field (at that time).

I still have all my original mechanic tools (and a full machine shop). I've done 90% of my own auto repairs and 100% of all basic maintenance. Built all my own home additions too etc... The tools have paid for themselves many times over. I just wish I had a grand-kid to start teaching before I croak. FWIW, 2 of my grown sons are pretty handy. The 3rd is a lawyer and would poke his eye in no time if you handed him a screwdriver.

Ray



I thought your post very eloquent. It shouldn't be deleted. That they last a lifetime or longer is another reason to buy them and learn to use them and pass them to your heirs.
 
Last edited:
There's no sense in collecting tools if they have no desire to use them. I try to involve my kids when I'm doing basic maintenance on our cars. They don't have much interest in it at this point. I was fortunate to be able to shadow an older brother way back when he used to do major wrenching on 1970's vehicles.
 
I say the opposite, stay away from auto work as much as possible. Used oil causes skin cancer, chlorinated brake cleaner is toxic. I would start working on cars at least after the age of 25. Working with bondo and vapors will mess you up, especially if your young and dumb.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Vern_in_IL
I say the opposite, stay away from auto work as much as possible. Used oil causes skin cancer, chlorinated brake cleaner is toxic. I would start working on cars at least after the age of 25. Working with bondo and vapors will mess you up, especially if your young and dumb.


Huge difference in exposure between doing as a hobby and doing it professionally. Besides, there are plenty of ppe to keep you safe.
 
Originally Posted by sloinker
If you really want to make that investment stand up like a man! Get a lift.


For sure.

My vehicle is due for some maintenance I was just thinking, "[censored], if I had a (power bleeder, portable lift, torque wrench, cheapo laptop, some TORX).... I could just change out my (oil, brake fluid, spark plugs, ATF, etc)", Along with "If I had a history of doing this stuff then the tools would've paid for themselves, and my significant other wouldn't balk", then followed with the, "oh man, I could've upgraded my brakes and maybe even installed that LSD I always wanted".

I used to do my own maintenance but moved into an apartment in my late 20's and bought a car. The car was so low that I couldn't get under the vehicle to change my oil and I had no room for jack stands and a portable jack. After that I ended paying for maintenance or leasing.
 
Harbor freight has made the cost of entry so much lower compared to past. I got a Craftsmen mechanics massive set of tools in 6th grade and they come in handy.
 
Originally Posted by madRiver
Harbor freight has made the cost of entry so much lower compared to past. I got a Craftsmen mechanics massive set of tools in 6th grade and they come in handy.


Yea, $300 and we've got a full set of metric, SAE, and a decent jack+stands. Perfect for starting out or the weekend hobbyist.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top