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.
In addition to the torque wrench, a breaker bar is helpful. You didn’t mention it but Allen wrenches are vital.
Also, all hail Harbor Freight. Great place to get cheap tools. If you don’t think you’ll use a power tool more than once a year, they have some great cheap shit too. They do have higher end power tools, but they have frequent sales so I would wait for one of those.
Otherwise, other tool choices come down to the type of work you’ll be doing. I do more wood stuff personally, but you sound more like a metal guy