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by : Henry Jalbert

As my passion for cars grew I began to learn how to work on cars as Cosmo and I broke our cars or worked on his E36 Drift Car. I had no idea how to work on cars when I started but now I have done some fairly complex jobs like pulling a transmission out of a dumptruck, and replacing a turbo and fuel injectors on my WRX. As I have done more work I have figured out what tools I love to use and that using the right tool makes the job ten times easier. 

I always buy the best quality tool I can afford and I have never regretted it. High quality tools are durable and get the job done when you need them to most. While I would love to have a full Snap-On Tool box complete with sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers, ratchets and more it doesn’t make sense to purchase those tools when I could get more for less. Here are some of the tools I love to use that won’t break the bank if you are new to working on cars. 

The meat and potatoes of your tools is your ratchets and socket sets. It is the best place to start when encountering a new job and can get you out of most situation. A great beginner socket set is the Milwaukee 3/8 socket set. 3/8 drive is the place to start as it is big enough to handle most jobs but will still fit in small places. Another option is the Gearwrench set that gets you similar tools for just a bit less.
The next major item to have is a good set of wrenches. A nice set of Metric wrenches will work on almost any new car and can get bolts free that your socket doesn't fit on. A great set to start is the Tekton metric wrench set. It has sizes 8-22mm and this will take care of almost any bolt you encounter. Another type of wrench is ratcheting wrenches, these are extremely helpful when you can't turn your normal box end wrench. A great set is the gear wrench set.
I would highly suggest a nice set of screwdrivers with many sizes to get started. Screwdrivers are crucial to have when you run into a screw while working on your car. Many sizes allow you to gain access to it without having to worry about obstructions that might be in the way. A great set of screwdrivers I recommend is______.
Finally to round out your beginner mechanic set of tools I recommend a nice set of pliers to grab anything that you might need. Pliers are great to undo hose clamps, grab bolts, or hold onto anything you might need. Here is a good set that gets you a little bit of everything.

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Our story

The inception of HCA Detailing and how we started our mobile detailing business.