I admittedly was also looking forward to having all brand new tools and just the tools I actually need instead of a mess of random rusty mostly unused items.

A friend of ours works at the Harbor Freight Tools corporate office, so I decided to give them my business. The only things I didn't buy at the Harbor Freight store was a Craftsman 2.5 ton floor jack, Craftsman jack stands, and a Wal-Mart used oil jug.

Before my trip to the HF store, I collected several 20% off and free "gift" item coupons from magazines such as Motor Trend, Car & Driver & Automobile.

In total, I spent about $125 plus tax for over 120 tools and other items to handle just about any common car or home DIY job.

My initial assessment of the tools is that some of them looked and felt cheap but seemed to be sturdy enough for casual use maintaining vehicles or doing DIY projects around the house.

A friend of mine is a professional mechanic and when I asked him his thoughts on Harbor Freight tools, he said that they work fine but plan on replacing them often if you use them every day.

I've done a variety of common vehicle maintenance work on a 2011 GM Chevrolet Malibu, a 2011 Ford Crown Victoria LX, and a 2010 Toyota Corolla S.

I've also installed curtains, assembled furniture, wall mounted an HDTV and fixed a few other things around the house.

If I had to complain about something I could mention that a few of the Phillips head screwdrivers have worn down a bit, I'm not sure I entirely trust the Pittsburgh torque wrench, and the plastic items such as the funnels and used oil basin seem thin.

I've only ever visited a Harbor Freight tools store location in Riverside California, but it seemed well laid out and organized with friendly employees. I spent almost an hour carefully picking out all of the items on my list since I live about 45 minutes away from the store and I didn't want to make a return trip.