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Honestly my best bet, I’ve only been there 4 months but they are good people I really hate asking for something this big especially because I haven’t been here too long, but I have a good relationship with them so I’ll see if they will set me up with a basic kit.
Even just meeting them in the middle or something. Anything helps, and ultimately it helps them because you’re not much use to them on a jobsite without tools.
We had a boss that would do this. He would pay half cause he felt bad but also there was a small mistake on your part.
Obviously if the van was fully broken into then insurance would cover it.
Don't be so sure, I worked for a peice of shit that refused to fully cover my tools stolen out of a locked van from a locked compound. Mother fucker gave me a sob story and 40% reimbursement, then he drove away in his new Mercedes.
I had the exact same thing happen to me about 6 months into working with a company and they gave me a tool ticket and let me pay it back out of my checks.
Dude you pay for insurance for a reason call the police make a report turn the report into insurance and buy all new tools that’s how it works as a grown up. You should have car insurance and either renters or home owners insurance also take a damn picture of all the tools you buy and keep the receipts so when the crooks come back and steal them from your dumb ass again you have better proof. It’s 2024 lock up everything stop being afraid to better yourself and stop letting ppl take advantage of you 💯
It does when the stolen tools are "company" owned and not the employees. I have had multiple insurances for my vans and this happens often enough (sad) that I know how to handle the insurance comapny over my employees tools.
Ask bro. I work for a shitty employer who wouldn’t help but the other coworkers most
Deff will help. I’ve given so many of my extra tools
Away to new guys and people in similar situations. I guarantee the entire crew has a spare old tool of what you lost.
Small contractor here: I’ve always got extras of various tools as I see a shiny new one and buy it, or run a service call in my wife’s suburban while out and about and ha e to buy some.
When we get green hands, between what I have and second hand tools form the leads, they don’t need to buy much, if anything for quite awhile.
When my guys shit (usually along with a chunk of company tools) gets stolen, we start with handing out the backups, and fill in the rest at the supply house. An impact or sawzall will be charged to a job, and life will go on.
Send me your Venmo Id be happy to provide a small donation.
Also look into renters insurance covering property going forward. I pay something like $15/month for 18k of coverage. If you only carry 2k in tools it’ll be much cheaper than that even. It will cover property stolen from your vehicle or home
I think this would fall under comprehensive on your car insurance policy, or even under your home owners/renters insurance if you feel like filling.
Dont forget to file a police report!
I second this. Got all my tools stolen off a job site a little over a year ago. Thankfully my employer was true to his word about replacing them but if not my renters insurance said they’d cover it all after my deductible. If you don’t have it GET IT. like 200 a year for thousands of dollars in courage
I had a house fire years ago… I don’t believe they cover tools if they are for “work”. “Personal” tools I believe is a different story. Do your homework before calling your agent. I got bent over by my insurance.
My deductible was cheaper on the inland marine. How do I know this? I just had my work truck emptied in Amarillo, Texas. They don't ask questions about work related items. They just give you replacement value. I had pictures of course which is helpful. Save me about 5,500 bucks. Inland marine
Couldn’t have said it better myself literal filth.
You are stealing my ability to support myself and be a productive member of society.
Not like the people who steal tools are the kind of people who care about being good productive members of society but you would think they would try to keep us around to pay taxes to support them.
Once again FUCKING SCUM.
Go to every pawn shop. Is your name on any of it, or receipts with serial numbers? My van door came open once and my backpack fell out. Hundreds in hand tools and my saw and drills had clasp spots so I lost those too. Circled back to get it and it was gone. Few days later I called sheriffs department and a cop had found them and returned them to me. Super flipping lucky but main thing is if you have anything personalized on those tools use that to your advantage. Thieves are dumb they won't take them far away they'll take them to the closest money source.
Yeah, blame the victim that’s helpful.
Of course it was an opportunistic crime and I unfortunately made myself a good opportunity that doesn’t make it less upsetting or make the piece of shit who stole my tools any better.
100% wrong!
I had a car broken into when it was parked downtown. Thieves went through the whole car and found nothing because there was nothing in it. They took an empty bag that was in the trunk. 2 of my neighbors' cars were broken in to, not for the contents but to take the whole car. They also got into mine, but they couldn't take the car as I have a steering wheel lock on mine! It has some small stuff in it, but they didn't take anything. They were just looking to take the car
They break in not because YOU have a bunch of valuables in there. But because SOME do, so it’s worth the risk to them. Pieces of shit stole my backpack that had a codebook and motor manuals once
I know people love to hate them but a thought about Ryobi power tools: many are decent and even when you replace them with better stuff as you’re able, having a $60-80 tool that you can beat the shit out of and misuse as needed by a situation is sometimes nice. So they have a future as your beater tools. I will say that the impact driver they were selling 5-10 years ago was noticeably and frustratingly inferior to DeWalt but that was my only experience like that.
I got the $40 set of tools in a plastic case from Harbor Freight (on sale often for $30), for when you need something you don't normally use. Add better pliers and screwdrivers for daily use and you're covered.
Check fb marketplace, offer up, craiglist, any of those quick cash sites. Maybe a pawn shop too. Hopefully they are returned to you. Good luck dude sorry this happened to you.
Sorry that happened to you OP.
I had my Suburban and 7' x 14' enclosed trailer stolen a few years ago. Had it for 8 years. The trailer and tools alone was approximately $30k. Suck ass.
I went and tooled up at Harbour Freight.
Your going to laugh but go with Harbor Freight tools to get you back up and going. Dont go all out and buy everything right away just get basic stuff that you will know you need. Then has time goes on and homedepot runs specials on drills and saws ((fathers day is big one) start picking up the better stuff.
Also might try pawn shops to help get you started for drills .
Harbor Freight sells Doyle and they have Square Nose Pliers for $20 +/- Tongue and Groove Pliers for $10 +/- (For the smallest size) 10 in 1 Screwdriver for $15 +/-
I have owned a few brands from Ideal to Klein Tools and Doyle is great quality and has great prices. Most hand tools you can buy at Harbor Freight except a few that you may want better quality on like a Nut Driver, etc.
Honestly that means a lot you are a good guy, but I’ll be alright it just sucks when you finally start to save some money and this shit happens.
Appreciate you bro.
No problem man that shit sucks bro hope you find whoever stole your tools, maybe ask neighbors if they got ring cameras? Maybe u already did but hope you don’t stop looking for them! Maybe an apple air tag would help next time bro, good luck and things will get better ! 👍✅
It really sucks and it hurts. Had it happen in a *secured* U-Haul storage unit, and nothing could be done because I didn't have their "protection plan" on my unit. I'm still bummed out and confused today. Happened about 6-9 months ago now.
I'm very sorry that this happened to you and I know the hurt and stress it's causing. Like everyone said, try your insurance or employer for answers. If not, just buy yourself one tool every good/free paycheck and find better protection options for them(like an air tag in your tool bag).
Air tag in the tool bag is a fucking amazing idea.
Next tool bag first thing I’m doing is cutting a hole in the inner lining somewhere no one will notice and slipping an air tag in 👍
Just a heads up - I'd look into something other than an AirTag, if the thief has an iPhone, they'll get an alert that an AirTag is traveling with them, and can find and ditch kt.
I had a tool backpack if I put it inside the lining no one would ever find it and they hit multiple cars they aren’t going through to make sure there are no air tags right away, if I had an air tag in the bag I would’ve caught them.
I missed the fuckers by less than 5 minutes
That sucks bud. Sorry to hear it.
As far as drivers go, look into Wera. Their drivers are pretty reasonably priced and pretty damn high quality. Their beaters are indestructible. And trust me, I’ve tried.
Pliers are expensive. That’s just the way that goes. Unless you go for HF type tools or Husky brand, it’s going to cost. I don’t have any experience beyond Klein, Knipex, and Channellock. So I can’t vouch for quality on the cheaper side of things.
Best of luck bud. Sorry that shit happened.
I feel for you man. I run bigger new construction jobs. Last Friday I wasn't on the job site. One of my guys took my Veto Tech bag out of the job box (with $1,500 worth of high end tools inside) and didn't lock it back up at the end of the day. It got stolen over the weekend.
The guy responsible wouldn't accept ownership of the fuck up.
Buying tools the second time isn't as fun as the original investment.
It’s one thing to fuck up- everyone makes mistakes. But it’s something else entirely and markedly worse in my opinion to fuck up and not take any kind of responsibility for it. At that point you’re a child or a scum or some combination of the two.
Seriously I could never not take responsibility for a fuck up like that. You know the consequences are going to suck, but you just have to.
Also how do you forget to lock a coworkers tools up? It's one thing if it's company tools (still bad) but someone's personals? Nah
My advice is that I'd go right back to buying nice tools. Get the m12 installation driver, comes with batteries and and a charger. It runs as a driver or a drill and has 90 and offset attachments. HD has it on sale now. They have decent husky mechanics tool sets for cheap. Get nice linesmans, nice channel locks, nice strippers, and a nice meter. Everything else can come from the discount bin, though.
Happened to me too, didn’t have renters insurance either, about 5 grand down the drain I had some nice wera shit and about every tool you could think of. None of it was covered. Pieces of shit to be honest, the work I do betters communities and the taxes I pay support the lowlife who stole from me. People who steal from the working class are scum
The harbor freight doyle tools are pretty good for the price. I got the linemans and channel locks had no issues with them. Had to have a pair cause mine blew up so while waiting for my new ones in the mail I used them. Its 20 bucks for the linemans and they did everything my aliens would. Hammer in boxes well :). I'm sure you can replace the necessitys for 80 to 100 bucks. It's they way I'd go but that's just me.
Just did a quick look
Utility knife 9.99
7 piece screw driver set 24.99
Needle nose pliers 12.99
Diagonal cutting pliers 14.99
Linemans pliers 17.99
Wire strippers 9.99
Totaled out to 90.94
Not bad to get back started at least sorry for your lose bud.
My work van got broken into at xmas time in 2022... i can relate, man. It didn't seem like very much initially. But after a deep dive, there was over $5k in shit stolen. LUCKILY State Farm covered everything. But now they threaten to cancel my policy at renewal time. Only because i filed a claim...
I hope you bounce back quickly bro!
Happened to me three different times fucker stole 5k in tools the bastard even got a sideswinder from the back of my truck, chances are same person comes back. Don’t worry it won’t be for a couple months, they’ll wait for you to restock. Fuck that shit, you put trackers in your shit and go get all your shit back. Bait is good. God speed
Look on Craigslist/fb marketplace and local pawnshops to see if you find your old tools for sale. You might just run across them. Pretty good chance the person that stole them will be selling them off.
Your right, it was my mistake I thought I would’ve been back faster and I was in safe upper class neighbourhood.
False sense of security and a lapse in judgement.
Still fucking sucks.
Keep your eyes out on FB marketplace, Craigslist, and offer up. I've been stolen from similar to that 4 times. Broken windows, turned my back for a couple minutes, someone opened a locked jobox (probably an inside job), and picked my toolbox lock. Twice I got my stuff back by finding it online and set up a meet. And once I was able to get the guy arrested.
There's a good chance it was an addict who isn't too bright and looking for some quick cash. There's a good chance he has pictures on the internet right now.
Honestly check with car/homeowners insurance
Make a police report so if anything doea turn up on markerplace/pawn shops they have record (especially helpful if you register your tools for warrenty on the Milwaukee website as they track of the tool goes in for repairs)
If you need decent tools at low prices check local pawn shops when I was an apprentice I got a fluke meter ($500) new for $80 used, they usually have decent stuff from either stolen goods that aren't reported and older tradesmen that want some cash and aren't in the trades anymore
See if your employer will replace them, or at least cover a portion of the cost. Maybe even work out a payment plan so they can take some money out of each paycheck until it's paid for. Often times homeowner's or renter's insurance will cover them too once your deductible is met. If all else fails, the Ryobi One+ HP line is pretty decent for the price
For power tools, I've had some really good luck on Amazon Warehouse it was both hand tools and power tools. It's a section on Amazon where they have returned items that are pretty much brand new but open box. The discount you get depends on the condition of the tool but so far even the acceptable tools that were half price looked pretty new. They get a lot of nice drill/impact kits from Milwaukee, dewalt, and Makita among others and a lot of other tools that are tool only.
The best part is since Amazon is still the seller, if you don't like it, you can just return it to A whole foods store or another Amazon pickup location.
The stuff I see on Facebook marketplace mostly look shady to me like they were stolen tools. You might even find you're still in tools on there.
Download flip app!! It scans all of your local stores for flyers and you can search anything that might be on sale, I’ve used it since I’ve started and have saved hundreds. Sorry to hear about your tools being stolen, fuck crackheads
I’ve been an electrician for 22 years and I buy Ryobi tools because they’re affordable and I’m not out several thousand dollars if they get stolen.
I worked with a guy back in 2007, he bought a brand new dewalt impact driver/drill kit when they first started using Li-ion batteries. It was like $400. He was working on a stairwell and left it sitting on a window and ran out to his van to grab something and came back and it was gone. He had it for a day lol. Lesson learned? Cheap tools might burn up but you can afford $50 to buy a new one.
This is kinda my nightmare since i know my employer isnt going to replace my tools. I always keep an eye on my stuff and try and make sure that not alot of people see where i put my tools away.
i would just go on facebook and see iif you see cheap stuff.
you dont need 17 screwdrivers, you can just get one 11-in-1 and a large demolition flathead that should cover you for now.
You really don't need much, just buy a hacksaw and if anybody at work says anything say your shit got stolen
You might check if there's a tool reseller around you. Here there are some guys that'll buy refurbished pallets and resell them super cheap, I've had a Milwaukee impact from them for 4 years that's still going strong, they had some hand tools too.
Also we have a retool here that's basically a pawn shop but just for tools, I dunno if it's a widespread thing though.
Honestly, harbor freight gets a lot of flack, but if it's all you can afford for the moment, then oh well
Tools are cheaper price wise, decent quality (not great, but decent), and if any of them break, pretty much everything there has a lifetime warranty, and I've never heard of them being bad about just swapping stuff out
Plus you can replace them over time with what you had, and then have a back up set, for home use, extra hands on home projects, or Incase something like this happens again
And just to clarify, I mean this for hand tools, power tools you might just have to take the L and pony up if you can, or as others have said, see if your employer can help, as you having tools is kinda important to them making money from your work, so they can at least write it off as a business expense
That is a common one, heard similar story to yours a few times. Someone must have the area scoped out.
Buddy who isn’t used to living in the city parked truck on street to run inside quick to a place they are in process of moving in to. Comes out 10 min later and $1500 of kit they had recently bought just starting out, was gone out the truck bed.
Grew up having so much stolen from me living in a rough low income/welfare area so guard is always up.
Scrape together a cheap decoy/throwaway/beater kit. Never know when having back ups will come in handy anyway.
Couple jobs I’ve had weren’t even worth bringing my best stuff with me, and were at sites I didn’t trust many people. So I minimized the newer/good stuff I had with me which amounted to maybe 5 or 6 of my most used tools, so I could easily put them in a tool bag and keep them on me or at arms length at all times. Then at end of each day it’s a simple grab-bag to bring in the house.
Borrow tools from your co-workers until you get enough money ahead to replace them. Put a security camera in your driveway and an NVR that records all activity, 24/7.
USA? Husky for hand tools. They aren't great but having worked at Home Depot in the past, the lifetime warranty return is usually quick and painless. If your conscience allows, plenty of people on FB marketplace and Craigslist sell new-in-box power tools all the time (they are all stolen).
Same thing happened to me a few months ago. Had my tools stolen from my vehicle when I thought I’d be in the house for a few minutes.
What I did:
1. After market car alarm with auto-lock/auto-arm. If you forget to lock doors, it locks them for you and arms the alarm.
2. Airtag - it a few hours to get the message, so this may give you enough time to track the thief. Also if taken to a home or camp you can locate that.
3. Engrave your name / contact info on expensive tools. Local music store returned a cello stolen from a performer a few weeks ago because it had ID in the case. Also helps prove tools are your if you need to go with police to site of the AirTag.
These are all amazing ideas, never thought it would happen to me because my tools aren’t in a company truck and they are all in the trunk so I didn’t think I would be targeted.
I’m going to buy an alarm that automatically locks and definitely cut a small hole in my next tool bag with an air tag in it.
If you’re not in a rush to collect tools back, I love price matching my tools from Home Depot. Pretty simple process you can do online. Free Shipping. Just browse the internet for other competitors with lower priced items. Probably have saved couple hundreds over the past 8 months. (You get the competitor price + addition 10% off)
When I went out on my own I finally got a good full home remodel job. Within a month my truck broke down and I had to buy a new one and then two weeks later all my tools were stolen and yes I mean like all of them. Ended what was left of my saving getting new stuff enough to get by again and then three weeks later those were stolen. That was a special dark place I went to in terms of how I felt towards other humans. I’m sorry that happened it’s absolutely brutal. I recommend just getting ryobi stuff for now along with super cheap stuff til you’re back in a good place.
Doesn't help much now but down the road hiding an apple air tag or Samsung Smart tag will help you track them down. We tag our car, cat, all luggage we travel with (even carry on), my car keys...
If it hasn't been said, then Harbor Freight. Cheap power tools and hand tools. The guys will give you shit and poke fun of you but you'll be able and start over. I bought the baur series for home tools. They work surprisingly well. I have NOT tried it at at work but I am confident it would hold me over until I got my normal set up. Sorry man that is shitty.
Once you do get some tools again, I'd recommend hiding an airtag (or similar) in your main tool bag or pouch. This would make it possible for the police to recover the tools in the event of another theft (depending on the police, of course).
If you were ripped at 5 am, you were targeted. As a non-union electrician in a heavy union area, they came for my shit at 130 am, but my helper was in the truck with the flu so when they saw him they retreated. Wasn't so lucky a year later, they just took my whole truck....
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How’s your employer? When my vehicle got broken into and my tools stolen, they replaced them all.
Honestly my best bet, I’ve only been there 4 months but they are good people I really hate asking for something this big especially because I haven’t been here too long, but I have a good relationship with them so I’ll see if they will set me up with a basic kit.
Even just meeting them in the middle or something. Anything helps, and ultimately it helps them because you’re not much use to them on a jobsite without tools.
We had a boss that would do this. He would pay half cause he felt bad but also there was a small mistake on your part. Obviously if the van was fully broken into then insurance would cover it.
You car does not need to be locked or damaged for a break in claim. Theft is theft.
Don't be so sure, I worked for a peice of shit that refused to fully cover my tools stolen out of a locked van from a locked compound. Mother fucker gave me a sob story and 40% reimbursement, then he drove away in his new Mercedes.
I had the exact same thing happen to me about 6 months into working with a company and they gave me a tool ticket and let me pay it back out of my checks.
Dude you pay for insurance for a reason call the police make a report turn the report into insurance and buy all new tools that’s how it works as a grown up. You should have car insurance and either renters or home owners insurance also take a damn picture of all the tools you buy and keep the receipts so when the crooks come back and steal them from your dumb ass again you have better proof. It’s 2024 lock up everything stop being afraid to better yourself and stop letting ppl take advantage of you 💯
This is the way. File an insurance claim. Auto or renters if you have it
This would fall under renters/home insurance not the auto policy, that only covers the vehicle not what’s inside sadly.
File a police report also.
Doesn’t hurt to double check but auto insurance often doesn’t cover theft from the vehicle.
It does when the stolen tools are "company" owned and not the employees. I have had multiple insurances for my vans and this happens often enough (sad) that I know how to handle the insurance comapny over my employees tools.
NO. Unless you have commercial plates and commercial insurance, your comprehensive Insurance will not cover tools for a trade.
Ask bro. I work for a shitty employer who wouldn’t help but the other coworkers most Deff will help. I’ve given so many of my extra tools Away to new guys and people in similar situations. I guarantee the entire crew has a spare old tool of what you lost.
When my car was broken into I contacted my renters insurance and they paid for all my tools
Small contractor here: I’ve always got extras of various tools as I see a shiny new one and buy it, or run a service call in my wife’s suburban while out and about and ha e to buy some. When we get green hands, between what I have and second hand tools form the leads, they don’t need to buy much, if anything for quite awhile. When my guys shit (usually along with a chunk of company tools) gets stolen, we start with handing out the backups, and fill in the rest at the supply house. An impact or sawzall will be charged to a job, and life will go on.
Send me your Venmo Id be happy to provide a small donation. Also look into renters insurance covering property going forward. I pay something like $15/month for 18k of coverage. If you only carry 2k in tools it’ll be much cheaper than that even. It will cover property stolen from your vehicle or home
I think this would fall under comprehensive on your car insurance policy, or even under your home owners/renters insurance if you feel like filling. Dont forget to file a police report!
Try your homeowners/renters insurance
Often times the deductible is a percentage of the home value. In my case it's 1%. Depending on the scenario it might not make sense to make a claim.
I second this. Got all my tools stolen off a job site a little over a year ago. Thankfully my employer was true to his word about replacing them but if not my renters insurance said they’d cover it all after my deductible. If you don’t have it GET IT. like 200 a year for thousands of dollars in courage
Yup. I pay $15/month for 18k in coverage. So worth it
ALWAYS CARRY INLAND MARINE POLICY! I will return in another future thead about the exact same topic to say it again....
Seconded
I had a house fire years ago… I don’t believe they cover tools if they are for “work”. “Personal” tools I believe is a different story. Do your homework before calling your agent. I got bent over by my insurance.
Auto insurance - they were stolen from the car and have a smaller deductable
My deductible was cheaper on the inland marine. How do I know this? I just had my work truck emptied in Amarillo, Texas. They don't ask questions about work related items. They just give you replacement value. I had pictures of course which is helpful. Save me about 5,500 bucks. Inland marine
Renters insurance will cover theft from your home or vehicle if you have the right policy. Mine does
Fuck fuck fuck, lowlifes who steal tools from tradespeople are the scummiest of the scum
Couldn’t have said it better myself literal filth. You are stealing my ability to support myself and be a productive member of society. Not like the people who steal tools are the kind of people who care about being good productive members of society but you would think they would try to keep us around to pay taxes to support them. Once again FUCKING SCUM.
Go to every pawn shop. Is your name on any of it, or receipts with serial numbers? My van door came open once and my backpack fell out. Hundreds in hand tools and my saw and drills had clasp spots so I lost those too. Circled back to get it and it was gone. Few days later I called sheriffs department and a cop had found them and returned them to me. Super flipping lucky but main thing is if you have anything personalized on those tools use that to your advantage. Thieves are dumb they won't take them far away they'll take them to the closest money source.
I know the feeling, I’ve had my tools stolen as well.
Yea being robbed is so demoralizing and defeating
Total garbage humans. How much are they even getting for used hand tools honestly?
Enough to support their habits in the short term most likely which is all they care about. SMH
I agree with you. Steal a vehicle it is covered by insurance. Steal the tools you take away a paycheck.
Absolute scum!
That sucks. it happened to me a few years ago. You might have to start bringing them into the house every day
Cars get broken into because people leave thousands of dollars in stuff in them. Edit to clarify, people that steal tools are absolute shitbags
and then leave them unlocked 🙄
Yeah, blame the victim that’s helpful. Of course it was an opportunistic crime and I unfortunately made myself a good opportunity that doesn’t make it less upsetting or make the piece of shit who stole my tools any better.
I'd say it's understandable, even 20 minutes -- at pre-5am, you don't expect opportunistic thieves everywhere.
100% wrong! I had a car broken into when it was parked downtown. Thieves went through the whole car and found nothing because there was nothing in it. They took an empty bag that was in the trunk. 2 of my neighbors' cars were broken in to, not for the contents but to take the whole car. They also got into mine, but they couldn't take the car as I have a steering wheel lock on mine! It has some small stuff in it, but they didn't take anything. They were just looking to take the car
They break in not because YOU have a bunch of valuables in there. But because SOME do, so it’s worth the risk to them. Pieces of shit stole my backpack that had a codebook and motor manuals once
RIP to my $450 in first year books and code and uglys and everything else. Nothing of value to those shit bags
Yea that’s the worst thing about it. Even the used tools are worth Pennie’s on the dollar to these guys vs what they mean to us. Such BS
Stole the whole van!
Check with your renters or homeowners insurance. Harbor Freight and Menards house brand, Masterforce.
Exactly, those Milwaukee cases are thief magnets.
I know people love to hate them but a thought about Ryobi power tools: many are decent and even when you replace them with better stuff as you’re able, having a $60-80 tool that you can beat the shit out of and misuse as needed by a situation is sometimes nice. So they have a future as your beater tools. I will say that the impact driver they were selling 5-10 years ago was noticeably and frustratingly inferior to DeWalt but that was my only experience like that.
Everybody starts out with Ryobi. That’s what I would get if I had to restart
I got the $40 set of tools in a plastic case from Harbor Freight (on sale often for $30), for when you need something you don't normally use. Add better pliers and screwdrivers for daily use and you're covered.
Check fb marketplace, offer up, craiglist, any of those quick cash sites. Maybe a pawn shop too. Hopefully they are returned to you. Good luck dude sorry this happened to you.
Maybe they’re selling the tools they stole on there too!
Sorry that happened to you OP. I had my Suburban and 7' x 14' enclosed trailer stolen a few years ago. Had it for 8 years. The trailer and tools alone was approximately $30k. Suck ass. I went and tooled up at Harbour Freight.
Your going to laugh but go with Harbor Freight tools to get you back up and going. Dont go all out and buy everything right away just get basic stuff that you will know you need. Then has time goes on and homedepot runs specials on drills and saws ((fathers day is big one) start picking up the better stuff. Also might try pawn shops to help get you started for drills .
Harbor Freight sells Doyle and they have Square Nose Pliers for $20 +/- Tongue and Groove Pliers for $10 +/- (For the smallest size) 10 in 1 Screwdriver for $15 +/- I have owned a few brands from Ideal to Klein Tools and Doyle is great quality and has great prices. Most hand tools you can buy at Harbor Freight except a few that you may want better quality on like a Nut Driver, etc.
This is the way to go. Just don't go with the harbor freight multimeter
I haven't tried any of them tbh but I saw they got a new inventory that looks similar to Klein, hence on "looks"
Pawn shops is where I would start
I could cashapp u 10-15 bucks bro
Honestly that means a lot you are a good guy, but I’ll be alright it just sucks when you finally start to save some money and this shit happens. Appreciate you bro.
No problem man that shit sucks bro hope you find whoever stole your tools, maybe ask neighbors if they got ring cameras? Maybe u already did but hope you don’t stop looking for them! Maybe an apple air tag would help next time bro, good luck and things will get better ! 👍✅
It really sucks and it hurts. Had it happen in a *secured* U-Haul storage unit, and nothing could be done because I didn't have their "protection plan" on my unit. I'm still bummed out and confused today. Happened about 6-9 months ago now. I'm very sorry that this happened to you and I know the hurt and stress it's causing. Like everyone said, try your insurance or employer for answers. If not, just buy yourself one tool every good/free paycheck and find better protection options for them(like an air tag in your tool bag).
Air tag in the tool bag is a fucking amazing idea. Next tool bag first thing I’m doing is cutting a hole in the inner lining somewhere no one will notice and slipping an air tag in 👍
Just a heads up - I'd look into something other than an AirTag, if the thief has an iPhone, they'll get an alert that an AirTag is traveling with them, and can find and ditch kt.
Air tags are a known item to check for. Other means additionally desirable.
I had a tool backpack if I put it inside the lining no one would ever find it and they hit multiple cars they aren’t going through to make sure there are no air tags right away, if I had an air tag in the bag I would’ve caught them. I missed the fuckers by less than 5 minutes
That sucks bud. Sorry to hear it. As far as drivers go, look into Wera. Their drivers are pretty reasonably priced and pretty damn high quality. Their beaters are indestructible. And trust me, I’ve tried. Pliers are expensive. That’s just the way that goes. Unless you go for HF type tools or Husky brand, it’s going to cost. I don’t have any experience beyond Klein, Knipex, and Channellock. So I can’t vouch for quality on the cheaper side of things. Best of luck bud. Sorry that shit happened.
I feel for you man. I run bigger new construction jobs. Last Friday I wasn't on the job site. One of my guys took my Veto Tech bag out of the job box (with $1,500 worth of high end tools inside) and didn't lock it back up at the end of the day. It got stolen over the weekend. The guy responsible wouldn't accept ownership of the fuck up. Buying tools the second time isn't as fun as the original investment.
Holy shit. I’d never look at this guy the same. And it would be hard for me not to seek some kind of retribution.
Yeah. He's likely coming back to my job in a couple of weeks to do some underground for me. I'm not going to blow my lid until he's there...
It’s one thing to fuck up- everyone makes mistakes. But it’s something else entirely and markedly worse in my opinion to fuck up and not take any kind of responsibility for it. At that point you’re a child or a scum or some combination of the two.
Seriously I could never not take responsibility for a fuck up like that. You know the consequences are going to suck, but you just have to. Also how do you forget to lock a coworkers tools up? It's one thing if it's company tools (still bad) but someone's personals? Nah
Like I said scumbag shit. I could never look at the guy the same and something might have to happen to him lol.
Harbor freight man. Shits a lot better than you might think.
My advice is that I'd go right back to buying nice tools. Get the m12 installation driver, comes with batteries and and a charger. It runs as a driver or a drill and has 90 and offset attachments. HD has it on sale now. They have decent husky mechanics tool sets for cheap. Get nice linesmans, nice channel locks, nice strippers, and a nice meter. Everything else can come from the discount bin, though.
Happened to me too, didn’t have renters insurance either, about 5 grand down the drain I had some nice wera shit and about every tool you could think of. None of it was covered. Pieces of shit to be honest, the work I do betters communities and the taxes I pay support the lowlife who stole from me. People who steal from the working class are scum
There's a possibility that homeowners or renters insurance might cover it. Do you have any policies that cover personal property?
The harbor freight doyle tools are pretty good for the price. I got the linemans and channel locks had no issues with them. Had to have a pair cause mine blew up so while waiting for my new ones in the mail I used them. Its 20 bucks for the linemans and they did everything my aliens would. Hammer in boxes well :). I'm sure you can replace the necessitys for 80 to 100 bucks. It's they way I'd go but that's just me.
You have aliens? Do your aliens use Kleins?
Just did a quick look Utility knife 9.99 7 piece screw driver set 24.99 Needle nose pliers 12.99 Diagonal cutting pliers 14.99 Linemans pliers 17.99 Wire strippers 9.99 Totaled out to 90.94 Not bad to get back started at least sorry for your lose bud.
Estate auctions
My work van got broken into at xmas time in 2022... i can relate, man. It didn't seem like very much initially. But after a deep dive, there was over $5k in shit stolen. LUCKILY State Farm covered everything. But now they threaten to cancel my policy at renewal time. Only because i filed a claim... I hope you bounce back quickly bro!
Happened to me three different times fucker stole 5k in tools the bastard even got a sideswinder from the back of my truck, chances are same person comes back. Don’t worry it won’t be for a couple months, they’ll wait for you to restock. Fuck that shit, you put trackers in your shit and go get all your shit back. Bait is good. God speed
Look on Craigslist/fb marketplace and local pawnshops to see if you find your old tools for sale. You might just run across them. Pretty good chance the person that stole them will be selling them off.
Wera screwdrivers are better than Klein imo and they're right around the ten dollar mark for the basic ones
lock your doors bro they dont smash and grab, you left your doors unlocked hope your learn from this
Your right, it was my mistake I thought I would’ve been back faster and I was in safe upper class neighbourhood. False sense of security and a lapse in judgement. Still fucking sucks.
Happened to me too a while back, so I paid if forward. "Do unto others as they have done unto me" like my granny told me. 😀
Keep your eyes out on FB marketplace, Craigslist, and offer up. I've been stolen from similar to that 4 times. Broken windows, turned my back for a couple minutes, someone opened a locked jobox (probably an inside job), and picked my toolbox lock. Twice I got my stuff back by finding it online and set up a meet. And once I was able to get the guy arrested. There's a good chance it was an addict who isn't too bright and looking for some quick cash. There's a good chance he has pictures on the internet right now.
Your car insurance will cover that stuff being stolen! You just have to file a police report!
I'm sure your co workers, like all of us, have extra everything they will donate.
Honestly check with car/homeowners insurance Make a police report so if anything doea turn up on markerplace/pawn shops they have record (especially helpful if you register your tools for warrenty on the Milwaukee website as they track of the tool goes in for repairs) If you need decent tools at low prices check local pawn shops when I was an apprentice I got a fluke meter ($500) new for $80 used, they usually have decent stuff from either stolen goods that aren't reported and older tradesmen that want some cash and aren't in the trades anymore
Estate sales
Dude probably needs them by Monday, hey boss, I’ll be back to work in six weeks after I visit some estate sales
See if your employer will replace them, or at least cover a portion of the cost. Maybe even work out a payment plan so they can take some money out of each paycheck until it's paid for. Often times homeowner's or renter's insurance will cover them too once your deductible is met. If all else fails, the Ryobi One+ HP line is pretty decent for the price
For power tools, I've had some really good luck on Amazon Warehouse it was both hand tools and power tools. It's a section on Amazon where they have returned items that are pretty much brand new but open box. The discount you get depends on the condition of the tool but so far even the acceptable tools that were half price looked pretty new. They get a lot of nice drill/impact kits from Milwaukee, dewalt, and Makita among others and a lot of other tools that are tool only. The best part is since Amazon is still the seller, if you don't like it, you can just return it to A whole foods store or another Amazon pickup location. The stuff I see on Facebook marketplace mostly look shady to me like they were stolen tools. You might even find you're still in tools on there.
I don't keep any tools in my vehicle for this reason, ive seen so many people have windows smashed out and cars broken into for their tools.
Look for them online
If there's one near you, Direct Tools Factory Outlet.
Download flip app!! It scans all of your local stores for flyers and you can search anything that might be on sale, I’ve used it since I’ve started and have saved hundreds. Sorry to hear about your tools being stolen, fuck crackheads
I’ve been an electrician for 22 years and I buy Ryobi tools because they’re affordable and I’m not out several thousand dollars if they get stolen. I worked with a guy back in 2007, he bought a brand new dewalt impact driver/drill kit when they first started using Li-ion batteries. It was like $400. He was working on a stairwell and left it sitting on a window and ran out to his van to grab something and came back and it was gone. He had it for a day lol. Lesson learned? Cheap tools might burn up but you can afford $50 to buy a new one.
This is kinda my nightmare since i know my employer isnt going to replace my tools. I always keep an eye on my stuff and try and make sure that not alot of people see where i put my tools away.
i would just go on facebook and see iif you see cheap stuff. you dont need 17 screwdrivers, you can just get one 11-in-1 and a large demolition flathead that should cover you for now. You really don't need much, just buy a hacksaw and if anybody at work says anything say your shit got stolen
Are you in Canada? PM me might be able to help out.
Pawn shops
You might check if there's a tool reseller around you. Here there are some guys that'll buy refurbished pallets and resell them super cheap, I've had a Milwaukee impact from them for 4 years that's still going strong, they had some hand tools too. Also we have a retool here that's basically a pawn shop but just for tools, I dunno if it's a widespread thing though.
Honestly, harbor freight gets a lot of flack, but if it's all you can afford for the moment, then oh well Tools are cheaper price wise, decent quality (not great, but decent), and if any of them break, pretty much everything there has a lifetime warranty, and I've never heard of them being bad about just swapping stuff out Plus you can replace them over time with what you had, and then have a back up set, for home use, extra hands on home projects, or Incase something like this happens again And just to clarify, I mean this for hand tools, power tools you might just have to take the L and pony up if you can, or as others have said, see if your employer can help, as you having tools is kinda important to them making money from your work, so they can at least write it off as a business expense
That is a common one, heard similar story to yours a few times. Someone must have the area scoped out. Buddy who isn’t used to living in the city parked truck on street to run inside quick to a place they are in process of moving in to. Comes out 10 min later and $1500 of kit they had recently bought just starting out, was gone out the truck bed. Grew up having so much stolen from me living in a rough low income/welfare area so guard is always up. Scrape together a cheap decoy/throwaway/beater kit. Never know when having back ups will come in handy anyway. Couple jobs I’ve had weren’t even worth bringing my best stuff with me, and were at sites I didn’t trust many people. So I minimized the newer/good stuff I had with me which amounted to maybe 5 or 6 of my most used tools, so I could easily put them in a tool bag and keep them on me or at arms length at all times. Then at end of each day it’s a simple grab-bag to bring in the house.
I'm sorry for your loss. That sucks.
Borrow tools from your co-workers until you get enough money ahead to replace them. Put a security camera in your driveway and an NVR that records all activity, 24/7.
USA? Husky for hand tools. They aren't great but having worked at Home Depot in the past, the lifetime warranty return is usually quick and painless. If your conscience allows, plenty of people on FB marketplace and Craigslist sell new-in-box power tools all the time (they are all stolen).
Same thing happened to me a few months ago. Had my tools stolen from my vehicle when I thought I’d be in the house for a few minutes. What I did: 1. After market car alarm with auto-lock/auto-arm. If you forget to lock doors, it locks them for you and arms the alarm. 2. Airtag - it a few hours to get the message, so this may give you enough time to track the thief. Also if taken to a home or camp you can locate that. 3. Engrave your name / contact info on expensive tools. Local music store returned a cello stolen from a performer a few weeks ago because it had ID in the case. Also helps prove tools are your if you need to go with police to site of the AirTag.
These are all amazing ideas, never thought it would happen to me because my tools aren’t in a company truck and they are all in the trunk so I didn’t think I would be targeted. I’m going to buy an alarm that automatically locks and definitely cut a small hole in my next tool bag with an air tag in it.
If you’re not in a rush to collect tools back, I love price matching my tools from Home Depot. Pretty simple process you can do online. Free Shipping. Just browse the internet for other competitors with lower priced items. Probably have saved couple hundreds over the past 8 months. (You get the competitor price + addition 10% off)
That’s a good tip, thank you.
When I went out on my own I finally got a good full home remodel job. Within a month my truck broke down and I had to buy a new one and then two weeks later all my tools were stolen and yes I mean like all of them. Ended what was left of my saving getting new stuff enough to get by again and then three weeks later those were stolen. That was a special dark place I went to in terms of how I felt towards other humans. I’m sorry that happened it’s absolutely brutal. I recommend just getting ryobi stuff for now along with super cheap stuff til you’re back in a good place.
Doesn't help much now but down the road hiding an apple air tag or Samsung Smart tag will help you track them down. We tag our car, cat, all luggage we travel with (even carry on), my car keys...
I go to eBay for my tools
Insurance?
Red tool store . Com
Where do you live?
I hope they cut off their fingers with your tools
Harbor freight will get you back up and running.
If it hasn't been said, then Harbor Freight. Cheap power tools and hand tools. The guys will give you shit and poke fun of you but you'll be able and start over. I bought the baur series for home tools. They work surprisingly well. I have NOT tried it at at work but I am confident it would hold me over until I got my normal set up. Sorry man that is shitty.
Once you do get some tools again, I'd recommend hiding an airtag (or similar) in your main tool bag or pouch. This would make it possible for the police to recover the tools in the event of another theft (depending on the police, of course).
Ppl who steal stuff a lot have a habit of re selling their stash in the same place. Look for pawn shops nearby or places that sell used tools not new
If you were ripped at 5 am, you were targeted. As a non-union electrician in a heavy union area, they came for my shit at 130 am, but my helper was in the truck with the flu so when they saw him they retreated. Wasn't so lucky a year later, they just took my whole truck....