Hazet wrenches for Mercedes, $1.

It's difficult for me to think of a more lucrative area of profit potential than the area of specialty automotive tools. When it comes to automotive tools kits, the names to know are Hazet, Dowidat, Heyco and Gedore. But when it comes to Mercedes-related tools, it looks like Hazet has gotten the lion's share of the business, so learn the Hazet name well!

As happens so often in this business, there's much more to a particular buy that what at first appears. The Hazet company is located in Germany, and they make all different kinds of hand tools. They even make tools for the aerospace industry. Chances are, though, that you've never even heard of this company, since they're not a huge enterprise, like Bosch, for example. And since Hazet tools are so specialized, and their tools are so expensive, it's not likely that you'll run across a set of Hazet box wrenches or ratchet sockets at many yard sales. Hazet tools do appear, though, but likely in more disguised forms. Let's see how....

For many years, the Hazet company has been making the tools that Volkswagen, Porsche and Mercedes use in their cars' tool kits. Since so many of these older cars are so collectable nowadays, people are scouring eBay for tools and tool kits to complete their restoration projects. Whenever I see an automotive tool kit at a yard sale, I always unroll it and see if it's for a German car. If it is, and it's got Hazet tools in it, it's likely worth very good money on eBay.

You'll also see Hazet tools appear as specialty tools for German cars. Every vehicle, no matter who makes it, requires some sort of specialized tool to do certain repairs or maintenance. But it seems that the Germans have always had the irritating habit of taking this whole 'specialty tool' thing a little too far. They've always built their vehicles so that a specific, and really unusual-looking, tool is required to do just about any repair or maintenance procedure, right down to changing the oil. No matter what you want to do to a German car, there's a tool made specifically for the job. In some cases, the specialized tool just makes the job quicker and easier. But in many cases, the job is virtually impossible to accomplish without the specific specialty tool.

I urge you to take a little time to check out the various Hazet wrenches that you're likely to run across and what they sell for. If you do this, one thing you'll notice is how all the weirdly-shaped wrenches, which appear to have no application you could possibly imagine, cost a fortune - much more than they look like they should sell for.

A hint to these tools' uses can often be found right on the tools themselves. On each of these tools, for example, you can see the four-digit Hazet part number, which describes exactly what the tool is for. But if you look a little more carefully, you can see the little Mercedes "peace sign" symbol right there on the tool, which tells you that the tool is Mercedes-specific. And right next to that little Mercedes symbol is that long number (615 589 00 01 00 on one of them), which is Mercedes' cross-reference number for this tool.

So, as you can see, these particular tools were made specifically for use on Mercedes cars, but what exactly are they for? Well, when you buy these things at the yard sale, you really don't have to care at the time because you can simply look them up later to find out. But to give you an idea, I'll list here what these three tools are for.

The top wrench is Hazet #2789 valve adjusting tool (Mercedes cross reference #615 589 00 01 00.) Hazet sells this tool for $31.

The above tool is intended to be used with the one right below it in the picture, the #2769-3 valve spring retainer tool (Mercedes cross reference #615 589 000 300.) Hazet gets $45 for this one.

The bottom tool is #2760 Hazet oil service wrench for older cars (Mercedes cross reference #000 589 24 07 00.) Hazet gets $55 for this tool.

So, $1 for three tools that you'd buy new from Hazet for $130 is a good deal as far as I'm concerned! Remember this information the next time you see a picked-over pile of tools at a yard sale. The Snapon and Craftsman guys may have beat you to their respective specialties, but it's possible that they left more money on the table than they think!

Here are a couple of final thoughts on this entry. Notice the format that Mercedes uses for their part numbers for these tools. These are characteristic of the part numbers that Mercedes assigns to every single part they make (Porsche and Volkswagen use a similar system.) So, whenever you find an unidentifiable car part, tool, or whatever, that bears this unusual series of two and three digits, you may just be holding an expensive German car part!

Finally, remember that a couple other brands of tools you may encounter in German car tool kits are Heyco, Dowidat and Gedore. Be aware that buying these brands of tools as a tool kit is fine. But in general, individual Heyco, Dowidat and Gedore tools won't bring as much money as the Hazet stuff.