Despite the need to use the word in the title, just because… I want to ask a perplexing question:
Is it possible to be able to fix anything on your vehicle, knowing that you will never need to use a professional garage for a repair?
The perplexity of this is about the tools that are used. I was recently discussing the need for different tools for different jobs. This led onto the fact that there is often need for ‘model specific’ utensils. This might be to reach a part of the engine that no other tool can, or it might be a certain screw-head. I seem to remember that as a kid, people didn’t really have Torx drivers. At least not as a norm. They were often professional items or specific to a manufacturer. Panel clips could even be deemed as a special fixing. Now, we have access to boxes of them. Most tools are now available, including engine management computers and fault finders.
Is it still the case that there are tools that only the garage has access to? I do believe that the tools that were specialist, have now been opened up to third-party tool makers. If that is the case, then there will be modern tools that are still not. As new fitting concepts and under the bonnet snippets are changed, the need for new tools is apparent; the manufactures will have them made and distributed to select places. In time, they will be out there and offered to home-garages.
So, the question is answered! Depending on what vehicle you are repairing, it may then determine whether you’ll need the pros. By default, that means the older the car, the likelier you won’t need anybody else’s help. The simplicity of an old engine like a VW Flat-Four, only needs a screwdriver and 10, 13 and possibly 17mm spanners. An old Bentley, will need significantly more. I wonder what tools will be moved into the public sector, next? Perhaps there’s a tool that will be designed and made by you?
