As expensive as BMWs are, the tool kit is both sparse and not of the quality Americans have been led to expect. Most people who can afford a BMW buy Snap-On, and what comes in the BMW kit is not Snap-On quality.
I have owned German tools-Hazet and Stahlwille- and while I've never broken one, I don't think the BMW tools are made out of the same stuff Stahlwille are, and are even more crudely finished. The screwdriver in particular has a cheesy handle and isn't that tough.
Yes, I know, American cars don't even HAVE a tool kit. But Americans already have tools. I have doubles and triples and quadruples of a lot of things, from habitual buying over decades.
Those tools are really only intended for use in an emergency situation, when caught out roadside. They are not intended to be used to make routine repairs, etc. The reason you pay more for your tools at home is so they will last with repeat use.
In my opinion, spending Snap-On dollars for the tools in your trunk kit, that you will in all likelihood never even use, would be overkill.
might depend on the model. Seven's have quite a decent kit.
most BMW mechanics buy Snap On (or similar quality) for daily heavy use. Such tools cost 3 -4 times what they do from DIY places and several times more than el cheapo tools from Asia. Snap On come with a life time guarantee, so if you break or wear out the ratchet in your socket set they will give you a new one.
These tools are intended for occaisional use - e.g. replacing a snapped belt during a holiday, and are perfectly servicable for that. The screwdriver in particular is reversible (slot / cross head), something you would never have in a professional kit.
As you say Americans have double, triple and quadruple [portions] of a lot of things, which is why most of them can't work on their own cars...
"If you can finish our 72oz [2kg] steak then there will be no charge..." typical diner offer.
I've been in the US for 20 years and travelled more of it than most merkins have. Although I believe that such "eat it all and it's free" offers exist, I've never actually seen one myself.
From what I read in the news, it looks like the average Brit is ballooning into obesity these days as well. All-you-can-eat fried Mars bars and chips, anyone?
Well I have had several BMWs and have a very extensive tool kit collected over the years and wouldn't dream of buying Snap-on. In the UK it is overpriced and over hyped.
The BMW tool kit is fine for what it is intended - the very rare roadside repair. Supplying the finest quality tools would simply add to the price of the car - which 99.9% of owners wouldn't ever get the benefit of. The only part of the car toolkit I use is the anti-theft wheel bolt adaptor - and that's of sufficient quality for the job.
I keep a 4 in 1 and a 1/4 hex bit ratchet and a small block of bits and in fact most pros do too-they augment them with the power driver, though.
It's very atypical. There are probably not five or six places in America that do that, the most famous is in Amarillo, TX out by the nuke weapons plant. (Do they have a fish and chips place near Aldermaston that does a similar thing?) For one thing the liability is substantial if a diner kills themselves (has happened), also, even here most people find it gross.
The winners are usually not fat people, surprisingly enough.
When I was a kid I used to hang out at a VW repair place that had a guy who worked there who was 6'7" and weigned, probably, 450 lbs. It was always an amazing thing to watch him get in and out of Bugs and Karmann Ghias. He had many special tools to get in where he could not reach and was amazing for his standard procedure of pulling the engine to do a tune up. He summarily replaced a lot of hoses and clamps but still made money- he could do one in an hour, flat.
He could pick up a Type 1 engine one handed.
His piece de resistance was a motorcycle with a 160 cubic inch flat twin built from an 0-320 Lycoming sawed in half. He died shortly after building it, as a result of health problems unrelated to the minor crash he had on it, and no one else had any interest in it. They would have had to have been well over 6' to ride it safely. It was junked.
That's so in the US too, but, silly me, I buy them anyway.
In the US the BMW is priced high on pure exclusiveness, are they radically cheaper in the UK or Germany? I know Benzes were a lot cheaper in Germany but they had far less optional equipment too, if you got them kitted out equivalently they were cheaper but not radically so.
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