In my humble opinion, the following list of hand tools would be a good starting point for an advanced level mechanics. I also suggesting doing your homework on tool value. I have purchased many of my tools from eBay, Craigslist, OfferUp, Close5, and garage sales. I have made awesome purchases and have made not so great purchases. That will happen to you as well, but do your homework and the probability is reduced.
As you gain experience and want to take on more advanced tasks, your tool set will definately increase and tend to specialize.
For example, I have a great deal of brake oriented speciality tools.
In some cases, you'll want to rent or borrow them from NAPA or AutoZone.
Other times, you'll want to purchase the tools you'll need.
In addition, as you need more speciality tools, they will become harder to find and will cost more.
Note: For people serving our country, they can usually leverage a garage on base with experienced people present.
| Intermediate Tool Set | Automotive Oscilloscope | Incandescent Test Light - ~200 mA |
| Incandescent Test Light - ~350 mA | Smoke Machine | Propane Wand |
| T-Pins/Back Probes | Fuel Pressure Kit | Back Pressue Kit |
| Clamp On Amp Probes | Noid Kit | Solenoid Kit |
| 5K Resistor Jumper | Compression Test Kit | Water Spray Bottle |
| Automotive Logic Probe | Graphing Scan Tool | Speciality tools based on job |