Tariffs on specific goods like cars are usually fairly straightforward. Blanket tariffs? They’re a whole other kettle of fish. The full impact might not be realized until far later down the line, but if one thing’s for certain, they’re likely to make fixing your own car a whole lot more expensive in general, even if you don’t take it to a shop.
In addition, Foxconn wants to send Taiwanese EVs to America as soon as this year, Canada fights back against U.S. tariffs, and in a brief glimmer of good news, it seems that American roads are getting safer. I’m taking over for Matt on this edition of The Morning Dump, so let’s dig into all the important little stories of the morning, sectioned into conveniently bite-sized pieces.
Wrenching’s About To Get More Expensive
At 12:01 a.m., the White House’s blanket tariffs went into effect, including a recently-upped 104 percent tariff on goods imported from China. Obviously, North America buys a lot of stuff from China, so just think about the sheer variety of car parts made there. In addition to loads of aftermarket performance parts like wheels and bolt-on catback exhaust systems, plenty of replacement parts are shipped in from China. Major suppliers like ZF and Bosch have manufacturing bases there, so we’re not just talking about the cheapest of parts either. Oh, and then there’s the obscure stuff. Lots of smaller applications are supplied by Chinese businesses because it may be uneconomical for Western factories to make them. Earlier this week, NBC News interviewed Judy Zhang, owner of a firm making brake hoses, and found unsurprisingly that duties on her company’s products are being paid by American customers, chiefly because good alternatives are few and far between.
“Very few manufacturers can do what we do,” she said in an interview Monday at an auto parts show in Beijing that drew 1,200 Chinese suppliers. “Or make as many types.”
Beyond that, if you do your own wrenching, think about tools. Over the past few decades, the availability of inexpensive tools made in China, from sockets to power tools to specialty tools to diagnostic scanners, has made more complex repairs accessible to DIY-ers. Need something you don’t have to get a job done? Run on down to Harbor Freight or hop online, and you’re able to get most tools you need fairly cheaply. With a 104 percent import tariff applying to these tools, building up that cabinet is about to get more expensive, potentially to the point where farming out the job would be less expensive.
If you’re on a budget, which most of us are, this huge blanket tariff on goods from China is going to make fixing your car more expensive, whether at home or at a shop. Prices of parts and tools are going to increase, and consumers will be footing the bill. If these tariffs remain in place long-term, DIY-ers might have to pivot to American-made tools and will end up spending more of their cash to keep their vehicles running.
Canada Fires Back
Speaking of tariffs, they’ve outraged key trading partners, and Canada’s retaliated with a 25 percent tariff on the non-Canadian and non-Mexican content of U.S.-built vehicles that went into effect just after midnight. What exactly does this mean? Well, Automotive News Canada broke it down. As the outlet reports:
To calculate the tariff, Finance Canada assumes each imported vehicle from the United States contains 15 per cent Canadian and Mexican content, leaving 85 per cent of the value of each vehicle exposed to the levy.
“This represents the estimated average of Canadian and Mexican content in vehicles made in the U.S.,” a finance department spokesperson said in an email.
Assuming an average U.S. parts content of 85 percent, that would put the effective tariff rate at 21.25 percent, or $6,375 on a $30,000 car. That’s not great news for U.S.-built models popular in Canada like the Ford F-150, the Honda Civic hatchback, and the Nissan Rogue, not to mention American-built luxury models like the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE. With Canada being America’s largest new vehicle export market, expect the resulting increased prices to drive down sales of U.S.-made vehicles north of the border.
The Company That Makes Your iPhone Still Wants To Send EVs To America This Year
We’ve seen it with Xiaomi in China and Foxconn in Taiwan, and the latter manufacturer is looking at North American shores. After a proposed tie-up with Fisker that didn’t work out due to Fisker’s insolvency, Foxconn is seeking other partners, but also doesn’t seem afraid of starting alone, announcing plans to send two EVs to America.
The first is called the Model C, also known as the Luxgen n7, a two-row crossover offered with either a 58 kWh battery pack or an 83 kWh battery pack and either single or dual motors. With the big pack and the dual motors, Foxconn claims a zero-to-62 mph time of just 3.8 seconds, and the overall package seems directly targeted at established models like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Volkswagen ID.4. At a presentation in Tokyo, Automotive News reported that Foxconn showed off a rendering of a U.S.-spec version, and that American sales are expected to start in the fourth quarter of this year.
That’s an aggressive timeline considering Foxconn has no U.S. sales network, but don’t expect a full rollout at that time. As Automotive News reports, “Foxconn plans to export the Model C to the U.S. for customers there to trial in the fourth quarter of 2025, [Foxconn executive Jun] Seki said.” Beyond that, the company is planning a larger crossover called the Model D for America in 2027. It’s a little minivan-y, a three-row model expected to feature air suspension, and it looks pretty neat. Specs on it are currently vague, but we should learn more over the coming years.
A Little Bit Safer
Here’s a little bit of good news to lighten the doom and gloom: American roads are still getting safer. NHTSA reports that overall road fatalities in 2024 were down by 3.8 percent over 2023, falling to an early estimate of 39,345. That’s the lowest number since 2020, and means 3,885 fewer lives were claimed than in the most dangerous recent year, 2021. What’s more, with travel distance being up, fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles travelled have fallen to the lowest figure since 2019 and are almost on par with what we saw in 2016.
Although there’s still a way to go before we fall below pre-2020 road fatality levels, 11 consecutive quarters of year-over-year declines in deaths per 100 million vehicle miles travelled is a good trend, and one that’s expected to continue.
What I’m Listening To While Writing TMD
It’s been a big week or so for Skrillex fans, with a surprise project dropping on April 1 that’s, no joke, a love letter to the artist’s body of work. With sounds ranging from brostep to tear-out, this 46-minute album flows seamlessly from track to track and feels like a fitting final project released under Atlantic Records. As someone who was really into Skrillex a decade ago, hearing Voltage get an official release almost makes me feel like the food critic in “Ratatouille” being transported back to his youth. It’s good stuff.
The Big Question
What’s the last tool you picked up just to complete a repair? Mine’s a half-inch-drive manual impact driver, and you can probably guess where it’s made by the first story in this article.
Top graphic images: stock.adobe.com
Last tool, Impact Screw driver, Guess where none are made? Even Klein, which listed one has none in stock or must have discontinued it. Hopefully the tariffs bring back some stuff to the US, hopefully the previously perceived quality of American vs Cheap Chinese versions does not follow these tools back home, but I am not sure I am sold on that.
It would be nice though for parts store items like brake calipers, master cylinders and even regulators and starters to actually function and/or not leak out of the box.
Last job specific tools were a set of Torx security socket-bits (the ones with the hole in the middle). Some low-life made off with some catalytic converters from a chassis. Replacements are back-ordered. I had to remove the cat cage from another chassis (which kept it’s cats from being stolen) to put it’s cats on the first chassis so we could ship it.
A 3/8″ drive torque wrench, to fill the gap between the itty bity 1/4″ and Big Blue, the 1/2″
I have a 3/4″ drive one that I got from a yard sale I named “Torqueviathan”. I think it’s marked up to 500 ft-lbs.
Just bought a ball joint separator on Monday. From HF.
A diesel compression tester kit (╥﹏╥)
I havent wrenched in a bit, but I’m guessing the last specific item was a bolt extractor socket kit from Harbor Freight. Exactly the sort of thing you need but don’t want to invest big money on when you’re working on a rusty-ass Hyundai in the Northeast.
Last tool was a set of ball end hex keys. For a very recessed motor mount on a RC plane. Last car tool was a 3 ton low profile jack. Teslas are heavy.
A hand pump to do a PTO fluid change. No doubt made in China.
That reminds me. I need to get another torque wrench.
I bought a repair kit for my 8mm Stahlwille stud removal tool.
Last tool I bought was a set of Caliper Piston compressors to do the rear brakes on a Pacifica that had the screw-in pistons. I of course got them at HF, and bought the cheapest complete set since I’ll likely only ever use them a handful of times. Aside from some very specific tools like line wrenches I’m pretty well equipeed for the forseeable future.
Angle grinder from HF. I don’t need something duty rated for thousands of hours. I’m going to use it at most a couple hours in my lifetime. The cheaper the better.
Bingo, my livelyhood does not depend on these tools
Last week I still saw the Warrior corded angle grinder still at $14.99.
But honestly I thought I made the right call by paying another $25 for the Metabo HPT at Lowe’s with a nice rigid case and 5 grinding discs.
The mid tier Bauer from HF also seems worth the extra $$ over the Warrior.
I bought the Bauer. I might only use it a few hours but it’s HARD use and I needed the HP.
Based on my and others experiences the cheapest angle grinders seem to last forever with casual use. I bought a jobmate (the former cheapest house line at Canadian Tire) in ~2009 and it still works. I figure for how little I paid I’m ok upgrading in the unlikely event I ever need a new one.
Yes, we musn’t sleep on the lowly $15-20 HF angle grinder. The last one that “died” on me was in 2015, and it was just a broken switch. So I hotwired around it – it just turns on when you plug it in.
“OSHAGrinder” and its five cousins and brothers/sisters adorn my shop right now, each with a different wheel (cutting, hard wheel, flap wheel, spongy paint remover wheel, wire wheel). Why have one grinder and a load of discs when you can have five with every disc at the same time.
Eventually, the brushes will need replacing, for which I picked up the ~100 set of motor brushes on Amazon forever ago. I think I also repacked the gearcase with grease on OSHAGrinder long ago too.
jehehehehsus, no switch? You know this but please be careful.
OSHAGrinder is my darling child. It handled welding prep for all of the AR400 and AR500 steel cuts for the first Battlebots season in 2015 and is why the switch originally melted.
Seriously. I flinch every time I plug in my Dremel because it has a switch that can be left in the on position. I can’t imagine ever actually doing that, but it could get bumped or something. I would hate to think of an angle grinder turning on as soon as I plug it in.
My (expensive Bosch) angle grinder is one my best loved and most used tools. I just tore it down to clean and grease it a couple months ago. I use the hell out of it though, in terms of duty cycle and intensity of work.
I’m not cheap about everything. I went toppest end on my Milwaukee Super Sawzall. I use the hell out of it. It will destroy anything. I will hand it down before I die. A good tool is worth every penny when you really use it.
I have a Milwaukee Sawzall, too! Not even M18, the full-fat corded bastard. I’ve let people use it after they see me use it and they think it’s like, a dainty chainsaw or something. I’m always pleased when they figure out it’s a hell of a lot of muscle and work to use it, and hand it back after 30 seconds.
A Bosch is what I upgraded to after I wore out a cheap one in about three hours, which was actually quite a bit less than three hours of run time because the stupid thing kept popping the 20 amp circuit breaker.
The Bosch has survived many an hour of concrete grinding without popping a breaker once. The thing is a beast.
Virtually every DeWalt, Milwaukee and Makita power tool sold at Home Depot are imported from either China or Mexico.
Milwaukee is made all over.
United States: Milwaukee Tool has manufacturing facilities in the US, including a plant in West Bend, Wisconsin, where they produce hand tools like pliers and screwdrivers.
China: Some Milwaukee tools are manufactured in China.
Germany: Milwaukee also has manufacturing operations in Germany.
Mexico: Milwaukee has a factory in Mexico, where they produce some Fuel tools and battery packs.
Vietnam: Milwaukee tools are also manufactured in Vietnam.
Israel: Milwaukee also has manufacturing facilities in Israel.
I’m not holding my breath on anything Foxconn says; the company has a history of lies. https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2023/11/10/what-happened-to-foxconn-in-wisconsin-a-timeline/71535498007/
Well, we’ve always wanted Snap-on tools to cost the same as everything else. Here ya go!
File that one under Be Careful What You Wish For.
Dammit! Who gave the monkey’s paw to the mechanic?
Last tool I ‘needed’, a set of small metric wrenches, like 4mm-8mm, I didn’t really need them as I got by without but added them to my Amazon cart to get over the $35 free shipping threshold and can actually use the 6mm to adjust my headlights, again I made do with some pliers but the little wrench works so much better.
But to the point of some commenters, back when they were made in America, tools generally cost the same, companies didn’t give a discount on rebranded Chinese, but I am fairly concerned for harbor freight, that’s like their entire business model.
Last tool I bought to complete a job was new jack stands and those pinch weld things for the Miata (thought the ones I got stay on the Miata) and the jack stands I have are all currently under my firebird. Before that was a new electric grease gun as my old pistol grip one stopped working and was sick of crawling under the FJ trying to pump it.
Craftsman tools were good quality and value back when they were made in the U.S. They didn’t get any cheaper when they moved manufacturing to China.
And they didn’t get more expensive because they moved manufacturing to China.
Hi, welcome to Capitalism! It’s very cute that you think American companies are somehow doing their best to lower prices for consumers.
Let’s give 100 American corporate boards a choice: “Recently we just moved manufacturing to China from America. The labor savings will account for a 20% profit increase from sales of our widgets. Do we 1) lower prices for the American consumer by 20%? or 2) Keep selling to the American consumer for the same price, buyback stocks and give ourselves a raise?”
I was implying that they could move manufacturing back without raising prices.
Hahaha!
Even if they could, would they? Especially with such a big, fat, beautiful excuse RIGHT THERE to deflect criticism?
Comparatively speaking they did. They now compete with the lower end of the market pricing wise. They used to be a premium product that was priced with the name brands. Craftsman is now usually one of the least expensive choices.
Yeah – the Craftsman tools I got from Dad (lifetime warranty!) are a far cry from what I see now. They were never Snap-On or SK, but always a step above. The current crop is commodity crap.
Had a family friend growing up who was a machinist and mechanic at a DuPont plant – they only bought Craftsman because there was a Sears less than a mile away so they could get warranty replacements basically immediately. He said they would return a broken socket and breaker bar with the extra 3′ extension pipe still welded to it which is certainly bolder than any of my warranty swaps. For a certain window of time Craftsman was hard to beat.
Chutzpah – definition, see above.
My go to is an 18″ length of electrcal conduit.
I really don’t know how often this happened but that anecdote has stuck with me for about 30 years now specifically because it was so bold. I know his personal shop was full of Craftsman too so it wasn’t just trying to save his department a few bucks – that was his brand.
I can’t tell you how many flathead screwdrivers I’ve swapped out after breaking the tip off. Usually using them as prybars or chisels or something not driving screws. Sears was great because the people there didn’t know any better and would never question me.
My brother worked at Sears in the 70s. One guy used to come in with bags of hand drive sockets he had clearly broken on an impact. Company policy was no questions asked. The sales value of that guarantee was much more important than whatever they lost on the edge from people abusing it.
It was – I bought Craftsman for years and I think the only exchanges I ever made were a flathead screwdriver damaged prying something and a ratchet wrench that jammed and wouldn’t reverse so they definitely came out ahead with me.
I picked up a set of 3/8 metric deep sockets for $13.99 at HF, I only needed 21mm because my existing set didn’t have one, and I’ll likely never need it again. Used once, just that socket. I’d normally buy a single 21mm, but HF was the closest/easiest source. My condo arrangement allows for easy FB Marketplace sales, so I’ll just re-sell for $10 bucks or whatever. Or maybe I’ll hold and sell for more…
“Or maybe I’ll hold and sell for more…”
That’s the capitalist spirit!
Can’t say I fault you for it, either.
I’m fortunate in that there is a Habitat for Humanity ReStore nearby that has bins of sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers and more. I can dig through and usually find that one size I need. If I need to weld it to a bar or modify it, it costs less than a buck. There is also a used stuff store here as well, where I can find the more unusual sizes that the ReStore doesn’t have when I need it. I have several sockets for my wheel lugs, so I can leave one on the breaker bar, the power driver, and on the torque wrench and not have to move any around.
Many moons ago, the local college news paper (The Daily Beacon) posted an article about a “Save the nauga” campaign. It, like me, predates the internet so I have not been able to find it online, but the result were predictably hilarious.
IIRC, the Save the Nauga campaign was run by the Kroehler Furniture Company of Naperville, IL.
Not to do a repair but to diagnose accurately I picked up a Vevor radiator pressure tester. It’s crazy how cheap decent diagnostic tools like that have become. I think it was $60 delivered.
5ish years back a similar set was $120, and that doesn’t account for inflation.
Does JB Weld count as a tool?
No. That’s under “parts”.
New: A set of Torx Plus sockets to change PTU fluid in Ford Escape. Had to order at Advance Auto Parts. No one seemed to stock locally.
Used: Variety of tools at estate sales. Scored a $300 torque wrench for $25 recently.
Since getting an older Camry, I got an oil filter housing/cap socket. The genuine Honda oil filter socket would have probably worked, but was a little tight to get on there fully. The Motivx Tools socket is made in the USA. Yeah, there were cheaper options, but this thing is beautifully and well made. It will also work well on most Honda oil filters.
The Mazda dealer I bought the Camry from really torqued down the oil filter housing, so having a good socket to remove it was important.
I bought a MotivX socket for my 4Runner, 6 years at 110K miles worth of oil changes later, it’s been a great investment.
I didn’t end up doing the repair myself, but the last thing I picked up was one of those USB powered boroscopes that plugs into your phone. It’s got a little flashlight on the end and has an app to view the feed on your phone. It’s definitely some random Chinese company manufacturing it
Those things are great. I use one to literally scope the bores of rifles at auction. Pays for itself many times over the first time you spot pitting in an otherwise clean looking gun.
I have a Saab , so my power steering pump is camshaft driven. There’s a seal between the engine Oil and power steering fluid, which is mineral oil for me, that is known to fail. I was going crazy trying to trace the leak without it
I ended up having both a power steering leak and a valve cover leak…