Tools? What have you wasted your money on?

[Bren]

Looking through some of my tools I have bought stuff that has never been used - or used once.

However probably the biggest waste of money for me was my compressor. Don't get me wrong I do use it - but really only for it's ability to blow dust and filth away and inflate tyres. However at £400+ it was an expensive tyre inflator.

I do have some air tools but the cordless stuff is that good that the thought of having airline's trailing around does not appeal.

So what have you pissed your money away on?

[Dobloseven]

Probably a Halfords Advanced 3 tonne low profile trolley jack. It is a lovely thing, beautifully made, but so bloody big and heavy. It'd be great in a workshop environment, but when you've got to drag it out to use on the drive, no so much. Son has bought a house with a decent sized garage to work in and it's living there at the moment, after he borrowed it to do some jobs on his partners car. 

[Jazoli]

5 minutes ago, Dobloseven said:

Probably a Halfords Advanced 3 tonne low profile trolley jack. It is a lovely thing, beautifully made, but so bloody big and heavy. It'd be great in a workshop environment, but when you've got to drag it out to use on the drive, no so much. Son has bought a house with a decent sized garage to work in and it's living there at the moment, after he borrowed it to do some jobs on his partners car. 

Me too, it's great and makes jacking a car up so easily compared to the cheap shitty 1.5t jacks I've used for the last 30 years, it is a big heavy bugger though, I don't consider it a waste of money.

I've got lots of expensive tools I've only used once or twice, they were cheaper than paying a garage to fix my car/bike and they are always there if I do need them again, I do have about 7 paddock stands and no motorbike though!

[Asimo]

Halfords trolley jacks: the big one wouldn’t fit under any car I had and was ridiculously heavy. The small one was also stupidly heavy and died of leaks after not long. Both went into the scrap skip and good riddance.

And those bleeding brake bleeding kits. Utterly useless.

[RayMK]

A set of 3/8 drive crows foot wrenches. Used one of them once to reach a particularly awkward nut. I can't remember which car it was on but it did the trick.  Anything since, that has been that awkward, has gone straight to the local garage.

[grogee]

Bought @Kiltox's press. Haven't used it yet but I have tripped over it plenty, and it's currently in storage awaiting a new home to gather dust in.

One day I will smugly dust it off and use it though - one day...

[straightSix]

1 hour ago, Jazoli said:

Me too, it's great and makes jacking a car up so easily compared to the cheap shitty 1.5t jacks I've used for the last 30 years, it is a big heavy bugger though, I don't consider it a waste of money.

I've got lots of expensive tools I've only used once or twice, they were cheaper than paying a garage to fix my car/bike and they are always there if I do need them again, I do have about 7 paddock stands and no motorbike though!

Me three, only the SGS version. Destroyed my back living in a first floor flat having to lift it up and down the stairs

[sierraman]

I probably don’t use the compressor as much as I thought I would given the advances in power tool batteries. That said it’s been used for things I couldn’t have realistically used anything else, spraying work, breaking up a concrete pond in the rain with an air chisel, inflating a swimming pool, compressed air for cleaning a heat exchanger out, applying underseal/shutz... that’s before you get to tools that are comparably expensive to buy that are electrically powered such as a nail gun. There’s no way you’d get a Paslode for the £35 a 50mm nailer costs, ok the Paslode is cordless but if that’s not a requirement then it’s bye the bye. 

One tool I did once buy that was a bit shit was a CV Joint puller. But I won’t fuck about replacing joints not unless it’s one of the VAG type ones, a new driveshaft is sometimes (but not always!) more sense. 

[EyesWeldedShut]

Fancy tool for pulling the rear bushes off the wishbones on a R50 Bini in situ, Total 'mare to work with on a driveway and then I stripped the threads pulling the new bush in on one side. Total waste of time and money - scrap bin at the tip.

Learned me lesson - just drop the whole front subframe or pay the garage to do it.

[Mally]

1 hour ago, straightSix said:

Me three, only the SGS version. Destroyed my back living in a first floor flat having to lift it up and down the stairs

I've got a 3 ton SGS, bought it cheap on here though.

They do a good 2 ton one which is much easier to lift.

Edit, low profile both of them. Never buy a normal one.

[w00dy]

I've got a welder that I've never fired up and a welding mask still in the box. Finding the time to get some practice in when I ought to be doing more necessary work to the cars just hasn't happened. None of them need any welding done anyway.

[reb]

I've had a set of stubby ratchets for something like 3 years which are still in the shrinkwrap. That's more down to being preoccupied with life than a lack of usefulness though.

[chaseracer]

Secondhand Clarke hobby MIG welder.  Never used it.  Lent it to a mate about 15 years ago.  Never asked for it back!

[stuboy]

i got all the aldi compressor with tools and extension pipe.... all sitting under my stairs... plan was to move in with the missus when she got a place with garage or drive,  then ex decided she didn't want custody of the 13 son and so he with me and missus got given a house  with no drive or garage... but i begrudged to sell it

[sierraman]

A welder is one of those things you end up finding projects for. Once I’d bought one I decided I needed a steel gate to show off my welding prowess, about the first ‘essential’ job it’s had has been to weld a broken bed frame. Other than that it’s just been welding up broken tools, basic fabrication like a bracket etc.

Which despite what people will tell you, a gasless one is perfectly fine for. I’ll concede they’re wank for welding cars with but for knocking up two bits of 2mm steel once in a blue moon there’s no point spending £600 on a fucking Hobart or whatnot. 

[tooSavvy]

I'm 'looking', on FleeBay, at Stick welders.

£60 and I'm sure there's absolutely nothing I'd find it useful for.....

[Datsuncog]

Bought a full set of Draper square-section sump plug sockets, as I hadn't realised my Phase 1 Laguna didn't have a normal hex plug until I got it up on the ramps - and nowhere local would sell me the single socket I needed.

£35 for the set, just so I could get the damn oil changed that afternoon; used mebbe twice since.

I have no plans to own any further Lagunas.

[2316cc]

2 hours ago, w00dy said:

I've got a welder that I've never fired up and a welding mask still in the box. Finding the time to get some practice in when I ought to be doing more necessary work to the cars just hasn't happened. None of them need any welding done anyway.

You need a Land Rover!

[2316cc]

I bought one of those SGS 3 ton jacks a while back. It was a nightmare on the gravel drive at the time - what was I thinking? - but it’s come into its own now I have a garage with a flat(ish) floor. Definitely miles better than the tiny Halfords one I was using before. 

[sutty2006]

I bought this aux belt tool for doing belts on mk3 mondeo TDCi engines about 10 years ago. However my belts never needed changing. Never used it. Will exchange for more useful beer if anyone wants it. 
 

 

[Dobloseven]

6 hours ago, Dobloseven said:

Probably a Halfords Advanced 3 tonne low profile trolley jack. It is a lovely thing, beautifully made, but so bloody big and heavy. It'd be great in a workshop environment, but when you've got to drag it out to use on the drive, no so much. Son has bought a house with a decent sized garage to work in and it's living there at the moment, after he borrowed it to do some jobs on his partners car. 

Just after this, he was round at ours. Got a call from his partner to say she'd hit a kerb in her A3 and wrecked the tyre and possibly the wheel as well. He went straight out to her with a trolley jack and impact wrench from my garage. Messaged me to say the jack wouldn't go under, and he'd had to use the car one, whereas the low profile Halfords one would have done. Think I'm going to look for a low, light one and he can keep the other. 

[sierraman]

1 hour ago, sutty2006 said:

I bought this aux belt tool for doing belts on mk3 mondeo TDCi engines about 10 years ago. However my belts never needed changing. Never used it. Will exchange for more useful beer if anyone wants it. 
 

 

Even I’ve moved on from the Mk3!

[sutty2006]

24 minutes ago, sierraman said:

Even I’ve moved on from the Mk3!

And me. As much as I love them and think they’re a great car, they’re getting old now! 

[mrbenn]

Irwin extractor set - plus expansion pack. Never worked for me but probably operator error as I know they get excellent reviews.

[twosmoke300]

Deffo - they are great tools 

[sierraman]

15 minutes ago, sutty2006 said:

And me. As much as I love them and think they’re a great car, they’re getting old now! 

Most of them left are bollocksed TDCIs, I’m amazed there’s as many knocking about as there is given their propensity to chuck the glow plug light and limp home at the slightest sign of work. 

[MrBiscuits]

'One man' brake bleed gizmos. Must have about 3 of these, none worked for more than 5 minutes and all made a mess. Redundant now as I have a 9 year old who can just about follow instructions.

Gasless MIG. Bought from machine mart for the princely sum of £90 20+ years ago so my dad could weld up a mini I had at the time. No other car I've had since needed more than a tickle so it was too much agg. I think it has moved house more times than it's been powered up and is probably rusted solid.

[JMotor]

Have one or two useless tools that were a complete waste of money. 

Anyone want a Rover M series timing belt tool? Bought it thinking it would work on the later T series engines.... 

Yep. The pulleys were completely different. 

Even have a service reset thingy for an MG ZT/Rover 75. Only used once.