Moose-LandTran
Well-known member
Not only will it increase your productivity and the range of job you're equipped to do, but will also mean that should you start your own business in future you're well-equipped to do so.
I'm looking to start my own business now, and at 24 i have many more tools and much more equipment that mechs i know that are twice my age. After 6 years of working, i'm only short of a few big-money items like an air compressor and a diagnostic machine. (I work mainly on VWs and Audis and have Vag-Com, so that covers a great deal of what i work on.)
at the last const eq dealership i worked at we had a large shop, 16 in the shop, 5 service trucks, and 2 of us in the rebuild room.
we both bought a lot of "not so common" tools, obstruction wrenches, line sockets for HP fuel injection lines, multiples of common used sockets, and many OEM specific special tools, and fabricated tools to do specific jobs.
i was waiting on another mechanic to remove an injection pump so i could install new shaft seals, and reinstall it. ( he had already damaged 2 sets of new seals tying to do it himself.)
i went out in the shop to find out what was taking so long to get the lines and pump off, he was fighting with the HP lines at the injectors trying to get them loose. i returned with the proper line socket and loosened them for him.
"wow i've never seen one of those before, where'd you get it?"
tool truck showed up that afternoon, when he found out how much the socket was, he didnt buy it.
he needed one again a couple weeks later, and asked to borrow mine.
needless to say, he wasnt real happy with my response....
That sounds familiar!
I worked briefly for a friend who ran a large, busy, fast-paced workshop, mostly rebuilding crash damaged BMWs and Audis. He had a number of workshop rules, and in his workshop his rules were final.
You were allowed to borrow a tool 3 times, then you had to buy your own. Needless to say, very little was lent between techs, and they never had to search for lent out tools, or ask other techs for stuff.
If anything went missing, be it something that was shop-provided or owned by a mech, everyone had to buy one each. No-one stole anything, because it would only mean that they'd have to buy one anyway, if a shop-provided tool went missing, everyone had to buy one and the replacement shop tool would never go missing again, as no-one needed it!
Those were the two main rules over tools and equipment, it meant everyone was well-equipped and nothing ever went missing. He knew how to run his shop and manage his staff. There was no favoritism between staff either, repair orders for cars waiting to be fixed were all in the same place for anyone to take. The quicker you fixed one car, the quicker you got the next, and cars didn't que-jump, there was no gravy grabbing.
