Pedro Rivera
Knauz Auto Park
Lake Bluff, Ill.
The phrase "one-man shop" is how Pedro Rivera describes himself. Rivera, a technician of 24 years, currently serves as the used car department technician at Knauz Auto Park, a Hyundai dealership in Lake Bluff, Ill.
Rivera inspects up to 50 used cars per month including BMW, Hyundai, Land Rover, Mercedes and Mini for resale. "If the dealership decides to keep the vehicle, I do the work," he says.
Rivera purchased the first portion of his custom-built Matco 6 Series toolbox 11 years ago, which consisted of the bottom and top boxes. "I purchased the lockers about five years ago because I ran out of room."
The toolbox is 14' long by 8' tall and offers more than 50 total drawers at Rivera's disposal. "I put it to good use. It's full," he adds.
Rivera estimates the net worth of his tools between $65,000 and $75,000. Because of this, he says his favorite features of the box are the size and the security it offers. "I have room for all my tools and I can put everything away and lock it up."
He adds, "I can go on vacation and not worry about it...To me, this is what I make my living with, so I have to make sure everything I have is secure."
Rivera's box is equipped with tamper-proof locks. He also likes that one key offers access to all of the locks. "I don't have to have ten different keys to open my drawers."
Rivera says, in addition to his toolbox, his Snap-on Modis is his favorite tool. "(It) makes my life a lot easier. I update the software every six months so I can complete repairs no one else can," he says.
"I like where I work, I like what I do. To do what I have to do, I need the tools to get the job done - this is why my box is so big. This business is changing every day and there's not a week that I don't buy something different," Rivera says.
