5 Highly-Rated Mechanics Tool Sets You Can Find At Lowe's

Your garage is a convenient place to store tools — whether they're for woodworking, electrical work, or any other kind of trade — but it's also a natural place to keep automotive gear. Whether it's for repairs, minor tune-ups, or DIY custom jobs, you'll need equipment like a torque wrench, breaker bar, and screwdrivers when working on your car. Perhaps most essential is a good ratchet and set of sockets, which typically make up the bulk of many basic mechanics tool kits.

If you build your own mechanics tool kit, you can splurge on certain tools and skimp on others to save money, as well as finely customize your gear to perfectly suit your needs. But this can take up a lot of time, which is why it can be a lot easier to grab a pre-loaded mechanics tool set from a retailer like Lowe's Home Improvement. That way, you don't have to think about what to get and will have most of your basic needs covered.

Of course, not all tool sets are built the same, and you'll want to make sure that whatever you go with is worth your money and won't let you down. A quick, efficient way to separate reliable sets from the duds is to look at customer ratings and see which ones users are happy with and which they regret buying. Here are five highly-rated mechanics tool kits you can find at Lowe's based on customer feedback. More information on how these sets were evaluated can be found at the end of this list.

The best tool collections are defined just as much as by the basic essential equipment they include as they are their premium, niche power tools. That's why many of the must-have garage tools you can buy at Lowe's are simple items like pliers and screwdrivers. It's also why it's not a surprise that one of the most highly-rated mechanics tool sets you can find at Lowe's is a humble 11-piece Metric Mechanics Tool Set made by Craftsman.

Based on over 100 customer reviews, the Craftsman 11-piece Metric Mechanics Tool Set with Hard Case has an excellent 4.8 out of 5 overall user rating. It includes a single 72-tooth ¼-inch ratchet and one extension. The ratchet is built with polished chrome to prevent rust or corrosion from any chemicals or other materials it might come into contact with in a garage. (It also makes it easy to wipe grease and dirt off.) The other nine pieces in the set are metric 6-point sockets, which can be used with many if not most vehicles these days.

Each piece has a dedicated molded slot within a hard plastic closed case that's less than 7 inches long and 5 inches tall. With less than a dozen pieces, Craftsman's metric set is anything but comprehensive. Your garage setup won't be complete with this alone, and you'll need to invest in other gear. However, it's a great start or supplement to any tool collection, and its small size and hard case make it the perfect portable companion to keep in your trunk or motorcycle top case or tail bag.

The Craftsman 11-piece Metric Mechanics Tool Set with Hard Case (model #CMMT34861) is available from Lowe's for $28.

Kobalt is one of Lowe's most popular house brands, and many of the top-rated mechanics tool sets available at the retailer sport the Kobalt name. This includes the Kobalt 64-piece Standard (SAE) and Metric Mechanics Tool Set with Hard Case, which has a strong 4.6 out of 5 overall user score based on over 360 customer ratings. One reason customers like the set is because you can get a lot done with it. It's built around a single ratchet handle that can work with ¼-inch, ⅜-inch, and ½-inch sockets, offering a ton of versatility in the garage. The ratchet, which is made of chrome vanadium steel, is heat-treated and coated with a high-polish finish for additional strength and durability.

The set comes with 36 sockets compatible with the ratchet, including both SAE and metric options. The 6-point sockets are evenly distributed across ¼-inch, ⅜-inch, and ½-inch sizes. In addition to the ratchet and socket set are three extensions, a driver handle, a ¼-by-¼-inch bit adapter, and 22 insert bits, adding to the utility of the kit.

The included blow-molded case is portable and weighs less than 7 pounds. Offering a multitude in both SAE and metric-fitted sizes, Kobalt's 64-piece set is one of the best Kobalt mechanics tool sets you can find at Lowe's. As a medium-sized tool set, you're getting a lot of the most commonly-used automotive gear. But smaller sets take up a lot less room and are even more portable, while larger sets are more comprehensive. That's the unavoidable catch to choosing a tool set that's somewhere between the two.

The Kobalt 64-piece SAE and Metric Mechanics Tool Set with Hard Case (model #86771) is available from Lowe's for $70.

Portability can be incredibly important when it comes to mechanics tool sets, but for some users it's not at all necessary. If you strictly do your automotive work in the garage, there's no issue with getting a massive mechanics kit that includes more tools and in a wider range of sizes. For example, the Craftsman 299-piece Standard (SAE) and Metric Mechanics Tool Set is equipped with multiple kinds of sockets and bits. These include 41 hex bit sockets, 32 Torx bit sockets, 7 flathead/slotted bit sockets, and 4 Phillips bit sockets.

A versatile socket set, the kit also includes 90 deep sockets and 125 shallow ones. The sockets are 6-point and, along with the bits, come in both SAE and Metric standards and are compatible with ¼-inch, ⅜-inch, and ½-inch sizes. The pieces are constructed with a professional-grade full polish chrome finish to keep them corrosion-resistant and easy to clean. Each has its size clearly identified with large markings so you can quickly grab what you need.

Based on over 1,080 customer ratings, the Craftsman 299-piece SAE and Metric Mechanics Tool Set has an impressive 4.7 out of 5 average user score. Customers appreciate both the quality and versatility of the comprehensive set, but you should note that it doesn't come with a case. These pieces come loose, so you'll need to figure out your own storage and organization of the set, which isn't convenient and makes it easier to lose a crucial socket or tool.

The Craftsman 299-piece SAE and Metric Mechanics Tool Set (model #CMMT45310) is available from Lowe's for $335.

The Kobalt 297-piece SAE and Metric Mechanics Tool Set is another option that has an overall high rating on Harbor Freight's website — in this case, a 4.1 out of 5 averaged from at least 265 customer reviews. It includes three 90-tooth ratchets (1/4-in, 3/8-in, and 1/2-in) and 106 6- and 12-point sockets to use with them. Also included are 36 bit driver sockets and various hex keys, insert bits, nut drivers, and six stubby combination wrenches that, like the sockets, come in both SAE and metric. The sockets and wrenches are labeled and color-coordinated — red stripes for SAE and blue stripes for metric.

The comprehensive set comes in a two-drawer blow-molded chest that serves double duty as storage and as a portable carrying case. Both drawers hold tools in individual compartments with stamped size labels so you can easily organize and identify specific items when you need them. Adding to its portability is a rubberized inlay across the top handle so you won't lose your grip in wetter conditions. The case weighs over 24 pounds empty and is 9.25 x 16.5 x 12.2-inches in size. Despite containing nearly 300 pieces, the set is surprisingly affordable. (Because it's one of Lowe's house brands, it's important to remember that you want to think twice before buying Kobalt's set on Amazon.)

The Kobalt 297-piece SAE and Metric Mechanics Tool Set with Hard Case (model #53414) is currently discounted at Lowe's for $99, down from $149.

Based on over 160 user reviews, the Craftsman VersaStack 262–piece Standard (SAE) and Metric Mechanics Tool Set with Hard Case has a positive 4.6 out of 5 overall customer score. One thing that makes the highly-rated kit stand out is its compatibility with other Craftsman VersaStack products. As part of the brand's VersaSystem, the VersaStack set can be stacked with other storage solutions, including hard cases, totes, and organizer trays. When stacked on a Craftsman VersaStack rolling tower, the 262-piece set becomes highly portable and maneuverable despite its larger size.

The contents of the kit come in three drawers, which can easily be opened one-handed and nest on top of the case while you work. An integrated drawer lock dial keeps everything in its place, which is especially useful if you're rolling it around a job site with bumpy, uneven terrain. So what exactly can you stack and roll around if you purchase this set? The 262-piece kit comes with three 72-tooth ratchets that deliver a 5-degree arc swing: 1/4-inch, 3/8-inch, and 1/2-inch. The low-profile ratchets are built with thinner heads so they can be used in more confined spaces.

Also included are dozens of sockets, speciality bits, and wrenches in various sizes. Obviously, the set is one of the larger options from Craftsman, but there are more comprehensive sets from the brand, such as the Craftsman Overdrive 284-piece Mechanics Tool Set. It likely has a lot of what you'll need in the garage, but it may not necessarily have everything you want. Then again, what tool set does?

The Craftsman VersaStack 262–piece SAE and Metric Mechanics Tool Set with Hard Case (model #CMMT45309) is available from Lowe's for $249.

In the context of this article, "highly-rated" refers to tool sets sold by Lowe's Home Improvement that have average customer ratings that are relatively strong compared to similar products. Typically, you'll find fewer reviews per product on Lowe's website than you would from larger retailers like Amazon, but you can still get a solid sense of which items are generally better liked than others when weighing one product's overall user rating to another on Lowe's website.

Only mechanics tool sets with overall user scores averaged from at least 100 customer reviews — if not hundreds more — were considered for this list. With a larger pool of ratings, any fake or outlier reviews made in bad faith, whether positively or negatively, will hold considerably less weight. For example, Craftsman's 105-piece Standard (SAE) and Metric Mechanics Tool Set with Hard Case (model #CMMT45304) has a very impressive 5 out of 5 overall customer score at Lowe's. However, this perfect rating is only based on around 55 user reviews, so it's not as reliable as scores using feedback from many more customers.

All of the mechanics tool sets on this list considered to be "highly-rated" have average customer scores of 4.1 out of 5 or higher. Other factors taken into account when evaluating and choosing sets for this list include the sizes, standards, and cost of each, as well as components included in each to ensure that any mechanics tool set included in this list is as functional and practical for typical users as possible.