garfunkle

In the process of moving, a lot of my tools vanished... I was in a carport and now have a proper garage so don't mind investing. I rand across this sale and wondering if there is a compelling reason to hold out for a larger "kit" to go on sale. Thoughts? I'm a 5 out of 10 DIYer and still have a lot to learn.

https://sonictoolsusa.com/s12-tools-533-pcs/

Rich_Jenkins

Holy smokes, $4,500 for a chest and basic kit?! Wow.

I guess it depends on what you have in mind in so far as DIY to the car? So for example, if you plan to do a basic oil change on a 991.2, there'd only be a few items you'd need, some of which would not be in a basic tool kit (e.g. 1/2" drive 36mm socket for the oil filter). There's a special VW tool for the polymer 1/2 turn oil filter sump plug, but the service manual shows the same thing being turned by a 2 Euro coin.

So I'd say the tool kit kinda depends on what you want to use it for.

garfunkle

https://sonictoolsusa.com/search-results-page?q=sale

They have a few kits on mega sale right now. Would like to have some things that are organized and will last forever. My lost/stolen inventory was a mish mosh of things I picked up over the years in the the middle of a job - some of which were bought in anger haha.

Rich_Jenkins

Ok, gotcha. Well if that set works for you, it certainly seems complete.

My perspective is I sold the big house years ago and retired from Corporate 1.0. I spent about three years extended travel in an RV across the US and Canada. After getting bored, I went back to work for another couple years at a mid-tier ($4B sales) aerospace international. I recently retired (for good this time) and am now in a small apartment, just me the wife and the dog and the 991.2. So, "for me", I get by with a very minimum footprint. My goal is to have what I need to do the minor services on my cars; oil and filter change, MT/Diff, fuel filter, brakes, etc. I'm not a mechanic by any stretch, just a random DIY guy. I'm not able to do a lot of gymnastics under the car these days, so likely will leave things like plug changes to an Indy or the dealer. My sources are Harbor Freight for kinetic tools, or tools that don't need a lot of precision, Kobalt or Craftsman for most anything mid-range, and Amazon. I avoid Snap-on because I want to keep my kidneys. I keep my stuff in small various size IKEA "Samla" lidded clear plastic tote containers, which are cheap and stack pretty well on shelves.

Off the top of my head, I have:

Basics
- Sockets: A few basic 3/8" socket ratchet driver sets, e.g. hex socket set to 19mm (Craftsman), Torx socket set to T55 (HF), Allen key set to 11mm, and a 1/2" to 3.8" socket adapter set
- Wrenches: Metric box end combination set 8mm to 19mm, Crescent Wrenches 6" and 8" (Craftsman)
- Another 10mm box end because I am forever losing the damn thing
- Hand tools: Channel locks, Dykes, needle nose, electrical, Lineman's (Various)
- Couple small pin punches
- Set Torx T handle drivers (HF)
- Set Allen keys metric (forgot)
- Various precision tools e.g. Torx driver set, down to T5 (Kobalt); electronic Tire Pressure gauge (Slime), Tire Tread Depth Tool (I bought in the UK and have had forever)
- 2 lb dead blow hammer (HF)
- 1 lb steel claw hammer (Kobalt)
- Set Picquic Screwdrivers
- Set Phillips/Flatblades, down to 1/8" and P1 (HF)

Cordless Tools
- $150 1/2" electronic Torque Wrench (Gearwrench)
- 20V cordless 1/2" drive impact wrench (VonHaus brand, $100, bought off Amazon)
- 3/8" cordless drill/driver and attachments (Hitachi)

Unique to the 911
- 19mm no-mar protected sleeve wheel bolt impact drive socket, 1/2" (ABN brand, bought off Amazon)
- 36mm 1/2" drive socket (Kobalt I think)



Hope this helps. Like I said, depends on what fits your situation best; but the above works for me. Good luck!

mgordon18

Holy smokes, indeed! That's a lot of tools. Is that set somehow tailored to Porsches? The "S" on the logo is the Porsche "S."

+1 to Rich says, above. For example, I do brake pads, rotors, brake fluid, wheels, engine filters, oil changes, battery change, and some interior fixes when the dealership screws up. I was about to try my luck with a spark plug change but stopped short when the dealership told me it was already done as part of the CPO.

I have about 1/10th the number of tools and bits that your set, above, has. I'm thinking it's overkill. Extremely cool, but overkill.

Also note that it looks to be metric-only, so depending on what other stuff you want to work on besides the P-car, you might not have the right sizes. If you spend that much money, you shouldn't have to buy another tool in your life unless it's some specialty item like a center-lock wheel torque wrench or something.

garfunkle

They do have a VW/Audi kit that is tailored more to us but - it's not on sale search "Sale" and there are some smaller kits out there for ~50% off from Sonic!

VA951

Credit card?

Hurricane

And this:

garfunkle

It's not cheap.... but most exhausts cost more than this and it will last forever. A set of headers with cats - same cost as this. Let not pretend like people here can't afford it - its just maybe not a priority and I get that.

VA951

Yep, I'm with you. I have a 2 post lift in my garage so you can probably guess where I land on this.

vodkag

Basically anything from my old craftsman socket set to everything that I have slowly collected over the years from working on my Mercedes, BMWs, Audis and motorcycles besides the P-cars....

Jim M.

I agree with all of the above. I think that's a great price for what you get and it's very well organized. I'm not familiar with Sonic, so I can't comment on their quality.

Hurricane

Oh, no, I am not criticizing you at all - I would LOVE to have a tool kit like that. It isn't that I cannot afford tools it is that my skill set is limited and I probably wouldn't get nearly much use out of them.

I would love to work more on cars someday but I just don't have a lot of time. Well, in a normal world I wouldn't have a lot of time. I have more time now than before since I don't have to do a two hour commute each way to work LOL.

Shoot, maybe I do need to invest in a nice tool set hahaha!

LargePuppy

I too never heard of Sonic before I went down the DIY rabbit hole and learned that it's one of the higher end brands for tools - good quality, warranty, service, but comes with a price of course. I'd LOVE to have a set of Sonic Tools, but for now I'm happily wrenching away with the Fisher Price of tools... Husky

Works well enough, they take a beating, but not too much - they'll get the job done, but you know the number of jobs they can do in the tool set's lifespan is very limited. Will definitely get the Sonic set with toolbox once I refinish the garage this summer

garfunkle

Most of their tools are rebranded NWS - made in Germany and very nice and very high quality.