Big-Time Boxes: Rusty Flake, Advanced Automotive Diagnostics and Repair
Rusty Flake was not only getting frustrated by his lack of say in the daily operations of the auto shop he partly owned, but he was getting daily migraines, too.
“I dreaded working and I knew the reason was because of the shop,” he says. “I talked to my wife and I said, ‘I’m not getting any younger, these migraines are going to kill me, I’m going to have an aneurism but I have such a huge investment in tools — this is what I do.’”
So, in 2013, he decided to open his own shop, Advanced Automotive Diagnostics and Repair in Whiteland, Indiana. Now, he looks forward to going to work and feels lucky to have “really great folks” who bring their cars to his shop.
“I have the greatest people who come in here ever,” he says. “I just love the work I do now. I’m not getting filthy rich at it… But as long as I enjoy what I do and sleep well at night, that’s all I want.”
Flake’s shop does pretty much everything, but he specializes in diagnostics, so he needs a toolbox that is big enough to house his diagnostic equipment. His Snap-on box is 14.5’ long and 6’ high and has big drawers to fit his diagnostic tools.
Another feature he likes about his toolbox is the built-in workstation. It has lights and a stereo, and at one point, it even housed a microwave.
“It’s nothing special by today’s standards… Now you can buy boxes with lights and a stereo but when I bought mine, I never saw any that had this stuff built into it, so I just added that,” he says.
When Flake purchased the add-ons to his existing Snap-on box in 2002, he got a steal of a deal. The market crashed in 2001-02 and no one was having any luck selling toolboxes, so Flake’s Snap-on dealer made him “one heck of a deal” that he just could not turn down. He ended up buying another bottom box that was the same size as his current toolbox and bolted the two together to make one huge box.
“It was very cost-effective at that time,” he says. “But it just gets bigger and bigger as you go… It almost holds everything now.”
Flake’s box has six swivel casters and two fixed casters (so he can move it around a bit if needed) and a convenient side locker. For added ease, he had the locks matched so all the doors and drawers can be opened with one single key.
Before 2002, Flake's box was half the size and he had a 4X4 closet packed full of equipment, an office brimming with tools, and three roll-around carts.
Today, Flake has his mega box but he still uses his four roll-around carts that house his most-used diagnostic equipment.
He also uses plastic blow molded cases for stuff that won’t fit in his box but that he still needs to protect, such as leak detectors and a ball joint press.
Flake stores his SAE tools on the left and his metric tools are on the right side of his box. In his smaller drawers, he has his pliers on the left, job-specific pliers or plier-like tools on the right, and sockets go straight across. In the bigger drawers, he has his breakout boxes and his diagnostic equipment (other than the scopes, which are on his roll-around carts).
Flake says his favorite tools are all of his ATS equipment.
“I know almost everyone at the company, and they are just super nice people and you can’t get better service than going to them,” he says.
He especially likes his four ATS scopes and he is currently looking to buy another one — the eight-channel scope that is an “absolutely phenomenal unit,” he says.
“They’re extremely capable, they are very easy to use, they’re constantly upgrading features on them and they are quick, simple, easy to grab it,” he says. “You hook up and you know if you got a connection — this will tell you you either have a signal or you don’t.”
Other tools Flake likes include his Lisle Tools for removing spark plugs when they break and his SunX sockets that he has had for 20-30 years. He also stocks GEARWRENCH, Cal-Van, Snap-on, and Craftsman tools.
When it comes to purchasing tools, Flake says the more expensive items, such as the scanners, scopes and TPMS tools should be the shop’s responsibility. He encourages shop owners to do some research and choose a tool that’s the best value — not just the best price.
For hand tools that are purchased by the technicians, they can get whatever works for their budget and upgrade as they go. The most important thing is that they like the feel of the tools.
“If a ratchet feels good in your hand, you’re going to be able to work more efficiently with it,” Flake explains. “There are some out there with edges that will actually hurt your hand, and to use that, even though it’s cheaper, isn’t a better value… The best one out there is the one you will use and the one you are comfortable using.”
No matter how busy you may be working on a car, helping another customer or organizing your own big-time box, Flake says it’s crucial to acknowledge each customer when they walk into your shop.
“Their first impression of you a lot of the time is the dealer maker or breaker,” he says. “Be as pleasant as you can and try and treat everybody how you would like to be treated.”
