Getting Evicted in Connecticut?

I have a friend in southwest Connecticut who is on the more unfortunate side of the eviction process. After a decade of renting a home his business has hit a rocky spot and he can’t pay his rent. Naturally, his landlord has initiated the “Summary Process,” which is what they call the eviction process in CT.

I have been on the other side of this equation, i.e. the person executing the eviction, so he called me to ask what to expect. Since I was sharing my insight with him, I decided to pen this piece to share with anyone who may be experiencing this.

The primary question every one has is: How much time do I have before I’m homeless?

The answer is: It depends.

If the landlord brings his best game, and you counter with your best, but fortune goes his way (responsive/non-lazy constable/marshal, no holidays, lucky court schedule) you could be on the street within 6 weeks of not paying your rent. More realistically, you will probably have 8 weeks in the residence after your failure to pay the rent (for example: Didn’t pay rent due on 1 January—you will likely be homeless by March).

The reason for the variability:

1. Every step runs on a timeline with minimum waiting periods. Holidays and Sundays do not count in some instances, so they may extend the time.
2. The enthusiasm and diligence of your landlord and/or his attorney can make a significant difference. How quickly do they transition from one step to the next? You will understand better as I explain the process.
3. The broken CT State Marshal system will be a bane of the landlord.
4. Luck-of-the-draw. The court will assign certain dates, such as a return date or trial date. These wait periods are not strictly defined. In some cases it may be 7 days. Other times it may be 12 days. You never know.

The Summary Process – Step 1 – Notice to Quit (NQT)

It usually starts when you have been chronically late in paying your rent. Eventually your landlord loses confidence and makes the decision to terminate the business relationship. To get the ball rolling in CT the landlord must wait until you are 10 days past-due in paying your rent. So if your rent is due on the 1^st of the month, and he doesn’t have it by the 10^th of the month, here is what you can expect on the 11^th of the month: Notice to Quit (NQT).

The NQT must be formally served to you by a CT state marshal or a local constable. It will be either the official CT form (JD-HM-7: Notice to Quit Possession), or it may be simply typed out on a sheet of paper with the required information. The required information includes:

1. A demand that you leave
2. A date by which you must vacate the property
3. A reason you are being told to leave
4. An explanation that if you do not leave, then an eviction process may commence
5. A copy for every adult living in the premises

Additionally, wise landlords will include a statement like this:

“Any and all funds received will be applied to Use and Occupancy.”

Here is what this means in plain English: You are being evicted, and nothing is changing that. This decision has been in the works for a long time, and now that I have made it, there is no turning back. You can go ahead and give me money, but that is not going to stop this train from rolling down the tracks to its destination. The money you give me will not be considered late rent; it will be used to compensate me, the landlord, while you occupy my property during this process.

Don’t be surprised if your landlord tries to convince you to pay him something (anything) while this progresses. It’s your choice to make, but just understand that your payment is going to change nothing. He can promise you on the phone that your paying will make him change his mind, and you will get to stay, but that’s not true. You are getting evicted.

Regarding the reason you are being told to leave, they must be legal. The two, most common reasons are:

1. Nonpayment of rent
2. Lapse of time

If you started out with a year-long lease that transitioned into a month-to-month after a few years, you should see both reasons. Lapse of Time will be included, because they don’t want you to have the opportunity, in court, to pay arrearages and extend your stay.

The process server will either deliver the NQT to you in person, or attach it to residence’s primary entrance. That is considered a proper service. The clock has now started ticking. Actually – the clock started ticking 11 days ago when your rent was due.

This is the first instance in which a lazy landlord will work to your benefit. The soonest he can serve you is on day 11, but I know of instances where a landlord or their lawyer are not Johnny-On-The-Spot, and the NQT is not served for many days or weeks after the statutorily mandated waiting period. Their loss = your gain. They don’t get those days back.

Also, the NQT must give you 3 full days to get out. So if you are served an NQT on Monday, 1 July, you must be leave by Friday, 5 July. The 3, full days are: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Realize that the court is not even involved at this point. They have no knowledge of what is happening. When the date arrives that you were told to quit (leave), and you haven’t left, then the landlord will get the court involved.

Step 2 – Summons and Complaint

So were told to leave by a certain date, and you didn’t. Now the landlord will get the court involved, and his expenses and required effort will grow from here. He will complete two forms: (1) Summons, and (2) Complaint.

After he completes these forms, he will have to go the court house, in person, for the Housing Session. There he will present the clerk with the Summons, Complaint, the NQT, and the proof of service of the NQT. The clerk of the court enter a “return date” on the Summons. (Extremely Important) After that visit to the courthouse, he will need to get the marshal or constable to serve you – again.

On the timeline, I call this a “window.” A diligent and motivated landlord can have this done by lunchtime. I always had this wrapped up very quickly. The only issue is finding a CT State Marshal who is not on a week-long doughnut break. Yes, the CT State Marshal system is broken. I can’t imagine how a state-mandated monopoly is so unresponsive, but it is. Smart landlords use local constables, if they can find one who isn’t a hedge fund manager wanting to pretend he’s a gunslinger.

After you’re served, it’s still not over for the landlord. He then needs to return to the Housing Court location, and file all the paperwork he served you, plus the second proof of service, and write the state a check for $175 bucks. That’s no concern to you. I only mention it because it’s worth understanding that the eviction process is a real pain for the landlord, something he does not want to do, but you’ve left him no choice.

But here is your concern. You just received two items: a summons and a complaint. The summons has a return date on it. No later then 2 days after the return date you must file with the court a response to each, which is an appearance and an answer.

The summons is telling you to come to court. Your appearance form is stating that you will, indeed, be in court.

The complaint is explaining the reason for the eviction. Your answer form is a response to the allegations of the landlord. For example, did you really not pay your rent?

If you don’t get the appearance filed with the court no later then 2 days after the return date, you’re done. Your landlord will file for a default judgment for failure to appear. The court will award the judgment, because you essentially failed to show-up when summoned. So get that appearance form in, but do it on the last day possible.

Typically the delinquent renter will file the appearance and answer at the same time. But the real pros will engage in the risky, semi-nefarious tactic that I describe in the next paragraph.

You must get that appearance form in on time, but you can play a little game with the answer form. Don’t file the answer on time. This landlord will then be forced to file a Motion for Default Judgment for Failure to Plead, and he will snail-mail it to you. Essentially, you did figuratively “show up” when summoned (you filed an appearance), but you failed to respond to the accusations against you. Remaining silent is not optional unless you want to be kicked-out ASAP. Once he files that motion for default for failure to plead, you have 3 days to get your answer in. You just bought yourself 3 extra days.

Keep in mind, the US Postal Service may take 2-3 days to get this motion to you. A smart landlord will put that Motion in a blue mailbox the same day, but around 9 PM. It will be a mailbox in a different town. He will also make sure that blue mailbox has only one pick-up of the day, and it’s late in the afternoon. Basically, by the time you receive this Motion, the opportunity to respond is gone. That is not a legitimate excuse for you. Have the fax machine warmed-up and ready to go. Check online and call the clerk’s office to see if this motion has been filed. Don’t wait to receive it via the mail, because it will be too late.

Here’s an important point… Up to now, your landlord has been hustling all over the place to push this process forward, including paying process servers multiple times, paying the court, and several visits to the court. You printed out two forms, and faxed them into the clerk’s office. That is correct. You (not the landlord) don’t even have to drive to the Housing Session Courthouse. Just fax them in at the last possible hour, and give a ring to the clerk to confirm that were received. That’s the only thing you have done thus far: fill out two forms and faxed them the courthouse (10 minutes total).

I don’t know if it is fair or not, but the burden of time, effort and money is clearly placed on the shoulders of the landlord. So if you’re getting mad at your landlord for not giving you free housing, remember that he’s not having any fun either.

Step 3 – Wait for your day in court

You’ve gotten both your appearance and your answer in on time (perhaps the extended time for the answer). Both parties are now ready for their day in court, which will be about 7-10 days out.

If you haven’t paid, you’re probably going to lose. It’s almost always that simple. Their may be other factors, but I’m not going to address them here. Those factors are nuanced, and deserve a more extensive discussion.

Since you are going to lose, you don’t even need to go to court. You will lose be default. You landlord (or his attorney) does need to be there, and they better be there. Once you lose, there will be a judgment against you, and you have 5 full days to get out.

The only reason you would go to court is to try to work out some sort of stipulation (agreement) with your landlord.

If you show up to court, wait in the courtroom, and when your name is called stand up and say “ready.” The judge will instruct you and the landlord (or his attorney) to meet with a mediator. If you’re able to work out an agreement/stipulation with the landlord, the agreement will be presented to the judge, who will make the agreement a legally enforceable Court Order.

What would be a reasonable stipulation to which your landlord would agree?

Perhaps you stipulate:

• You will be able to remain in the residence for an additional two weeks
• You will permanently vacate on XYZ date
• Any and all property left behind will be considered abandoned

Why would your landlord agree to giving you an additional two weeks? That’s costing him big money! Here is why… In CT, any property you leave behind from an eviction is not abandoned. It is your property. The landlord is required, by law, to pay his money to have a marshal hire a bonded and insured moving company to professionally pack all of your stuff and ship it to a government leased storage facility. (The nightmare never seems to end for the landlord). Maybe the landlord would rather give you two weeks (costing perhaps $1,200 of lost revenue) instead of paying $3,000 (direct cash debit to his balance sheet) to carefully pack and transport your stuff.

Step 4 – Judgment

So you lost your case, either because you didn’t show up to court (default) or you showed up and were not able to convince a judge. Either way, you have a judgment against you, telling you to leave in 5 days, not counting Sundays, Holidays, and the court day. This is getting serious at this point. If you don’t have a “Plan B” for a place to live, you better figure one out post haste; you will be homeless very soon. Technically, what happens is the Court orders immediate possession to the landlord, with a 5-day stay of execution. So it is “immediate,” if “immediate” means 5 days from now (Franz Kafka, anyone?)

Step 5 – Summary Process Execution (i.e. Eviction)

5 days will pass, and you’re still in the residence. Not good. The landlord will go back to court, in person, yet again, and to get a Summary Process Execution. The landlord will then search for a working marshal, and get this served to you (yet again). At that point, you have 24 hours to leave. No joke—it’s real. No sooner than 24 hours later, the marshal/constable will return, with friends. He will have your favorite boys-in-blue with him. They will walk right into the residence, with a key or by force, and take you by the arm. They might let you grab your toothbrush on the way out. You will be physically escorted to the street and warned that if you step foot back on the property you will be arrested for trespassing. If you push things this far, you have been officially “evicted.”

As mentioned, all of your property will be professionally packed and moved to a town/city-leased storage facility. You have the opportunity to pay the town for storage and claim your property within a limited period of time. If you don’t claim your property, you’ll see it being auctioned on one of those reality TV shows.

Suggestions for Renters

This article was written with a view largely sympathetic to a delinquent renter. If you can’t pay your rent, you’re obviously in a serious rut. The Summary Process will lead to your eventual eviction, but it also provides you with time to help get your business in-order and execute a Plan B.

I suggest you not hold any ill-will towards your landlord. It’s just business. That residence is an asset of his, and he needs it to achieve his financial goals. He did not want to evict you. The process cost him 2-months of rent. It cost him multiple trips to courthouse. Multiple fun engagements with CT State Marshals. Hundreds of dollars in court fees and marshal fees. Now he has to repaint and clean the entire place, before he can even start looking for a new renter.

I strongly suggest you not do anything malicious to the property, e.g. revenge tactics like Quikrete down the drains. Not only is that ethically corrupt, it is illegal. Depending how bad the revenge is, you could be facing civil and criminal charges.

Suggestions for Landlords

As I mentioned, I’ve been on the landlord side of this equation. This has to be viewed as a violation of a contract, and nothing more. It’s not personal, although it may create a temporary hardship of decreased cash-flow.

Don’t harass the person you are kicking out. That’s a good way to get your residence “accidentally” damaged. Just leave them alone. The only time you will have to talk with them is (maybe) on the court date. If you hire a lawyer – never.

Good landlords plan to get paid rent 11 out of 12 months, because there is downtime during turnover. If you find a good tenant that stays several years, you should be storing that bonus month every year; planning for an eventual turn-over or summary process.

If you have to eventually kick-out a tenant that paid rent for 10+ years, then you are both on the losing end. That renter bought that house for you, and you didn’t even have to paint the interiors annually. Even though it ended on a down-note, you owe them a tremendous debt of gratitude.

Should you hire a lawyer? The summary process is EASY. A lawyer will free-up your time, but realize that a lawyer will move very-slowly compared to what you want. Motions will not be filed immediately, nor will papers be served immediately, but will happen according to their convenience. If your rent is $2,400/month, each day burned by a slow lawyer is another $80 lost. Expect a lawyer to waste about 10 days via delays.

Disclaimer

Chris Sandys is a resident of Greenwich, CT, but I am not a lawyer, so this is not legal advice. It’s a practical narrative of how the legal system works from a layman’s vantage.

The Summary Process is easy. It’s not rocket science. Whether you are a landlord or a tenant, you can handle this on your own.  This was a general overview.  Different waiting periods apply depending on the reason for a NTQ and the underlying contract.  

Just arm yourself with the knowledge available here: CT Law about Landlord/Tenant Law.

As a starter, I recommend you check out:

(1) A Landlord’s Guide to the Summary Process

(2) A Tenant’s Guide to the Summary Process

Read both. It is the same information, presented from two opposing viewpoints.

 

Do Your Own Brakes with Tools from Harbor Freight

Why?

Changing your brake pads and rotors may sound like a daunting task to someone who has never done it before, but I am here to tell you—it is easy! Like anything, be prepared for some frustration the first time you do it. There is a small learning curve, but it is not rocket science.

In this article I am not going to focus on the actual steps. There are outstanding videos and blog posts that are ubiquitous at this point. I am going to explain why this is a good idea, and show you how to do some one-stop shopping to make your new skill hyper-efficient.

Why would you want to learn this skill?

1. It is a forever-skill. Brake pads, and to a lesser degree rotors, are a constant consumable on your vehicle. As long as you own a car, which may be the rest of your life, your car will need this regular maintenance.
2. It is easy and safe. You may not be ready to replace your transmission and want to leave that to the pros. But changing pads and rotors is a cake walk. You never need to get under the car while doing this repair. Simple safety procedures will make this a very safe routine for both you and your car.
3. It will save you time. I suppose it depends where you live, but here in the New York City area, the greatest scenario is 2 hours, after I have driven to the shop. At a smaller garage, you will probably leave your vehicle and pick it up at the end of the day, or the next. Once you are practiced, front brake pad replacement will take you about 40 minutes for both sides—done! 40 minutes? You might spend 40 minutes round-trip driving to shop.
4. It will save you money. A change of brake pads costs around $150 per axle if you have a pro do it.  The most expensive brake job you will do is your first, because you have to make the capital acquisitions. The tools I am going to show you here will last an auto-owner, even a semi-pro, for their entire life. Rear brake pads can be a bit more expensive (one time), because they may need a special tool to reset the piston. The good part is, rear brake pads last a lot longer than front.
5. It will give you satisfaction. It’s pretty cool to accomplish things on your own. It makes you an independent person, and this positive life-skill will spread to other areas of your life. If you have children, they will admire you (even more), and you can teach them what it is to be a man (or an independent woman!)

Alright, so as I mentioned, this is a focus on how to set yourself up, for life, in the most efficient way possible. I am not talking cheap. You need strong tools, because the brake caliper bolts will literally shred (not figuratively, but really shred) cheap sockets. I know—I did so on first attempt at changing brakes. Apply massive torque to cheap tools, and watch the tools break. (On the positive side, it does make you feel very strong- shredding Chinese recycled metal sockets with nothing but your muscle).

Why Harbor Freight, you ask? No—I do not work for them, nor am I compensated by them. They don’t know I’m writing this article. I have bought tools from them for about 15 years, and in many areas their quality has improved to an amazing degree. Some of their tools compare to a famous brand sold solely by guys on a truck.  For the normal retail person wanting convenience, price point, and single-stop shopping, Harbor Freight is your best option. It is so good, that even if the closest Harbor Freight is a 2-hour round-trip, this is still the best choice. Alternatively, they also do have great rates on shipping.

The Basics

Here is what you need to buy to get the job done.

3 Ton Steel Jack Stands $24

Part #61196

Changing brakes will not put you under the vehicle, but a failed jack will cost you massively in auto damage. And it will traumatize you… no kidding. Use jack stands. Every smart person does. When I was young, and stupid, I did not. I got lucky. These are quality, and will minimally hold 6,000 pounds. These two stands can support the weight of a Cadillac Escalade with plenty of capacity to spare.

½ inch 25 inch Breaker Bar $13

Part #60819

At $13 this is basically free for what you get. Buy a premier brand and pay $150 for the same result. This breaker bar will attach to ½ inch sockets. When you are dealing with brakes, you might be able to get away with 3/8 inch sockets, but why put yourself through that? Use ½ inch sockets. 25 inch length will break through all your lug nuts and caliper bolts like butter. You will come to have a love affair with this tool. Breaker bars are like prison tattoos. You can’t stop with one. You will end up buying all the other breaker bar lengths and drive sizes (3/8″ and there even is a 3/4″ for crazy things like axle nuts).

Dollar per utility it is the greatest tool you will ever have. It is simply a rugged lever, one of the 6 simple machines.

½ Drive Quick Release Ratchet $14

Part #62246

Once you have the nuts broken free using the breaker bar, you are going to want a ratchet to speed through the removal. This will do the job perfectly. Could you do it with the breaker bar alone? Sure, if you were in a survival situation, and it was all you had. It will frustrate you so much that you will never do the job again. The breaker bar is too long, so it will not fully rotate in the wheel well. And it does not ratchet.

There is a similar ratchet available for only $10 (Part #66314), but I prefer the all-steel, quick release. The one with a composite handle will deteriorate over time.

13 Piece ½ Drive Metric Impact Deep Socket Set $25

Part # 69561

13 Piece ½ Drive SAE (US) Impact Deep Socket Set $25

Part #69560

Your car is either going to be set on metric or SAE, choose the appropriate. Harbor Freight put itself on the map with its Impact Sockets. There are equals, but none finer. Equals are far more expensive. I am recommending the deep sockets, because they tend to have greater utility. But, if you are willing to swap the deep aspect for a mix of SAE and Metric, and a mix of 3/8″ and 1/2″, this set of 35 impact sockets is the steal of the century at 38 bucks: Part #68011  Buy this, spray it down with WD-40, throw it in your trunk with a ratchet, and you’re ready for just about anything.

4-Inch Quick Release C-Clamp $6

Part #4137

I could suggest a non-quick-release clamp for $2 less, but that would silly. The quick release makes this job so much easier. You’ll thank me for that, because it will save you 2-3 minutes, minimally, every time you do this job for the rest of your life. This tool will press your caliper piston back into the caliper with no trouble at all.

4 Pound Fiberglass Drilling Hammer $12

Part #98258

Most brake-jobs are simply the pads. There will come a time when you have to replace the rotor. Odds are that your rotor has been rust-welded to the hub. This requires brute force. Forget the claw hammer your have in your toolbox; you need mass. Don’t be shy about knocking the rotor back to the stone age after you have removed the set-screw.  (Never, never use that set screw again.  Just don’t do it.)

There is a version with a hickory handle, for the purists, but this is a high-shock, high-vibration task.

Here is a summary of what you will need to do a brake job.

Tool	Part Number	Cost
3 Ton Steel Jack Stands	Part #61196	$24.00
½ inch 25 inch Breaker Bar	Part #60819	$13.00
½ Drive Quick Release Ratchet	Part #62246	$14.00
13 Piece ½ Drive Metric Impact Deep Socket Set	Part # 69561	$25.00
13 Piece ½ Drive SAE (US) Impact Deep Socket Set	Part #69560	$25.00
4-Inch Quick Release C-Clamp	Part #4137	$6.00
4 Pound Fiberglass Drilling Hammer	Part #98258	$12.00

Remember, for the socket set, you will need either the metric or the SAE, not both. So in other words, not 7 tools, but 6.

Total = $94

But no pays full price at Harbor Freight. You need to use one of the coupons, which are issued every month. Get on their mailing list.  They look like this:

20% off of the highest-priced item is the standard coupon, but only one coupon per visit. If you are willing to walk out to your car and back into the store, making 6 visits in a single trip to the store, you can reuse the coupon and get 20% off of your entire purchase, not just one item.

20% off of $94 = $75

$75 with 9% sales tax = $82

Total price, out the door, for tools that will last you a lifetime and allow you to do your brakes plus many other jobs is $82. That is about ½ of the cost of a single brake-pad job if you pay someone else to do it.

But, of course, when you pay a professional to do it, they provide not only the labor, but the parts. How much do brake pads cost? For most “typical” cars, the cost is about $20 per axle (set of front pads, or a set of rear pads). I just checked Rockauto for the price of front brake pads for a Porsche 911 H6. They are, with shipping and tax, $55.

So there you go. Make an investment in the core tools once, learn a valuable skill, save time and money indefinitely, and pass the tools to a friend or family member when you no longer need them. Remember, you will now own the tools and have the skill. The only future purchases are the replacement parts, which are dirt cheap when you buy them on your own without a shop’s mark-up.

Nice, but not Necessary

Now those are the basics, which will get the job accomplished easily every time. But there are a few other items that are not necessary, but you may wish to consider for the long-run. I will provide a few more ideas, and explain the benefits associated with them.

3 Ton Low Profile Steel Heavy Duty Service Jack with Rapid Pump $98

Part #61253

 

You will notice I omitted a jack in the list of required tools. I did so, because I was describing only the necessary items you would need to acquire, and every vehicle comes with a jack. However, if you have your own garage (versus a parking garage, lot, or street parking) then a floor jack will save you massive time and effort. The jack is placed either in the front or rear center jack-point, and you lift the car once for the entire axle. This could save up to 15 minutes per brake job, which is a huge deal. It is also easier to use than the scissor jack that came with your car. You are using a long-lever handle to gain a mechanical advantage (exactly the same concept behind the breaker bar).

Lifting the car with the scissor jack is not a killer, but it is slow, tedious work. You will also have to place and lift and lower the car for each side separately. A floor jack will allow you to blast through that task.

20 Inch 4-Way Lug Wrench $11

Part #94110

Keeping with the theme of nice, but not required, and blasting through easy but repetitive tasks, I suggest a 4-way lug wrench. Again, you car came with a lug wrench (also known as a tire iron). It will work just fine, but this is a big time-saver. Once you apply the initial force to break free each lug nut, you can easily spin them off using this. (Which, by the way, if you’re having issues breaking free a lug nut that some tire-guy over-torqued with an air wrench, grab your 25 inch breaker bar. Problem solved in a few seconds.)

By spinning the nuts on and off, rather than manually rotating them, you will save around 5 minutes per brake-job. Also, keep this tool in your trunk of your car. It fits 4 different sizes of lug nuts, and is handy thing to have if you ever have the opportunity to help a person stranded with a flat tire who needs your help.

½ Drive Extendable Ratchet $18

Part #62311

I have a friend who swears by this tool. He loves it, because we can fully extend it to get the leverage (torque) of an 18 inch breaker bar, but collapse to fit easily into the wheel well to remove the caliper bolts. Plus, it is ratcheting, which makes things a lot quicker.

So why didn’t I recommend this tool as a basic must-have, instead of the breaker bar? First, the breaker bar is 25 inches of lever, versus only 18 inches here. That is a lot more torque. Secondly, this has ratchet teeth, which is a sword that cuts both ways. One one hand, it’s great to keep the socket on the nut and ratchet away. On the other hand, you may very-well break a tooth on the ratchet trying to bust free an uber-stuck bolt.

If your bolts are not over-torqued, this single tool will replace both the breaker bar (Part #60819) and the ratchet.  What you are doing here is swapping two, specialized, rugged tools for a less-rugged, more convenient, single tool.

Not At All Necessary, but what a cool thing to have!

20V Max Lithium 1.2 inch Cordless Xtreme Torque Impact Wrench Kit $260

Part #63852

Okay, this is for the person that wants to have everything, or is too frail to put their weight into a breaker bar. Alternatively, I know of some people that earn extra cash by doing simple auto maintenance for friends/family/neighbors—this would be a great investment for that person (what I will call a “semi-pro.”) The way this would be used in a brake job is to entirely replace the breaker bar and/or the lug wrench. The deep impact sockets are designed to be perfectly compatible with this electric impact wrench. (They are impact sockets and this is an impact wrench).

I have personally used every tool listed prior, but I have not used this one. I am very cautious about electric tools from Harbor Freight. Like every tool business, there is a learning curve as they move from the basics into more complex tools. (Remember the Hyundai in 1995?  What a piece of absolute junk!) I have chosen to stick with my 18 Volt Makita system, which I absolutely love. However, I am willing to concede that I may be exhibiting a bit of tool-snobbery here. I have heard a lot of good things about this Earthquake XT system, and people are typically not shy about criticizing tools that don’t cut it.  Is it a Hilti?  No, it is $260, so you don’t need a payment plan or a HELOC to buy it.

As with the breaker bar and sockets, if you are going to do it, do it right. Get the ½ inch driver impact wrench, not the 3/8 inch.  If you want to expand into 3/8 and 1/4 inch drivers later on, because they are more compact and lighter, then do so after you have the tool that will have enough power to get everything done.

So how much time would this save you? Well, once you are well-practiced, and combined with the floor jack, you’ll be timing yourself on tire changes or brake jobs, seeing how you compare to the pit crews at the Indy 500.

Epilogue

I have shown why you should want to do this, and outlined what I think is the cheapest and most effective way to outfit yourself with a great set of tools. For those that want to make the job even easier and quicker, I recommended a couple of very practical improvements to your tool kit. Not necessary, but if you are going to do any sort of regular maintenance on vehicles, they are virtual must-haves. And I even threw-in an idea for the people that taking their game to an entirely new level.

Be advised, some auto manufacturer engineers like to put their signature on simple things like brakes. This really sucks, and those guys should be tarred-and-feathered. You may need specialty tools for your particular car, but help is only a Youtube away.

What do you think of my ideas? The complaint department is open—I would love to hear from you.

About the author

Chris Sandys is a self-taught, shade tree mechanic in his spare time in Greenwich, CT. He has zero formal training in auto maintenance and construction, but learned that none of this is rocket science. He is, however, a professionally trained US Air Force survival instructor, and he applies the same rules to auto maintenance: study the problem; patiently execute a solution; don’t give up, and you will succeed.