21 replies to this topic

[willyg]

having just not long gotten into minis i dont really have any tools... i have been into mountain biking for years so got plenty of bike size tools but no car tools....
so basically what are good quality tool brands?
and where is cheapest to get them?

or if it turns out good quality ones are too expensive for me just now, where can i get tools cheapest in general? sure there was a link to a wicked tool shop through here at some point but cant find it now!
cheers

[mk3cortina]

machine mart are good, you can buy like a tool box set full of tools if you wish as the sets are cheaper than buying them on their own.

[Jordie]

ive used clarke stuff from machine mart before. Also bought some tools from amazon and ebay etc.

My mate as some spanners called HILKA. they are cheap looking at ebay prices etc, but they are really good spanners. Not quite on par with halfords pro or snap on etc, but better than silverline and draper etc.

I bought a halfords advanced pro 150piece socket and spanner kit at weekend for £99.99 at halfords. lifetime warranty.

[Jordie]

HILKA spanner set for example http://cgi.ebay.co.u...=item2a06427848

[njathind]

ive used clarke stuff from machine mart before. Also bought some tools from amazon and ebay etc.

My mate as some spanners called HILKA. they are cheap looking at ebay prices etc, but they are really good spanners. Not quite on par with halfords pro or snap on etc, but better than silverline and draper etc.

I bought a halfords advanced pro 150piece socket and spanner kit at weekend for £99.99 at halfords. lifetime warranty.

Ive had the same halfrauds set for a while, and I can't fault it, it's the best thing I've ever brought and so far have never had to leave a job half done thanks to not having the correct tool.

[BoboGib]

It all depends on how much money you have. Halfords Pro are good, clarke tools from Machine Mart
will do most DIY'ers. If you can afford quite a big outlay then get yourself on Teng.co.uk
You can get a full toolkit, and I mean full, for £2250. And they are profesional quality tools.
I have some stuff thats coming up for 12 years old and still going strong.

Teng

[alicetheauto]

My kit is all Halfords pro/advanced. Has a lifetime warranty on all non moving parts. Good stuff too, I have used breaker bars to pry all sorts of stuff around (I may have used one to accidentally shear off a subframe mount bolt....)

[sonikk4]

Try and get yourself a Halfords trade card and you will get quite a good discount of their tools.

I personally go for Snap on but only off ebay as you will pay a fortune from the dealers. I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised as to the quality of the Halfords Professional range much better than i expected.

Look out for Machinemart when they have their VAT free evenings, a very good time to buy tools especially the bigger items like welders, compressors etc.

Snapon/Bluepoint are cheaper than the usual Snap on items so look at these as well.

[Danpolk]

I also never had much money for tools before but bought a halfords set with some christmas money and you can definitely feel the difference! Halfords pro/advanced is all i will buy now. If your going to be using them a lot your better off investing in a decent set as opposed to buying several cheap ones because they keep breaking etc! If you keep your eye out the halfords sets are often on offer!

[handon]

halfords tools are rather good, bought a tool box thing from there for about £125 and all the tools are top quality

[bcjames]

I use snap on these days, but before that I used halfords pro. It's decent stuff, although not the smoothest or strongest, is good for some weekend work, and you can warranty things easily, not so with snap-on! In the end I kept flaring the jaws on spanners so upgraded, but my replaced halfords stuff lives in my portable box and still gets a fair bit of use.

[grumpy2]

I use snap on these days, but before that I used halfords pro. It's decent stuff, although not the smoothest or strongest, is good for some weekend work, and you can warranty things easily, not so with snap-on! In the end I kept flaring the jaws on spanners so upgraded, but my replaced halfords stuff lives in my portable box and still gets a fair bit of use.

Halfords stuff is quite good but I won't buy their stuff any more on principle after they wouldn't honour their gaurantee as I didn't have the original reciept!
Bought Machine MArt stuff ever since and had no problems, always buy on VAT free days

G

[valve bounce]

i work in a peugeot main dealership and at work the main of my stuff is snap on, i only but it when its on special offer tho. from home use halfords does the job, for example my 1/4 snap on socket set i hve at work was £160+ vat and the little halfords set a home was £19

[bcjames]

I use snap on these days, but before that I used halfords pro. It's decent stuff, although not the smoothest or strongest, is good for some weekend work, and you can warranty things easily, not so with snap-on! In the end I kept flaring the jaws on spanners so upgraded, but my replaced halfords stuff lives in my portable box and still gets a fair bit of use.

Halfords stuff is quite good but I won't buy their stuff any more on principle after they wouldn't honour their gaurantee as I didn't have the original reciept!
Bought Machine MArt stuff ever since and had no problems, always buy on VAT free days

G

I just kept on at them about it and the opened a new imperial set for me, as they don't sell single ones, and gave me it. Apparently he had to call some hq to get it cleared.

[crazycoleman118]

sykes pickvant, bergen and us pro tools are all good quality tools... (sykes made one of the older flywheel pullers for a mini so theyve been around a while)... but i tend to buy a mix of all.. including some snap on.. snapons ratchets are really good and have outlasted anyother makes, and there alot cheaper then the snap on man on ebay