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.
Worth getting a multimeter and battery tester vs just a multimeter? Was planning on getting back into soldering and was thinking of just getting a good MM and using that for electric for home and car
The battery tester I have will put a load on the battery and calculate its life. It’s a bit different than a normal meter. I find it useful to know if my battery is good before I take a trip or once in a while, as it’s better to know more than just knowing the voltage of the battery. I don’t think it’s really necessary, but I find it useful and didn’t cost me too much.
A normal multimeter is great for thousands of things, even the cheapest harbor freight one is a great start. (you might find a coupon for it for free).