28-10-2013, 12:30 PM
Unless you’re prepared to spend a lot of money in one go you can’t buy a decent tool kit, generally a proper tool kit is amassed over years and years, That said a cheap Aldi / Halfrauds kit is as good a place as any to start (everyone most start somewhere), once you’ve bought your basic kit you need somewhere to put it, IMHO a tool box is vital, the best tools in the world are no good if you can’t find them, my Snap-on top box is over 30 years old and is one of the best buys I’ve ever made, now I wouldn’t suggest you need to go out and buy Snap-on, for the professional yes but even for a keen DIY'er it’s overkill and that goes for the hand tools to, without doubt the premium brands like Snap-on, Britool, Beta etc make some of the best quality tools available, you only have to use say a Snap-on 3/8th ratchet to see and feel where the money goes but unless you are using them daily they aren’t worth it.
Since I stopped working on cars for a living I stopped buying expensive pro spec tools, and I have to say Halfauds Pro range, Clarke and Sealey make decent quality, good value tools which if bought as required over a period of time will make a fine tools kit, so a cheap basic kit, a tool box and (because your working on French cars you’ll definitely need a 16mm socket and combi spanner which almost certainly won’t be included in your starter tool kit, and as said in previous posts simply buy tools as required and gradually build up your kit, also watch out for special offers , sales etc motor factors often have ‘sale ‘ bins that can be worth a look, another good source of cheap tools is a car boot sale you often find decent gear for give away prices.
Quick word of warning re life time guarantees, it goes without saying premium companies like Snap-on, Britool, Beta, Facom etc will replace almost anything that breaks in normal use with no moaning or quibbles that’s partly where your money is going in the original price, but some of the mid level suppliers despite quoting a lifetime warranty have some exclusions e.g. I recently returned a 10mm rachet end combi to Halfaud, only to be told the moving parts ie the ratchet mechanism wasn’t covered, after a bit of moaning on my part they agreed as a show of good faith to replace it but said that the small print on the warranty specifically excluded moving parts and therefore they didn’t have to replace it, on the same day I returned a Clarke long handled 3/8th ratchet to Machine Mart and they replaced it without question so maybe all life time warrantees aren’t created equal.
Since I stopped working on cars for a living I stopped buying expensive pro spec tools, and I have to say Halfauds Pro range, Clarke and Sealey make decent quality, good value tools which if bought as required over a period of time will make a fine tools kit, so a cheap basic kit, a tool box and (because your working on French cars you’ll definitely need a 16mm socket and combi spanner which almost certainly won’t be included in your starter tool kit, and as said in previous posts simply buy tools as required and gradually build up your kit, also watch out for special offers , sales etc motor factors often have ‘sale ‘ bins that can be worth a look, another good source of cheap tools is a car boot sale you often find decent gear for give away prices.
Quick word of warning re life time guarantees, it goes without saying premium companies like Snap-on, Britool, Beta, Facom etc will replace almost anything that breaks in normal use with no moaning or quibbles that’s partly where your money is going in the original price, but some of the mid level suppliers despite quoting a lifetime warranty have some exclusions e.g. I recently returned a 10mm rachet end combi to Halfaud, only to be told the moving parts ie the ratchet mechanism wasn’t covered, after a bit of moaning on my part they agreed as a show of good faith to replace it but said that the small print on the warranty specifically excluded moving parts and therefore they didn’t have to replace it, on the same day I returned a Clarke long handled 3/8th ratchet to Machine Mart and they replaced it without question so maybe all life time warrantees aren’t created equal.