mani Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 I had to think long and hard if this was O/T or G/D so my mind said it was G/D anyhoo, I took my wife's car for its MOT today and got chatting with the garage owner, when i told him i could do all mechanical work and was looking for a job he offered to put me through a MOT tester course and hire me. now i have a few things i need advise with. firstly...where's the best place to buy tools from. secondly (THIS IS IMPORTANT) I want to buy a engine code reader for various applications. which is the best tool to buy. i cannot spend more than say £40-£50. are our celica's OBD-II ?? i saw this on e-bay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370563600325 I need advise quick. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Red Celica Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 Congrats on the Job offer. What tools do you need? Halfords do a pro range. But if I had the money I'd have a set of Snap On tools. Gen7's have OBD11's and some of the very late Gen6's JDM fitted with Beams engines. Most Toyotas from '99 on have OBD11's to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaungt4 Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 As statted this will fit cars from 2001 as the plug type became standard .Toyota from 99 on But it would not fit my older gen 5 as it has a older type plug like this . I stand to be corected if i'm wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggy Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 snap on is what i have,and i have some from when i was 16 and it's still fine..I also have some mac tools.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azza1984 Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 yeah halfords proffesional kits are nice and they come with good warrantys ( except on the ratchets ) ive had mine a while bought it when it was onsale and none of them have broken or bent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sh3p Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 Also 2nd the Halfords "Advanced" range formally the professional range guaranteed for life & whoever you speak to if you should break anything don't care if you have maybe been a little over zealous with it, unlike the snap-on representative who i believe will have to send it back to get the warranty & he will always try to sell you more, sry but seen too many take advantage of young apprentices ( not that you are) & put them in debt for tools they just don't need:( That all said they are good tools but have had my Halfords professional socket set for 13yrs+ & still going strong used in forklift industry daily Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoryK Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 ODB2 - Scoobie world do a cracking handset for 50 bucks http://www.scoobyworld.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=280&products_id=1831 Oh, wait they bumped the price up :/ I have that one though and got it for 50 quid a couple of months ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndps Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 Snap on are the best available for fit and long term performance. They tend not to break in the first place. Lifetime guarantee, but not their mugs. Halfords pro have lifetime guarantee but the moving parts so ratchets, no, but most managers WILL replace if you are decent with them. Various others are very good, Facom, Britool, Draper, Mac etc. Diagnostics? Now there's a minefield. NO MACHINE will read all cars. Some read more codes on more cars than others. I have a Launch c reader 5, reads most of the modern cars that I see, most functions. Recommended by my MOT station who did a lot of research on the things, they also have the big X431, almost 3k worth. C reader 5 is abot £60. There is a C reader 6 about £120, colour screen and supposedly faster, but for what I need the machine for, the 5 is fine. Doesn't read Gen 6 Celica, dunno if anything does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ams Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 buy snap-on - buy their spanners and sockets- you can put a 4 foot pipe on a 10inch spanner and it wont break, expensive but well worth the money - they will last you a lifetime. Wouldn't buy their air tools though - have 4 air guns at a cost of £400+ each all packed up within 2 years - they wont repair them or swap them, now resorted to buying £100 air guns and if they last a year then ill just replace them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hyper-wrap Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 Halfords pro stuff is very very good, I've had my kit for over a year now and the only bit that has got any damage on it is one of the hex bits....but I was BRUTALLY rough with it...and it doesn't matter as you get a life time guarantee to replace any bits that break. So I'd go down that route and save yerself a few quid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aftershock Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 I got the Halfords Advance range last time it was on sale, very impressed with it and i;ve been quite harsh with it while fixing up an old tractor over the summer and it coped with everything, only thing that has broken is the case hmm wonder if halfords will replace that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joffryjones Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 I work for a tool hire and sale company we can get great discounts for you on most makes mate Pm me with what your looking for and i can get a quote for you. That goes for anyone else aswell 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joffryjones Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 (edited) buy snap-on - buy their spanners and sockets- you can put a 4 foot pipe on a 10inch spanner and it wont break, expensive but well worth the money - they will last you a lifetime. Wouldn't buy their air tools though - have 4 air guns at a cost of £400+ each all packed up within 2 years - they wont repair them or swap them, now resorted to buying £100 air guns and if they last a year then ill just replace them. thats why you need a chicago pneumatics air gun Edited December 6, 2011 by joffryjones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chameleon Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 Snap on all the way, had blue point at one time which ive heard is basically snap on but they just didnt seem to last :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Clogwyn Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 (edited) Halfords Pro Kit is good stuff, however it is not especially comprehensive. I bought Draper Expert sets because they had a better range and although they have taken a beating and professional use, they still don't get Extreme abuse, so are fine for my purposes. I think if you're looking at this as an investement then Snap on or Elora for the more exotic stuff and halfords for the general use? You can never bhave enough 8mm, 10mm or 17mm sockets, and spanners - they're alwyas the ones that go missing! Edited December 6, 2011 by Alan Clogwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mani Posted December 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 thanks for all the replies guys. i am gonna get a list together now for tools. and what about this for the diagnostic tool http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Universal-Diagnostic-Code-Reader-Engine-Scanner-Tool-/290635482141?pt=UK_Diagnostic_Tools_Equipment&hash=item43ab39841d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briano Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 always found halfords actuall sockets to be good but the ratchets are pants. I have a few snap-on ratchets and a mix of spanners and socketsets pretty sure i have at least 5 10mm sockets also im sure someone else was talking about tools recently......dont buy a cheap breaker bar make sure you get a good quality one Also mani good luck budy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndps Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 The diag reader looks fine, but don't think it's Universal, as stated. No one machine will read all cars. No one machine will access all areas of car. eg, my C Reader does not recognise Rover 25 2002 model, but when you tell the machine to clear the engine management light it does it. My mate gave a me £180 Autel, it cannot see the Rover and can't reset the light. The Autel works with more cars though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celica73 Posted December 6, 2011 Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 is the job just for mot testing?? if so then you wont need any tools to just do mot's. Also have you any motor trade qualifications?? as i'm pretty sure you will need some to take the nominated tester course with vosa. Also from one of the posts above, i wouldn't buy anything from scoobyworld as i've just been made redundant from there so i dont reckon they'll be going for much longer so you wont have much of a warranty if they aren't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mani Posted December 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 yea am going for an MOT tester, but i will also be doing mechanical work. I spoke to the garage owner and he said as i have a degree in automotive engineering, i only need to take a one day training course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts